Cheap holiday cottages - where can I find a bargain UK stay this summer?

Head for County Durham, Cumbria or Mid Wales for a cottage holiday this summer, and you could save as much as £600 on a week-long stay.

Last August, the average price of a two-bedroom cottage in Cornwall – the priciest region in England – was £1,145 a week. Meanwhile, a seven-night rental in County Durham or neighbouring Tyne and Wear was more than £600 less – just £512 on average.

Unsurprisingly, the school summer holidays are the priciest period for holiday lets, but even if you have to holiday in the high season, you can save a fortune by avoiding the most popular regions.

We gathered the prices of nearly 150,000 cottages in England, Scotland and Wales for a peak week in August 2023 over 10 weeks.

The data showed that the most expensive places to rent a cottage - after Cornwall - were the Cotswolds, South Wales, Dorset and Oxfordshire. A two-bedroom let in each was more than £950 a week.

In the cheapest regions of Glasgow and The Clyde Valley, County Durham/Tyne and Wear, Staffordshire and various others, the average price of a two-bedroom rental was less than £650 for seven nights (see below for the cheapest locations).

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Cheapest holiday cottage locations last summer

Prices of popular cottage holiday locations last summer

Cheap self-catering holidays in County Durham and Tyne and Wear

Skip popular Cornwall in favour of County Durham or Tyne and Wear, and you could picnic on Tynemouth’s glorious golden beaches (visitors rated it England’s third-best seaside town in our last survey). Plus, you won’t have to share them as you would in the South West. 

Alternatively, see thundering High Force Waterfall in the Durham Dales - just don’t forget to pack a well-rated pair of walking boots from our survey results. The Durham Dales are an excellent place to spend your UK break. Near to but much farther East than the ever-popular Lake District, it is an area often overlooked - but it shouldn’t be. Its rugged beauty, open moorland, and rolling pastures are stunning.  And if the splendours of the countryside aren't enough, there are many attractions in Durham and Newcastle.

Lake District holiday cottages versus breaks in Cumbria

A staggering 16 million people are drawn to the glorious mountains and glassy lakes of the Lake District National Park every year. But it’s not cheap. Last summer, visitors who booked a cottage inside the national park typically paid £780 for the week.

However, stay just outside the national park in Cumbria (£617) and you could save £160 for a week-long stay. Green fields stretch for miles in Cumbria’s Eden Valley, with the River Eden flowing peacefully through. Or find a spot close to glacial Ullswater - the second largest lake in England at nine miles long. 

Looking to book a cottage stay in Cumbria or County Durham? Look at cottages from Which? Recommended Providers of cottage holidays from our survey (listed below):

• Book cottages on Landmark Trust
• Book cottages on Classic Cottages
• Book cottages on Sally's cottages
• Book cottages on National Trust
• Book cottages on Rural Retreats

Holiday cottages in Scotland - where's cheap?

In general, Scotland’s cottages were cheaper by £130 a week than holiday lets in England or Wales last summer.

Glasgow and The Clyde Valley was one of the cheapest areas to stay in Scotland. While a thriving city (one that was ranked sixth in our best UK cities survey results), the name Glasgow translates from Gaelic to ‘the dear green place’. The city is packed with glorious gardens and parks, including the Botanic Gardens. But if it’s the peace and quiet of the countryside you’re after, head for the Clyde Valley to the south east. Home to country parks and forests, as well as the Falls of Clyde - a series of waterfalls hidden below a wooded gorge - it’s a haven for hikers. See how our survey respondents rated the Falls of Clyde walk in our UK's best walks survey.

Scotland might be beautiful, but the country gets the largest volume of rainfall in the UK,  averaging 1,500 millimetres of rain per year. Don’t let that put you off, just don't forget to pack a well-rated waterproof jacket from our survey results.

Holiday cottages in Wales - where’s cheap?

With Snowdonia in the north of the country home to the highest Welsh peak, Mid Wales is more overlooked as a holiday destination. But this large section of Wales is home to the Cardigan Bay coastline, where you may be able to spot the big populations of dolphins and porpoises. Further inland, you can hike the quiet paths across the Cambrian mountains by day - an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty - and stargaze by night; the hills have some of the darkest skies in Europe. And because the area is sparsely populated, you’re more likely to find peace and quiet than in other areas of Wales. 

Keen to book a cottage stay? Choose from our Which? Recommended Providers of cottage holidays:

• Book cottages on Landmark Trust
• Book cottages on Classic Cottages
• Book cottages on Sally's cottages
• Book cottages on National Trust
• Book cottages on Rural Retreats

Save on your group self-catering holiday by renting a few smaller cottages

Large families and groups could save by booking two or three smaller cottages instead of one large one. The average price of a five-bedroom let was £2,524 last summer – that’s more than triple the cost of a two-bedroom cottage (£827).

Our research

We gathered prices of nearly 150,000 two-bedroom cottage stays across the UK for a stay in August 2023. We gathered prices for 10 weeks from June to August from the UK's biggest cottage providers - Cottages.com, Holidaycottages.co.uk and Sykes.