Tipis, Cornwall
This isn't just camping - it's camping with feathers on. A 10-minute drive from the fishing village of Port Isaac, there's no promise that you'll see native Americans riding bareback, or beautiful squaws braising buffalo, but they've gone to extraordinary lengths to provide an authentic setting with a unique, almost tribal atmosphere.
The natural-canvas tipis are very spacious, around 20ft in diameter and 18ft high, and each comes with thick rugs covering the groundsheet, lanterns hanging romantically from wooden poles and an outdoor firepit with a constant supply of logs. You can watch the stars while the smell of woodsmoke lingers in the night air.
Sleeping is basic, but this is an "experience", so be grateful for the rolled-up mattresses on the floor and stop envying the baby its travel cot. Cooking can be done on a Baby Belling, or the more adventurous can roast their food over an open fire in the pit.
Price: From £270 a week, depending on size and season - from April.
Proprietor: Elizabeth Tom.
Address: Tregeare Pendoggett, St Kew, Cornwall PL30 3LW.
Tel: 01208 880781.
Website: www.cornish-tipi-holidays.co.uk
Boatman's Brothel, Shropshire
An original alehouse for more than 400 years, the brothel was a profitable little sideline that served the men of iron who helped create the world's first industrial revolution and its legacy of Ironbridge. In the 1700s, trowmen moored their boats at the foot of the garden and stepped inside for a sup of their favourite brew and a frolic with the best wench their wages would buy.
The trowmen's dormitory and the one remaining brothel cubicle have long since been converted into bedrooms and bathrooms. One thing hasn't changed, though - the beds still beckon, and some are four posters, so purists can get down to a spot of serious historical research.
Price: From £21pp a night.
Proprietor: Pauline Hannigan.
Address: Church Road, Jackfield, Ironbridge, Shropshire. TF8 7ND.
Tel: 01952 883551.
Martello Tower, Aldeburgh, Suffolk
How about the largest and most northerly of a chain of towers erected by the Board of Ordnance to stop Napoleon's onslaught in the 19th century? Obsessives can count the near to a million bricks used in its clover-leaf construction.
The moment you cross the sturdy wooden bridge into the vaulted interior, there's a palpable sense of getting away from it all.
There's an interesting in-built echo and bedrooms are screened from the living area but not completely divided, so check with companions if you intend to hum Rule Britannia into the early hours. Be warned that these towers were built to keep out the enemy, not the weather, and sometimes water does seep inside. The roof terrace has a battery and gun mountings for those wishing to play soldiers but also provides a perfect place to view the stars.
Price: Self-catering; from £291, depending on length of stay and season.
Available through: The Landmark Trust. Shottesbrooke, Maidenhead, Berkshire, SL6 3SW.
Tel: 01628 825925.
Website: www.landmarktrust.co.uk
The Old Mortuary, Andover, Hampshire
A simple barn once used for carriages and horses took on a more deadly role during the days of the London to Exeter turnpike road - as the village mortuary. Coffins used to be made on one side of the road, bodies stored on the other. When travellers died en route, someone had to pay for the body to be laid out (a shilling) and the funeral (10 shillings).
Today, the mortuary is a delightful thatch-and-cob building with beams and rafters and a bed to die for. There's a secluded garden and a magnificent breakfast even for vegetarians.
Price: £25 to £30pp a night.
Proprietors: Tom and Fiona Biddolph.
Address: The Old Mortuary, May Cottage, Thruxton, Andover, Hampshire SP11 8LZ.
Tel: 01264 771 241.
Souter Lighthouse, Northumbria
Built in 1871 and over 75ft high, this lighthouse was the first to be powered by electricity. The keeper's and engineer's cottages, nestle like old friends in the shadow of the tower. The keeper's cottage has an enchanting walled garden which was once a vegetable plot to feed his entire family, a clue to the level of self- sufficiency that existed here.
Sunny and south-facing, this simple whitewashed building has been refurbished yet maintains an authentic Victorian feel. Climb the lighthouse's impressive spiral staircase to the lantern room and tap out a few words of morse code. Alternatively, soak up the legends at nearby Marsden Grotto, an old smugglers' haunt at the foot of the cliffs.
Price: From £212 to £573 per cottage for a full week, depending on season.
Address: Keeper's and Engineer's Cottages, Souter Lighthouse, Coast Road, Whitburn, Sunderland.
Available through: The National Trust Holiday Cottages, PO Box 536, Melksham, Wiltshire SN12 8SX.
Tel: 01225 791199.
Website: www.nationaltrust.org.uk
Castle Leslie, County Monaghan
A family home with a difference. Actually, it's a castle with three lakes, where you step back in time - all wrapped up in a great religious presence. Soak up the atmosphere and see many of the antiques that make up the visual cornucopia accumulated during the former owner Sir John Leslie's grand tour in the 1850s: a throne sits in the drawing room waiting for the Pope to pop by, there's a copy of Michelangelo's cloister from Rome and portraits of ancestors pepper the reassuringly-thick walls.
But the bedrooms tell another story: if you want to rock and roll, ask for the Mauve Room where Mick Jagger once entertained Marianne Faithfull, or plump for the Governess Suite if you need taking in hand. Things start to hot up in the oldest tub in Ireland.
Everything here whispers "relax and unwind" - there are no clocks, TVs or phones in the rooms, and breakfast is an easy, sumptuous affair served by waitresses in full Victorian dress. Adults only.
Price: From £65 a night, depending on choice of room.
Address: Castle Leslie, Glaslough, County Monaghan.
Tel: 0035 347 88109.
Website: www.castleleslie.com
Appleton Water Tower, Sandringham, Norfolk
Looking more fairytale than functional, this three-storey water tower, designed by Robert Rawlinson had its foundation stone laid in 1877 by another Princess of Wales. The ground and first floors used to be home to the keeper, who maintained a watchful eye on the flues from every fireplace that passed through the huge iron tank. They apparently stopped the water from freezing.
Nowadays, an ornate terrace graces the top of the tank with views across miles of fenland. On a clear day, you can even glimpse the Wash, as befits this aquatic accommodation. There's an open fire and a touch of stateliness to the decor. Sleeps up to four people. Dogs are welcome, especially corgis.
Price: Self-catering; from £243 depending on length of stay and season.
Available through: The Landmark Trust, Shottesbrooke, Maidenhead, Berkshire, SL6 3SW.
Tel: 01628 825925.
Website: www.landmarktrust.co.uk
The Old Church of Urquhart, Morayshire
This 1843 church perched on top of a hill in two acres of glorious grounds is divine. A sympathetic conversion retains many original features of its past existence, such as the wooden wainscoting in the bedrooms, the timber pillars in the bar/ games area and the stone tracery on the windows.
Fortunately, the owners had the sense to double- glaze and install central heating, so whatever else gets to you, it won't be the cold. There are four bedrooms and a self-contained apartment under the old altar with a separate entrance through the vestry.
For those wishing to venture outside, there's local pony trekking, fishing, golf and a chance to see the Moray dolphins from the shore or by boat. And you won't even need change for the collection.
Price: £20 to £27.50pp a night B&B; self-catering apartment is £150 to £350 depending upon number of people sharing and the season. Special offers available for short breaks.
Proprietor: Andreas Peter.
Address: Parrandier, Meft Road, Urquhart by Elgin, Morayshire IV30 8NH.
Tel: 01343 843 063.
The Temple, near Bridgnorth, Shropshire
Completely secluded and resting on the edge of a cliff, the first-floor sitting room of this stunning folly opens on to a colonnaded balcony. To reach the intimate double bedroom, you need to scale the spiral staircase, but the climb and the privacy make it well worth while.
Built in 1783 by the architect James Wyatt, it was originally intended to complement Badger Hall as somewhere to take tea and admire the view. Approached via a tree-lined carriageway over a bridge, the Temple lies within Badger Dingle, a superb wooded landscape created by William Emes, a student of Capability Brown.
The tea theme lasted until the late 1930s when the Capel Cure family used the folly to hold an annual ritual, where they would swap roles for the day and wait upon their servants at a grand tea party.
Price: from £240 to £545, depending upon length of stay and season. Self-catering; unsuitable for the very elderly or infirm; children over 16 only.
Available through: The Vivat Trust, 61 Pall Mall, London SW1Y 5HZ.
Tel: 020-7930 8030.
Website: www.vivat.org.uk
Tower Fortified House, Flintshire
How about staying in a haunted house? This last remaining fortified house on the Welsh/English border may well qualify since the mayor of Chester was hanged in 1465 from the barrel-vaulted ceiling in what is now the dining room.
There are mullioned windows, lots of antiques and the accommodation is comfortable with big beds. Four acres of formal gardens provide a superb backdrop.
Price: £30 per person per night.
Proprietor: Stephanie Walsh.
Address: Tower, Nercwys, Mold, Flintshire CH7 4EW.
Tel: 01352 700220.
