Top 10 waterside retreats

1 A photogenic boathouse in the Lake District

Rumour has it the 18th-century Duke of Portland boathouse on the shores of Ullswater is the most photographed building in Britain, and it’s hard to imagine a more picturesque setting for a romantic break. Boathouses in the national park are usually for daytime use only, but this exception to the rule gives you a rare opportunity to kip right beside the lake that Wordsworth called: “the happiest combination of beauty and grandeur, which any of the lakes affords.”
Sleeps two people
www.lakescottageholiday.co.uk

2 Love is a horsebox for two in Sussex

Bedding down in a converted horsebox might not sound like a romantic break, but the aptly named Lovestruck provides luxury camping at its quirkiest. The truck has oodles of mismatched, rustic charm, and sits just on the right side of kitsch, with wood panelling, stained glass windows and gingham curtains. Lovestruck currently resides on Swallowtail Hill Farm near Rye, where it’s sited between two wildflower meadows and a reed-lined pond. Visitors can take a hosted wildlife walk around the farm, which is run purely for conservation, while children can feed the animals, take tractor rides and learn archery. On balmy evenings, there’s a bucket on a rope for cooling your wine in the pond; on cooler nights, stoke up the wood-burner and snuggle up.
Sleeps up to four people; April-Oct
www.canopyandstars.co.uk

4 A Cornish tipi adventure

If you like the sound of lakeside camping, but want to retain an element of luxury, a few nights under canvas in an 18ft-high tipi might be just the ticket. The 40 authentic tipis at Tregildrans Quarry are dotted around 16 acres of oak woodland, in which nature flourishes. At the bottom of the valley, there’s a spring-fed lake in the old quarry, in which you can potter about by boat, fish or – if you’re feeling brave – go for a swim before breakfast before exploring Cornwall’s pretty villages and rugged coastline. This is good old-fashioned camping – cooking over crackling fires, heating your own water and catching rainbow trout to eat.
A medium tipi sleeps two
www.cornishtipiholidays.co.uk

5 Divine solitude at Brinkburn Mill, Northumberland

In 1135, Augustinian monks founded Brinkburn Priory on a bend in the River Coquet, the only level ground in a steep and thickly wooden ravine that supplied running water to drive a mill. The present mill, built around 1800, still houses the original waterwheel, now long-unused, as well old grinding stones in the bedrooms. A grand room at the upper end now acts as the sitting room, with tall windows that catch the morning sun.
Sleeps up to four people;
www.landmarktrust.org.uk

7 Rowing boats and wildlife on the River Waveney, Suffolk

The River Waveney, lined with bulrushes, water irises, lilies and reeds, runs the length of Riverside Cottage’s garden. Here you’ll find a four-person rowing boat tethered to the end of a jetty, and the chance to explore a private island via a wooden bridge. The cottage comes complete with fishing rights (closed 15 March-15 June), and as well as the chubb, perch and pike in the river, wildlife visitors include swans, deer, kingfishers and ducks. Constable Country, the Norfolk Broads and several castles and market towns are a short drive away.
Sleeps up to five people
www.ruralretreats.co.uk

8 Rustic charm and water meadows in the Cotswolds

17th-century Somerton Mill sits amid seven acres of water meadow and woodland in rural Oxfordshire. The setting was the inspiration for the CBeebies series ‘Summerton Mill,’ which features the ‘millfreaks’ – furry hedgehog-like creatures. Fictional wildlife aside, you’ve a good chance of spotting kingfishers, herons and moorhens here among the ducks and geese. The interior is rustic to a tee, with a Rayburn oven, cupboards made from reclaimed floorboards and a cast iron claw-foot bath.
Sleeps two people
www.ruralretreats.co.uk

9 Artist’s retreat at Hutchinghayes Barn, Devon

The possibilities for quiet adventure at Hutchinghayes Barn are mind-boggling. Within its 32 acres, you can amble down to the lake and watch wildfowl from the balcony of the boathouse (above), hop across to an island and explore the ruins of a folly, or pet the two very friendly Kune Kune pigs. You can even practice sculpture, under the owner’s guidance. A mile down the road, Combe Raleigh is renowned for its second-hand bookshops and antiques, while Sidmouth is a short drive away.
Sleeps four people
www.ruralretreats.co.uk