Just where do the Brits head off to when they want some peace and quiet with a side-serve of whacky?

The House in the Sea

Once home to Oliver Joseph Lodge, inventor of the spark plug, and accessed via a 70ft-high suspension bridge, this red-roofed Cornish marvel has become a luxe B&B, one complete with two decks, a storm-watching snug, billiards and a 40" telly. Essentially a private island, it's close to south-west England's surf capital Newquay, which has air links to London. Details....

A House For Essex

Living Architecture commissions unique properties across southern England, then opens them up for rental. Due in spring 2015, this typically colourful vision of abstract British artist Grayson Perry hopes to evoke traditions of pilgrimage chapels. Lining the River Stour, it's close to the North Essex coast, 75 minutes north-east of London by train.

Big Green Bus

Named with admirable matter-of-factness, this large and lime-coloured double-decker accommodates up to six. Among its perks are board games, outdoor decking and a fireplace (logs are supplied), while facilities include baths, showers, bunk beds and a kitchen. The location is a West Sussex woodland site where yoga and creative-writing retreats regularly take place, while nearby Lewes is 70 minutes away from London by train.

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Cley Windmill

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White latticed sails? Check. Dreamy setting? Check. Charming original interiors like beamed ceilings? Check. Ticking all the main windmill boxes, this 18th-century tower turned nine-room hotel-and-restaurant also boasts an ideal eastern England location: within sight of Blakeney Point, where thousands of seal pups spend winter. King's Lynn, a gateway town for North Norfolk with its direct trains to London, is 40 miles away. Details...
 

The Eye Pod

Despite the name, this wacky spherical unit - claimed to be a world-first - isn't owned by Apple, but rather The Willows, a far-North Wales caravan park and campsite, three hours' drive from Liverpool. While Wi-Fi access, dimmer lighting and a DVD player provide techno creature comforts, the headline-grabbing glass dome allows for a more old-fashioned distraction: glorious stargazing. 

With two opening porthole windows, large double doors and the dome, the Eye-PodTM  is very light and airy by day, and at night , warm, cosy and extremely romantic. Sleeping two adults it is the perfect get away.

Located in the campsite's child free area, the Eye-PodTM is set in a sheltered corner, with it's own picnic bench and parking area. 

The Old Church of Urquhart

Always wanted to sleep in a church? Then your prayers have been answered. Dating to 1843, the imposing, perpendicular ‘Parrandier' is now a homely B&B, complete with two lounges, a restaurant and original windows overlooking gardens and ‘a sea of stormy farmland'. Known for malt whisky and Elgin Castle, this corner of Scotland is accessed via Inverness's international airport, 40 miles away. Details...

The Pineapple

Life doesn't throw up too many chances to stay inside a giant tropical fruit - but that's exactly what's on offer at Scotland's Dunmore Park, a stone-built folly around 45 minutes north of Edinburgh. Boasting a private garden, this pavilion typifies the sorts of eccentric property rescued and made available for rental by the Landmark Trust. Harbour defences, prisons, pigsties and abandoned railway stations are also on offer. 

Spitbank Fort

Thanks, Lord Palmerston. It was the paranoid Prime Minister who, in 1859, in fear of French attacks, commissioned three gun emplacements within southern England's Solent Strait - a half-hour boat-ride from Southampton. These days, Spitbank Fort is available to any 'invader' at £5,000 a night. That brings exclusive access to a champagne bar, restaurants, a rooftop hot pool, a sauna and nine luxurious suites.

Refurbished in 2012, Spitbank Fort, the smallest of the three Solent Forts, is already regarded as one of the world’s most unique venues, the ideal location for an exclusive use event, ideal for private parties, corporate hire and even licensed for weddings, Details....