Family Days Out 189

Staying Online at Your Holiday Cottage; We live in a constantly connected society and even when you’re on holiday you may need to keep at least some sort of link to the online world. When you’re going on holiday it’s important to be able to switch off to some extent, but there are many reasons why you might need or want to have access to an internet connection, not least to keep the kids happy (it’s usually the first thing they ask about!).

Cottage holidays in the UK offer a chance to get back in touch with your rural heritage, and few properties enable you to really feel like a part of country life like farm cottages do. Some are based on former farms and can give your holiday a truly rustic feel, while other are situated on actual working farms and will provide you with a unique insight into rural life.

Going on holiday is all about enjoying the things that you perhaps don’t have access to in your everyday life. That of course can refer to sights and attractions, beautiful walks, beaches and rural tranquillity. But it can also be features within your holiday cottage itself. Few things say luxury like a house with a swimming pool, and when combined with an idyllic cottage in a fine setting, the result can be truly relaxing and exhilarating in equal measure. You might pay a little more for a cottage with pool, but the extra relaxation benefits can be well worth it. Here we take a look at a number of attractive cottages with pools.

If you’re looking forward to a break with the family this year, a self-catering cottage could be the right choice. If you have a baby or younger children you will know the importance of well-equipped accommodation. It is also important to consider local amenities and where your self-catering cottage is located. Here are our top three tips for choosing the perfect self-catering cottage for your family holiday.

Thomas Hardy is Dorset’s most famous writer. Born in 1840 in a cottage in Higher Bockhampton near Dorchester, he had only a modest education but soon became one of the most famous and influential writers of his time.