August bank holiday: 10 of the best last-minute breaks with availability
There’s still time to book something for next weekend
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Your support makes all the difference.Next week’s August bank holiday is your last chance to grab that summer feeling as this cloudy washout of a British summer draws to a close.
Though competition for lovely rentals, hotel rooms and short-haul breaks is high, the unpredictable nature of travel at the moment means there’s still availability both in the UK and abroad.
Try one of these tempting hideaways for a last hurrah.
The Farm at Avebury, Wiltshire
Fourth generation farmers are your hosts on this working farm and guesthouse in wholesome Avebury, in the heart of Neolithic Wiltshire. The rooms - set in renovated stables with light, modern decor using products from local designers and artisans - are set around a landscaped courtyard with a pergola, and you’re 40 minutes’ drive from Stonehenge and 35 from charming Lacock Abbey.
Two nights in a double room from £248.
Metropole Hotel & Spa, Mid Wales
Pop corks to celebrate your last-minute getaway in the under-the-radar spa town of Llandrindod Wells, Mid Wales - The Metropole’s ‘wine, dine and stay’ package includes a full breakfast, three-course dinner and a bottle of Prosecco. Its luminous, low-lit spa has saunas, steam rooms and indoor pools as well as treatments, while Brecon Beacons walks are on your doorstep.
Two nights from £380, based on two sharing.
The Bull Pen, Essex
An idyllic barn conversion in Lawford, near the Essex-Suffolk border, The Bull Pen is close to the dinky village of Dedham, Georgian houses, charming pubs, and boat hire on the River Stour. With a wood burner, Smart TV and DVD player, it doesn’t much matter if the sun is shining - you’ll still enjoy its cosy leather sofas and chunky wood beams.
A three-night break for two from 27 August costs £415.
Blue Vinnie campervan, Dorset
And now for something completely different: a cute VW camper van available to hire from Weymouth, Dorset. Vinnie sleeps two and is kitted out with smart wood panelling, a modern kitchen counter and slim fold-out bed, as well as a pantry, fridge and stereo - he’s also pet-friendly if you want to bring your trusty hound along.
Sleeps two from £90 per day.
25Hours Hotel Terminus Nord, Paris
For the heady heights of romance, it has to be Paris - and Eurostar still has train and hotel packages on its website for the bank holiday weekend. We like hip brand 25Hours, whose Terminus Nord hotel is right by the Gare du Nord station - perfect for a flying visit - and has bright, zesty rooms, a new pastel-pink, Persian-inspired restaurant, and smart bikes to rent for exploring on two wheels.
Three nights cost from £324 per person, including return Eurostar trains leaving on 27 August and returning 30 August.
2 Summerland Terrace, Devon
Walking distance from Kingswear’s quaint little harbour, this sweet terraced house sleeps four across two bedrooms, with tasteful beach-house-style furnishings and a suntrap patio garden. Close to Agatha Christie’s Devon home and lovely coast walks around Dartmouth, it’s a super base for getting out and about.
Three nights for four from 27 August costs £287 per person.
Shambino Music Festival
A smaller-scale take on Northamptonshire’s usual Shambala Festival, this pared-back weekend runs from 26-29 August with an alternative, hippie-chic slant. Expect live bands and poets, workshops, art installations, circus performers and dance classes set around peaceful meadows and woodland, in a location revealed to ticket holders just before the event.
Retro-style vintents sleeping four start from £375.
Trenance Farm House
For bigger groups that want to take a last-minute punt on a fabulous setting, Cornwall’s Trenance Farm House - sleeping 12 - is still available for a week over the bank holiday. A period farmhouse with bright-white, Scandi-chic interiors, a log burner and sea views, it’s an absolute stunner close to Cornwall’s glamorous Mawgan Porth beach.
A week for 12 people costs £4,765.
Three Bed Lodge - John O’Groats, Highlands
Get really, truly away from it all in the highest Highlands, for a fling at this three-bedroom, minimalist cabin in John O’Groats. The low-rise, open plan wooden lodge is surrounded by romantic Scottish wilderness, snuggly beds have tartan throws and huge floor-to-ceiling windows surround you with nature even when you’re not out on a hike. True ends-of-the-earth atmosphere.
Two nights for six people costs £1,299.
Casa Olea, Andalucia
In amber-list Europe, there are still rooms at the rustic Casa Olea boutique hotel in rural Andalucia - a handsome whitewashed B&B with a sun-drenched pool terrace, wrapped in dense countryside. Feast on Spanish food under the stars or venture out to Granada, Seville, or around the immediate Subbetica region. It’s an hour and 40 minutes’ drive from Malaga Airport.
A three-night break for two over the bank holiday costs £338, B&B, excluding flights.
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