…NOT "cottaging" websites 😉

Any ideas/recommendations for sites for cottage hire bar google? Cottages4you seems OK, but there are million of others.

Egnlish tourist board website? Or Scottish, or wherever it is you want to do your cottaging.

I used Cottages4you a few years back and they seemed fine. They're only an agency really so I guess the quality of the cottage you end up in is very much down to the owner. The one we rented in the Cotswolds was really nice.

Ta. Does £470 for a 2-bed (nice looking, remote) place for 1 week in August sounds steep?

I guess it depends where it is. We paid something like £360 for a week in a small 1 bed cottage in the Cotswolds at the beginning of September. It was a very old period cottage in a prime location which will always add a few quid – I thought it was quite pricy, but it seemed about average for that type of accomadation. I think cottages in the UK seem to be expensive compared with France for example. £470 doesn't sound too bad I guess for August. I think about £50 is agency fee's.

Ta. Does £470 for a 2-bed (nice looking, remote) place for 1 week in August sounds steep?

Sounds cheap to me!!

Very cheap – looking at Cornwall for 2 + 2 infants and it is around £800 a week in August.

Seriously considering going abroad now.

Where?! Totally depends – Cornwall for example has a few local only companies that are brilliant. No nationwide website covers them.

For Cornwall, you'd be hard pressed to beat these:

http://www.nicheretreats.co.uk/home

Very nicely decked out (we stayed in Mounts Bay for a week when our boy was quite young) to a high level and the service is superb.

But yes they are all pricey – expect £800++ for anything decent.

Seriously considering going abroad now.

Me too (£50 to take the car to France!). I guess it's supply and demand, but we don't seem to do ourselves any favours in this country when trying to encourage people to stay here for their holidays.

http://www.cottaging.co.uk

is this what you are after?

What you need is the new iCottage 😉

but we don't seem to do ourselves any favours in this country when trying to encourage people to stay here for their holidays.

Totally agree – two weeks in a cottage in Cornwall is more expensive than two weeks all-inclusive in Spain. Not quite the same sort of holiday granted, but we are on a budget this year. Madness.

Quality Cottages are decent for West Wales / Pembrokeshire.

But I agree on the prices, I don't even like to stay in the more popular locations and the prices are touching £1000 for a 3 bed in school holidays. But it's the same all over – my Belgian colleagues pay around £90 – 100 a night for a hotel here, I pay around €60 for a room slap bang in the middle of Antwerp.

I see a lot more camping in my future, and possibly a van, wouldn't take long to pay for itself at these rates.

english country cottages have worked out very well for me in the past.

Thanks all. Am looking @ Argyle at the moment, wwill prob stick to Scotland, not going near Cornwall if it's £800! (Spent 4 nights in a Landmark Trust place there for£200 in Feb!)

Oh and kimbers, try googling "meatspin".

Used Welcome Cottages (mainly for Irelend) for years now, never had a problem, cottages always match or exceed thier descriptions.

Found a great place in Devon with Toad Hall Cottages last year. And they're decent folk when you call up with questions etc.

For the west country, we've used http://www.helpfulholidays.com/ a few times in the distant past – how prices compare now I've no idea..

Ft William in august for 2 plus dog is £550 which I thought was steep but seemed going rate.

Prices – most decent places are fully booked most of the year round. So why make them cheaper?

Fair enough Matt, guess I should be thankful.

£200 is a flipping bargain – grab it! Argyle is lush too.