Last August, the average price of a two-bedroom cottage in Cornwall – the priciest region in England – was £1,145 a week. Meanwhile, a seven-night rental in County Durham or neighbouring Tyne and Wear was more than £600 less – just £512 on average.
Unsurprisingly, the school summer holidays are the priciest period for holiday lets, but even if you have to holiday in the high season, you can save a fortune by avoiding the most popular regions.
We gathered the prices of nearly 150,000 cottages in England, Scotland and Wales for a peak week in August 2023 over 10 weeks.
The data showed that the most expensive places to rent a cottage - after Cornwall - were the Cotswolds, South Wales, Dorset and Oxfordshire. A two-bedroom let in each was more than £950 a week.
In the cheapest regions of Glasgow and The Clyde Valley, County Durham/Tyne and Wear, Staffordshire and various others, the average price of a two-bedroom rental was less than £650 for seven nights (see below for the cheapest locations).
Cheapest holiday cottage locations last summer
undefinedPrices of popular cottage holiday locations last summer
undefinedCheap self-catering holidays in County Durham and Tyne and Wear
Lake District holiday cottages versus breaks in Cumbria
A staggering 16 million people are drawn to the glorious mountains and glassy lakes of the Lake District National Park every year. But it’s not cheap. Last summer, visitors who booked a cottage inside the national park typically paid £780 for the week.
However, stay just outside the national park in Cumbria (£617) and you could save £160 for a week-long stay. Green fields stretch for miles in Cumbria’s Eden Valley, with the River Eden flowing peacefully through. Or find a spot close to glacial Ullswater - the second largest lake in England at nine miles long.
Holiday cottages in Scotland - where's cheap?
In general, Scotland’s cottages were cheaper by £130 a week than holiday lets in England or Wales last summer.
Holiday cottages in Wales - where’s cheap?
With Snowdonia in the north of the country home to the highest Welsh peak, Mid Wales is more overlooked as a holiday destination. But this large section of Wales is home to the Cardigan Bay coastline, where you may be able to spot the big populations of dolphins and porpoises. Further inland, you can hike the quiet paths across the Cambrian mountains by day - an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty - and stargaze by night; the hills have some of the darkest skies in Europe. And because the area is sparsely populated, you’re more likely to find peace and quiet than in other areas of Wales.
Save on your group self-catering holiday by renting a few smaller cottages
Large families and groups could save by booking two or three smaller cottages instead of one large one. The average price of a five-bedroom let was £2,524 last summer – that’s more than triple the cost of a two-bedroom cottage (£827).
Our research
source https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/cheap-holiday-cottages-uk-find-bargain-this-summer-aBhUA7T9bSCT