New Year's Eve cottages & getaways

Why celebrate in a cottage for New Year's Eve?

A cottage turns New Year's Eve into a proper occasion: a fire going, a hot tub for midnight, a long table for dinner and a view worth waking up to on New Year's Day. Not to mention plenty of inspiring options for that classic New Year's Day walk. It's the comfort of home without the routine, and none of the compromises of a hotel like noisy corridors or restrictive dinner times. If you're coming as a group, larger properties sleep 10, 20 or more under one roof, which makes the whole thing considerably easier and usually better value than booking separate rooms. If you're travelling as a couple, you can prioritise luxury touches like a private hot tub, a crackling log fire or a sea view. And if you'd rather leave the cooking to someone else, you can book a private chef for the night.

Hogmanay celebrations in Scotland

When it comes to New Year's Eve, no one does it quite like Scotland. The Scots don't just celebrate New Year's Eve, they invented their own version of it. Hogmanay is a days-long affair running from 30 December through to 2 January, rooted in ancient midwinter traditions, with ceilidhs, street parties, the singing of Auld Lang Syne at midnight and the custom of first-footing: visiting neighbours after midnight bearing gifts of coal, whisky or shortbread. Both 1 and 2 January are public holidays in Scotland, giving you a longer natural break than you'd get anywhere else in the UK. A cottage in the Scottish Highlands makes the most of it all: the drama of the landscape, the warmth of local celebrations and a base that's entirely your own for the whole trip.

New Year's Eve for large groups

New Year's Eve is a great excuse to get everyone together: old friends, extended families, the kind of group that needs a proper house rather than a block of hotel rooms or uncomfortable blow-up beds. Large group cottages sleeping 10, 20 or more come with the space to match: long dining tables, games rooms, hot tubs, indoor pools and enough sofas for everyone to collapse on come New Year's Day. Let the celebrations begin!