Seacrest Lodge

Seacrest Lodge sits between the two halves of South Cliff golf course, on a quiet residential street two miles from Scarborough town centre. It is a big, modern dormer bungalow with wraparound gardens, and the first thing that hits you is the conservatory. Floor-to-ceiling glass looks out over rolling green countryside with the sea on the horizon. First thing in the morning, you sit in here with a coffee and don't move for an hour.

The sitting room is properly set up for evenings. Leather reclining sofas, a living-flame gas fire set in a limestone surround, a 60-inch TV, and a Bose surround sound system that fills the room. Twenty people end up together here after dinner, and nobody drifts off to bed early. During the day, the house has enough separate rooms that everyone can spread out: the conservatory for the view, a sun room off the back of the kitchen for reading quietly, and a formal dining room.

The kitchen has granite floors, a full range of cooking equipment, and two fridges, which counts when you are feeding twenty. A breakfast table for six handles the morning shift. The dining room seats eighteen and earns its keep at a birthday or Christmas, when the whole family actually sits down together.

Eight bedrooms are split across two floors. Two have en-suites. A family suite on the first floor works for parents with young ones, and there is a cot, highchair, changing table, and stair gate available. One bedroom is tucked through the double garage, easy to miss on first look, but a useful extra space. Soundproofing between rooms is good enough that music in the living areas doesn't carry through to the bedrooms.

Outside, the enclosed wraparound gardens are the reason this house works for families with dogs and small children. Solid boundaries all the way round, a proper lawn, sun loungers, garden furniture, and a hot tub that seats eight with colour-changing lights. On a summer evening, the adults are in the hot tub and the kids are on the grass, and nobody has to worry about where anyone has gone. Six dogs are welcome, which is unusual for a property this size. Parking takes five cars comfortably on a private driveway with no permits needed, plus there is a remote-controlled double garage.

Phil and Sam, the owners, get in touch after you arrive to check everything is in order. They are around if anything comes up, but you won't see them unless you need to.

The beach footpath starts fifty yards down the lane and connects to the coastal walks along the Cleveland Way. Scarborough's North Bay and South Bay are both a short drive, with the castle between them and the Open Air Theatre below. For a day out, Flamborough Head has dramatic cliff walks and a lighthouse worth the trip, and Mathewsons Classic Cars at Thornton-le-Dale is worth a detour if anyone in the group watches Bangers and Cash. The North Yorkshire Water Park at Wykeham has paddleboarding, zip lines, and an inflatable obstacle course on the lake. It will fill an afternoon and tire everyone out.