Manor House Farm Self Catering Cottage

Down a lane in a hamlet with views to the Weaver Hills, find an old piggery characterfully converted, with a pitched roof swathed in creeper. You get your own garden and access to the owners’ alongside yours – a great plus: there’s summer croquet, lawn tennis, and a pretty orchard to wander. Inside is one open space, cosy with wood-burner and surprisingly lofty. Expect masses of open brickwork and stone, antique furniture .This is a great little place for those seeking big views and peace: you are on the edge of 170 acres grazed by rare-breed cattle and sheep. Rustle up something delicious in your brand new kitchen , then settle in for the night. There’s a lovely old four-poster in the little oak-panelled bedroom, and, up a few steps, a snug twin – plus beams to duck. The charming owners will pop in once you’ve settled, and know the area like the back of their hand. Alton Towers is two miles away but, for walkers, the Peak District National Park is the greater draw. Chatsworth and Haddon Hall are enticingly close.

A working rare-breed farm in an area of great beauty, a Jacobean farmhouse with oodles of history. Behind mullioned windows is an interior crammed with curios and family pieces, panelled walls and wonky floors… hurl a log on the fire and watch it roar. Rooms with views have four-posters; one bathroom flaunts rich red antique fabrics. The house sits on a north-facing slope and the three-acre garden runs out on the south side into a series of five terraces, each one topped by neatly clipped yews. Chris inherited the house, then set to expand and improve the garden into a place of exploration, rest and relaxation; many seats are dotted here and there for lovely views. There is humour and quirk too: an extensive perennial border sports a huge stone table which was once part of the entrance to Lancaster’s municipal baths, and an old goods railway carriage is now a garden summerhouse. Yew trees, hedge walls and terraces mean that you have to wander to see the full value of the garden, and guests are encouraged to stay as long as they want. Chris and Margaret are passionate hosts who serve great breakfasts too – eggs from their allotement hens, sausages and bacon from their pigs . A peaceful place.