Holiday cottages

The South West region is probably England's most well-known holiday hotspot, being home to some of the most famous seaside resorts. Pretty villages and harbours in Cornwall, many with sweeping sandy beaches, such as St Ives, Polzeath and Port Isaac to name but a few, give way to sophisticated seaside resorts in Devon and Dorset which include Bournemouth, Torquay and Ilfracombe. The history of this region is unrivalled; Wiltshire's spectacular downland and the stone circles at Avebury and Stonehenge, through Hardy's Dorset, dramatic Dartmoor and gentler Exmoor, to the mining landscapes of Cornwall and West Devon, which are now recognised as being of international significance, having been awarded World Heritage Site status in 2006. The Trust protects 370 miles of the coastline in Devon and Cornwall and, wherever you are in the two far western counties, you're never more than 25 miles from the sea. As well as this peninsula, the Trust also cares for much of the countryside in Gloucestershire, Somerset, Wiltshire and Dorset and a wide array of fascinating properties to visit and explore. Not surprisingly, perhaps, this area is also home to the widest selection of National Trust holiday cottages.

Torbay is known as the English Riviera - and not only because of its mild climate. Its beaches and scenery have made this one of our most popular holiday destinations. Stretching from Torquay in the north, through Paignton to Brixham in the south, the scenery is a marked contrast to the rest of Devon, with an extraordinarily vibrant land ablaze with with the colours of the red sandstone cliffs, exotic semi-tropical plants growing in the warm atmosphere and the myriad greens and blues of the river estuaries burrowing their way deep into the pastoral landscape. National Trust properties in the area include Coleton Fishacre, with its magical garden and Art Deco holiday home and Greenway, the former holiday home of Agatha Christie with its secret garden and evocative house. Other National trust properties include Compton Castle and Bradley Manor and there's an endless list of other attractions to suit all ages including sandy beaches with excellent walking, watersports and boat hire, the resorts of Torquay, Brixham and Paignton, Paignton Zoo and Dartmouth Steam Railway.