Demand has never been greater – or prices higher – but we’ve found 10 last-minute stays with adventure on the doorstep
Alrewas is the kind of village where roses grow over whitewashed walls and candlelit pubs serve good old-fashioned pints. This half-timbered cottage, just steps from the canal, has a patio with wrought-iron chairs. There are 150 acres to explore in the National Memorial Aboretum, just a walk away, with a sensory play garden, Children’s Wood and Stick Man trail, not to mention poignant history. The arboretum launched a new free augmented reality app in March and an Outdoor Escape challenge opens on 29 May. Drayton Manor theme park and Tamworth Snowdome are both within 20 minutes’ drive and it is half an hour to Boscobel House, which has just reopened after a major upgrade. Besides a Victorian farm, an interactive trail and the oak tree where Charles II hid, there’s a new hide-and-seek themed playground.
• Sleeps 4, £969 for 7 nights from 28 May, welcomecottages.com Continue reading...
