Very different from your usual castle renovation, this show-stopping fortified manor (once home to Elizabeth Woodville, the Yorkist queen whose life was recently dramatised in BBC's The White Queen) sleeps eight and …
Photograph: Brian Wood Photograph: Brian Wood
… shows what modern design can add to ruined medieval stonework, with its huge glass walls, contemporary oak staircase and dramatic open-roofed courtyard dining room.
• 01628 825925, landmarktrust.org.uk. Four-night stay from £675 (£84pp)
Photograph: Brian Wood Photograph: Brian Wood
One of two remaining medieval gateways into Warwick, with a gothic chapel above it, this recently revamped city landmark, built in the 11th century, sleeps four in one double and a spacious twin with high beams … Photograph: PR
… The decor has influences from both periods, with carved, dark-wood dining chairs, tapestry-like curtains and lots of rich, red fabrics. The modern kitchen looks oddly suburban, but otherwise this makes a comfortable city retreat, and one that's nicely in touch with its history. Just don't be tempted to light a fire in the sitting room's vast stone fireplace: there are no chimneys.
• 01926 484300, eastgatewarwick.co.uk. From £850 a week Photograph: PR
Set in the grounds of Upton House, a National Trust property with art-deco flourishes and an impressive art collection, this doll's house-like cottage is much prettier than its name suggests. The main house is also known for its gardens (guests get free access to both during opening hours) it's home to the national collection of asters, and the landscaping includes an unusual bog garden, from which the cottage takes its name … Photograph: PR
… Sleeping four, Bog Cottage was built as a banqueting house but was converted to a cottage in the 1930s, with cosy, traditional interiors in shades of meadowsweet and lichen, and plenty of modern comforts.
• 0844 800 2070, nationaltrustcottages.co.uk. From £639 a week Photograph: PR
Around seven miles from Stratford, this pretty 17th-century thatched hideaway makes a good second-best to sleeping in Anne Hathaway's chocolate-box cottage. Sleeping three, though it's bright and modern inside, the cottage has been decorated with an eye on its heritage (think linen-covered armchairs, painted beams and wooden bead-and-butt doors rather than wall-mounted living flame fireplaces and shiny pleather sofas) … Photograph: PR
… It has landscaped grounds stretching to the river Stour, sole use of a summerhouse and access to a tennis court, too.
• 01789 740264, oldmanor-cottage.co.uk. From £350 a week Photograph: PR
Set in the grounds of Upton House, a National Trust property with art-deco flourishes and an impressive art collection, this doll's house-like cottage is much prettier than its name suggests. The main house is also known for its gardens (guests get free access to both during opening hours) it's home to the national collection of asters, and the landscaping includes an unusual bog garden, from which the cottage takes its name … Photograph: PR
… Sleeping four, Bog Cottage was built as a banqueting house but was converted to a cottage in the 1930s, with cosy, traditional interiors in shades of meadowsweet and lichen, and plenty of modern comforts.
• 0844 800 2070, nationaltrustcottages.co.uk. From £639 a week Photograph: PR
