When it comes to hosting yoga and Pilates retreats, nothing works so well as renting a big house as your venue. First off, as a retreat organiser, you have complete autonomy and your schedule is 100% flexible. For your guests, it’s the perfect blend of shared living with private spaces, and they have access to luxury amenities and peaceful natural landscapes. Sleeps12 is a great option for retreats, with large holiday houses sleeping up to 30 that have dedicated spaces for yoga and Pilates.

If you’re taking a holiday in Somerset this summer, a trip to the beach is probably high on your list. The 64 mile coastline is so varied, with wide stretches of sand for family fun, quiet bays with dramatic scenery, peaceful harbours, and beaches that are great for early morning dog walks and spectacular sunsets. From traditional seaside fun to the wild and remote, our guide to the 10 best beaches on the Somerset coast has it all covered.

There’s something very magical about the Somerset Levels. When you stay here for your group holidays in the West Country, it soon gets a hold on you. The unique wetland landscape is dotted with peaceful villages, the wide-open fields, the rivers and tranquil nature reserves are a dream. These long summer evenings are perfect for a stroll; this is where time slows down, inviting you to embrace the laid-back pace of life. These are memories in the making.

If you’re heading to Gloucestershire for your group holiday this summer, you might be thinking about days out and places to visit. You’ll be spoilt for choice – this is a county packed with child-friendly attractions for family days out, country houses with gorgeous gardens, upbeat towns, picturesque villages and the lushest countryside for walks and picnics. Check out our round-up of things to see and do, make it unforgettable.

This month we’ve been talking to Gary, the owner of Shires, finding out what inspired him to design and build this large access friendly holiday house. Once part of a busy dairy farm, Shires is tucked away at the bottom of a long winding lane in East Devon’s beautiful Axe Valley. The house sleeps up to 14 and has an indoor pool, hot tub and sauna, a games room, movie room and year-round BBQ lodge. Accessible features include a wheelchair lift to the south-facing sun terrace, an access friendly bedroom and wet room, an intercom system for caregivers and level flooring. 

If you’re heading down to East Devon for your large group family holiday this year, it helps to be organised. Keeping kids of all ages happy and entertained throughout your stay is no easy task. If your holiday house has a pool, games room, movie room or a large garden, it’ll be a winner, but what about days out? Well, the good news is that East Devon has plenty to keep the teens and the tots smiling, ensuring family happiness all round.

At Sleeps12 we believe that unforgettable holidays and weekends away in the UK are for everyone. No one should miss out on the fun, the happy times or the memories, so we ask our property owners to do what they can to make our self-catering large group holiday houses accessible to all. This isn’t always easy, so some of our properties are more access friendly than others.

There’s something quite magical about standing beneath a sky full of stars – it’s so humbling to gaze upwards, picking out the constellations, seeing the sweep of the Milky Way, and, probably, a meteor or two. It stays with you, etched on your memory, how infinite this is, how wide the universe. One of the best places in the UK for stargazing is Exmoor National Park, designated as Europe’s first International Dark Sky Reserve in October 2011.

Who doesn’t love going out for a Sunday roast? It’s one of the great British staples and done right it’s all you need for the day, your belly filled with hale and hearty food. It’s even better when the meat and veg are all local – like at The Martlet Inn at Langford Budville, within walking distance of some of the Sleeps12 luxury group holiday houses in Somerset. This Sunday they’ll be serving lamb that’s been raised and grazed in the fields just down in the valley by Sleeps12 owners Jessica and Ashley Vellacott.

In a sequestered spot at the edge of woodlands, Menagerie House was once part of the Castle Hill Estate, just a stone’s throw from the peaceful village of Filleigh in North Devon. When owners Issy and Charlie found it in 2019 the house was very much neglected; after a painstaking restoration, they’ve created a space that truly reflects their passion for unique historic houses. Full of calm and character, this is a very special place for guests to relax and enjoy unforgettable gatherings with friends and family.