Nowhere to go except home this Christmas or New Year? Or is the prospect of Railtrack's go-slow policy too awful to contemplate? It isn't too late to book a self-catering cottage, villa or castle in Britain or Europe. The properties below were all available over Christmas or New Year at the time of writing, and the price quoted is for a week's stay.
Cottage in Bude, Devon - £279
This tiny bungalow a mile from the beach suffers from some unsympathetic photography. Rather oddly, it's also more expensive than many of the French properties, which can cost as little as £48 per person per week.
Hunting lodge in Oradoux, Auvergne, France - £298
Booking online is not possible yet and, irritatingly, this site will sometimes refer you to a brochure photograph, but VFB is a long-established company which specialises in France and can be less expensive than its rivals.
Cottage near Caernarfon and Snowdon - £290
An intelligent search, a high level of detail and online booking make this a useful site for those in search of a Welsh cottage. Availability over the holiday period is still promising.
Mallow, County Cork, Ireland - £353
BookThat aggregates properties in the UK, Ireland, France, Italy, Spain and Portugal - the Mallow cottage is owned by Emerald Holidays. A few features stand out: the ability to create a personalised online brochure, the comments from previous occupants and the ability to reserve immediately.
Rose Cottage, Scottish Highlands - contact owners for price
While the Scottish Tourist Board's site does an excellent job of listing places to stay - Rose Cottage is a remote one-star property that would have been hard to find elsewhere - you must phone the owners to find the prices and make a booking. The star ratings tend to reflect the likely cost.
The Castle of Bibbione - £816 for a six-person apartment
Does staying in a ninth-century Italian castle with a secret underground passage appeal? Some of the castle's apartments are still available.
Chalet in Les Houches, Mont Blanc - £477
Holiday Rentals enables individual property owners to advertise their houses on the web, so the range is vast and utterly absorbing. More than 100 properties in France were available during Christmas week.
Castle Keep East on the Isle of Lundy
Contact Landmark Trust for price. The Trust maintains 166 buildings in Britain and rents them on a weekly basis. Unfortunately, you have to buy the lavishly-illustrated handbook before you can choose one, but it is possible to check availability from the site. Castle Keep East sleeps two and is pictured at www.lundyisland.co.uk
The Old Coach House, near King's Lynn, Norfolk - £1,073
ECC still has over 250 properties available over Christmas, although they can be rather expensive. Note that this definition of "English" also includes Scotland and Wales.
