The Hayloft

The Hayloft is part of Hopgrove Farm Cottages, a cluster of converted 18th-century farm buildings arranged around a landscaped courtyard on the eastern edge of York. You reach it by a private drive that cuts through open fields, and by the time you park up, the city feels like it belongs to another postcode. It doesn't. York centre is two miles down the road.

Inside, the cottage is spread over two floors with a proper sense of space for six. The ground floor has an open-plan kitchen and dining room with an electric oven, gas hob, dishwasher, and fridge-freezer, so you can self-cater properly without running out of worktop. The living room has an electric fire and enough room to stretch out after a day on your feet. One king-size bedroom sits on the ground floor with its own shower room, useful for anyone who'd rather skip the stairs. They are steep and narrow, a proper old-building quirk worth knowing about before you book.

Upstairs, two more bedrooms fill the first floor: one king-size and one twin, sharing a bathroom with a full-size bath. A cot and highchair are available if you're bringing a young one along.

Outside is where this place earns its keep. A hot tub and sauna for six sit in the shared grounds, and after a full day walking York's cobbled streets, the combination is hard to beat. Most cottages give you one or the other. This one gives you both, with a choice of two hot tubs depending on availability. Pool, air hockey, board games, and darts fill the games room and keep teenagers busy for hours. The grounds are big enough for barbecues and football in summer, with nets already up on the playing field.

Mike, the host, leaves milk and bread in the cottage before you arrive and checks in to make sure you have everything. He knows the area well and is always happy to point you in the right direction.

Getting into York couldn't be simpler. The Park and Ride is practically on the doorstep, with regular buses taking about fifteen minutes into the centre, so you never need to deal with city parking. There's a Toby Carvery across the road for an easy evening, and a pub 200 yards from the front door. Shops are a mile away, but the nearby retail park has most things covered. York Minster, the JORVIK Viking Centre, and the cobbled lanes of the Shambles are straightforward day trips. Castle Howard is ten miles out, and the North Yorkshire Moors Railway at Pickering is 25 miles if you want a day beyond the city walls.

There's private parking for two cars and WiFi throughout the cottage. It's the kind of place that feels properly rural, where open fields and an 18th-century courtyard make you forget you're on the edge of one of England's great cities.