Reimagining self-catered luxury

As we shake off our lockdown lethargy and look optimistically to a post-COVID world, Crabtree & Crabtree is coyly revealing itself as the vanguard of contemporary travel. Never before have the benefits of travelling within the UK and staying in a self-contained home been more highly prized. The very definition of luxury travel has been fundamentally altered. And, with a handpicked portfolio of luxurious self-catered holiday cottages dotted across the North East of England and South of Scotland, C&C has been ready for this moment all its life. 

Lilliard gin at a Crabtree & Crabtree holiday cottage in the Scottish Borders

A mezzanine level bedroom with wooden beams and pretty decor in a country cottage in Northumberland.

We’re the first to admit it: self-catering doesn’t have the most ultra-luxe ring to it. Having “staff” to scramble your eggs in the morning or whip up dinner while you go for a pre-prandial beach stroll definitely feels more indulgent than hunting through a foreign kitchen, looking in vain for a spatula while your eggs glue themselves to the pan.

However, all self-catering properties are not created equal. And that’s where we - your friendly yet compulsively pedantic C&C team - come in. We are merciless in separating the self-catered wheat from the chaff, picking out only the choicest holiday homes in the North East of England and South of Scotland. From charming cottages nestled at the end of leafy country lanes to whimsical beach houses offering essentially swim-in/swim-out access, with the occasional castle, converted bothy and elegant manor house thrown in for good measure, we’ve got the keys to your dream holiday house.  

Before handing over the keys, however, we inflict rigorous cleanliness, upkeep and family-friendly standards upon each of our properties. (If you’d like to hear about the latest hygiene measures that we’ve implemented across our portfolio in order to meet the government’s COVID guidelines, simply click here.) Believe us when we tell you that we’ve tested the softness of those linen sheets, tested that shower water pressure, scanned every inch of the garden fence for toddler-sized holes and made sure there’s a spatula lurking exactly where you think it should be. Being doggy people, we’ve also been sure to sniff out plenty of properties that welcome four-legged friends as warmly as they do two-legged ones.

Once we’ve ticked off the nitty gritty details and covered the basics (preparing your welcome hamper, making up the beds, laying the fire, arranging the toys in the nursery…), we tap into our tried & tested local service providers to offer you all the added luxuries you could wish for: a chef to rustle up those eggs; home delivery of delicious local foods and Corney & Barrow wines; a professional nanny to entertain the children; a photographer to catalogue your long-awaited family reunion; a massage therapist to rub away any lockdown tension knots… You name it, we’ve got the best person for the job on speed dial.

This pick & mix approach to additional services not only enables you to define your own luxury and manage the costs of your holiday, it also lets you determine exactly who enters into your space. And we fully understand that, in these uncertain times, such privacy is a luxury in itself.

First and foremost, all the team here at Crabtree & Crabtree are instinctively hospitable. We want to welcome you to this ruggedly beautiful part of the world we call home, and we want you to feel at home here. It’s in our nature to take care of the annoying logistics bits of organising a holiday so that you can embrace the fun, stuff-cooking-let’s-go-surfing-instead moments that create indelible memories. And goodness knows, we all deserve a touch of luxury and a post-lockdown ‘sun-drenched, windswept Ingrid Bergman kiss’ or two. 

School House, a red-roof holiday cottage for six guests on the banks of the River Tweed in the Scottish Borders.

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• Inspiration - Let us sow the seeds of your next adventure with our custom-made collections of handpicked holiday homes.
• Services - A helping hand during your stay.
• Activities - Live like a local with our insiders' guides to the region.