Castles to barn conversions- 12 of the best UK holiday pads for large groups

We pick gorgeous country pads, from Pembrokeshire to the Peak District, that make perfect bases for groups of friends and family get-togethers Tim Dowling’s tips for a successful multigen holiday We hired the entire hostel
Rachel DixonSat 19 Oct 2024 06.00 EDTLast modified on Sat 19 Oct 2024 06.04 EDTShareRedford Farm Barns, ShropshireOn a farm eight miles from Ludlow, these two beautifully converted and adjoining Victorian redbrick barns sleep nine and four respectively, with room for two more in the new shepherd’s hut. There is a huge open space for living, dining and cooking, with two ovens, two fridges and a big round dining table. A former stable is now a cosy bar with a woodburner, piano and dartboard. The wellness area has a wood-fired sauna, cold plunge bath and outdoor shower. Up to five dogs are welcome – and can run free in the fenced garden and livestock-free field. Ludlow is a foodie hotspot, with a market packed with local food producers on six days a week.Sleeps 15, from £2,691 for three nights redfordfarmbarns.co.uk
Barn Drift, NorfolkView image in fullscreenWhat was once a cattle shed is now unrecognisable as a lovely eight-bedroom Norfolk flint house. It has a dining hall seating up to 45, a modern kitchen and a drawing room with woodburner, and some rooms have roll-top baths. Outside are three linked walled gardens with olive and fig trees and roses and a Big Green Egg for barbecuing. Barn Drift is at the end of a track on a family farm, 20 minutes’ walk through the marshes from the beach, and great birdwatching territory. Cley next the Sea is a 10-minute walk for delis and pubs, and guests can continue along the coastal path to see the seals at Blakeney.Sleeps 16, from £4,000 for three nights, sawdays.co.uk
St Marks Stays, Yorkshire DalesView image in fullscreen Photograph: Joanne WithersThis grand former vicarage, built in 1872, has been tastefully renovated by its photographer and architect owners. It has eight bedrooms – six en suite and two sharing a bathroom – plus a kitchen, two living rooms, a dining room and a studio for yoga or arts activities. Set in three-quarters of an acre at the foot of Howgill Fells, it also offers a firepit, egg chairs and hammocks in the garden (and an ice bath for Wim Hof wannabes). Cautley Spout, England’s highest waterfall, is a short walk away, and the market town of Sedbergh is a five-minute drive.Sleeps 16, from £1,240 for two nights or £2,950 a week, stmarksstays.co.uk
The Sail Loft, AberdeenshireView image in fullscreenThis former sail- and rope-making loft, which dates back to the 1700s, in the seaside village of Portsoy, is a good choice for very large groups, as it can sleep 27. Now a four-star hostel, the accommodation also includes a Georgian house and two cottages, and was restored by a local community enterprise. Rooms sleep three, four and six, with ample space to hang out in the open-plan kitchen, dining area and lounge. There is secure storage for 25 bikes, a wood-fired hot tub and a walled garden with a barbecue. The Sail Loft overlooks Links Bay beach on the Moray Firth – perfect for coastal walks and cycles – and guests can join a boat-building workshop. You may even spot the northern lights!Sleeps 27, £1,200 for two nights, portsoysailloft.org
Thirlestane Castle, Scottish BordersView image in fullscreen Photograph: Phil WilkinsonGroups can now hire an entire wing of one of Scotland’s oldest occupied castles, the 16th-century, turreted and towered Thirlestane. The opulent south wing includes five private apartments and a shared Victorian kitchen. Guests can also hire reception rooms such as the state dining room, which is hung with portraits by artists George Romney and Peter Lely. The castle is closed to the public from October to the end of April, so residents have the castle grounds and the wider woodland and parkland all to themselves. It is just a mile from the market town of Lauder, which has plenty of cafes, shops and pubs.Sleeps 16, from £4,850 for three nights, crabtreeandcrabtree.com
Milden Hall, SuffolkView image in fullscreen Photograph: Lucy J TomsMilden Hall is a 200-hectare family farm near Lavenham, and the magnificent Tudor barn is ideal for groups who are happy to sleep Tudor-style – in a largely open-plan setting, in four-posters, doubles and singles dotted around the barn and on a mezzanine. For those who prefer more privacy, the adjoining cart lodge and potting shed have a few private rooms. Guests can stage a Tudor feast on long banqueting tables, complete with wooden platters and goblets and a roaring fire (or book a local chef to do the hard work) – and even dress up in period costumes (more than 50 are available). The farm also has a modern bunkhouse, sleeping 22 in five bedrooms.Sleeps 25, two-night weekends from £1,600, thehall-milden.co.uk
Gupton Farm Surf Lodge, PembrokeshireView image in fullscreen Photograph: Paul HarrisThis former farmstead is now a National Trust holiday home for surfers, a short walk from Freshwater West, which has some of Wales’s best waves. It is simple but comfortable, with a kitchen/diner and a table for 10 people, a living room with a woodburner, three twin bedrooms, one double, and a shower room and a bathroom. There’s a small garden with a barbecue surrounded by 325 hectares of farmland. The lodge is on the Gupton Farm campsite, so more people can stay nearby in tents and campervans. The Outer Reef surf school is based here too, if anyone needs a lesson. Other Pembrokeshire beaches, including Barafundle Bay and West Angle, are within easy reach for kayaking, coasteering, and coastal and beach walks.Sleeps 10, from £454 for three nights or £699 a week, groupaccommodation.com
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Wye Valley Bunkhouse, PowysView image in fullscreenThis Grade II-listed Welsh Baptist chapel has seen a complete change of personality, into a contemporary fun house complete with a spiral slide from the first floor, and table tennis and pool tables. The large lounge has a woodburner and the kitchen/dining area has a long table with benches to seat a crowd; the huge chapel windows fill the space with light. Most guests sleep in smart bunkbeds, but there is also one double room and another with four singles. The bunkhouse is in the village of Glasbury, beside the River Wye and at the foot of the Black Mountains. Wye Valley Canoes is next door for trips down the river, and it is three miles to the bookshop mecca of Hay-on-Wye.Sleeps 18, from £1,920 for a three-night weekend, coolstays.com
The Cider Press, SomersetView image in fullscreen Photograph: Nikolas DostThis converted barn is now a 10-bedroom luxury retreat. The kitchen and dining area has floor-to-ceiling windows, bifold doors and a long dining table overlooking the garden, and there is a games room with a vaulted ceiling and a snooker table, projector wall and open fire. Best of all, there’s a heated indoor pool – and the tennis court in the grounds is a big draw too. The property is on 100 acres of private land near the village of Stawley. Guests receive a welcome hamper of local produce, including bread, milk, honey, eggs and fizz.Sleeps 20, from £5,750 for two nights, sandandstoneescapes.com
Dalehead Bunkhouse, Peak DistrictView image in fullscreen Photograph: Paul Harris/National TrustGroups can get off the beaten track at this cosy stone National Trust bunkhouse deep in the Edale valley, reached via a narrow lane. There are three dormitories with bunkbeds, two communal shower rooms, a kitchen and a living/dining area with a logburner, sofas and tables for up to 20, lots of exposed brick, rustic beams and low doorways. The small garden is bordered by a stream. Beyond is farmland, moorland and great walking: Mam Tor is within hiking distance and the jagged gritstone of Dark Peak can be reached on foot in an hour. Two dogs are welcome to stay too.Sleeps 20, three-night weekend from £1,268, nationaltrust.org.uk
Papple Steading, East LothianView image in fullscreen Photograph: Tracey BloxhamPapple Steading near Haddington, 17 miles east of Edinburgh, comprises a farmhouse and cottage (both sleeping eight) and two bothies (each sleeping two), and from next year a restored granary (sleeping six). Each of the four properties has a kitchen with an Aga, and the farmhouse has a drawing room and a dining room seating 22. There is a chill-out wing with library, TV room and garden room, and exclusive use of two hectares (six acres) of lawns, paddocks and woodland. Evenings can be spent around the firepit by the ruins of the Papple Convent. The wider grounds have a wildflower meadow and another seven hectares of woodland. And from Drem station, 10 miles away, it’s a 25-minute train journey to Edinburgh.Sleeps 20, from £3,987 for three-night weekend or four nights midweek, crabtreeandcrabtree.com
Calverley Old Hall, West YorkshireView image in fullscreen Photograph: John MillerThis mansion, which dates from the 1320s, has been owned by the Landmark Trust since 1981, but guests were only able to stay in the north wing. Now, after a massive restoration project, the whole site is available to hire. That includes the Great Hall with its 15th-century hammerbeam roof, and a newly discovered Tudor painted chamber. There is wood panelling, inglenook fireplaces, a gallery and all the nooks and crannies to be expected from 700 years of history. The hall has three doubles and two twin bedrooms, and is in the village of Calverley, about seven miles from Leeds.Sleeps 10, three nights from £1,567, landmarktrust.org.uk