The Old Mill Lodge

The Old Mill Lodge comes ready to use: electricity, bed linen and towels are all included, so you arrive to a property that's already set up for you. The single bedroom has distinctive wooden-clad walls; there's a shower room and a combined kitchen, dining and living space centred around a wood burner. A terrace faces the estuary, where you can watch the water and the occasional walker crossing the historic bridge nearby.

This is a two-person cottage on the Mawddach estuary in Gwynedd, within a mile of the coast. The Mawddach Trail—a cycle path following the old railway route—runs adjacent; Dolgellau, a market town with shops and a weekly farmers market, is two miles inland. Barmouth's sandy beaches lie further along the coast. The foothills of Cadair Idris and the broader Snowdonia landscape form the backdrop. The property doesn't allow smoking.