"Leaving your holiday plans to the last minute can either be smart if you can pick up a bargain, or

It used to be the case that in the dreary us airways cheap airline tickets days of January, as drizzle smattered the windows, we’d drool over blue-sky brochures and choose our summer holiday. No longer, as last-minute booking is now far more popular, if a bit perilous.
“Leaving your holiday plans to the last minute can either be smart if you can pick up a bargain, or very expensive if you find the thing you really us airways cheap airline tickets want and it’s already gone, says Robin Sheppard, chairman of Bespoke Hotels.
Live the Postman Pat dream at Sunnybrae East Cottage, Yorkshire Dales , in the stone-built former Post Office in Swaledale, near the village of Reeth. us airways cheap airline tickets It sleeps five and you can bring your dog. Through Sykes Cottages , with ten per cent off the normal weekly rental price for weeks left in July and August. From £474 a week.
Rooke Cottages (below), near Padstow in Cornwall, have a Courtyard cottage sleeping eight in four en-suite bedrooms (ideal for two families) and a garden with decked area and garden furniture. A 14-night break for eight, arriving 19 July, costs £4,240, saving £1,060. Through Premier Cottages .
Short but sweet, a two-night summer break at Bodysgallen Hall Spa Llandudno, North Wales, is £260 per person including unlimited wallowing in its spa, dinner allowance, and full Welsh breakfast each day. Through Bodysgallen .
You’ll have to get there before the end of July, but the Quay Hotel Spa in Deganwy, north Wales, is offering a 20 per cent discount on selected stays so from £74.50pp including dinner, one night’s accommodation and full Welsh breakfast. Quote ‘Hello Summer’ us airways cheap airline tickets on booking, through Quay Hot el .
The Lugger Hotel in Portloe looks over the Cornish ocean and serves up the sea in its restaurant: shellfish, lobster and crab. It’s available us airways cheap airline tickets Sundays to Thursdays until 31 August. From £99 per room per night for a Classic room. Through Bespoke Hotels .
Villas in the UK can be a hit-and-miss and/or expensive, but near Padstow on Cornwall’s groovy north coast are these four-star, stylish villas. us airways cheap airline tickets They sleep up to five adults and one child and have gardens and widescreen tellies. Price per villa per night is reduced for a two-night stay to £297. You can bring the dog.  Through Bay Retreat Villas , or phone 01637 839545.
us airways cheap airline tickets Low House (below) at Eskrigge in the Lune Valley, Lancashire, has a cottage sleeping eight people in four bedrooms and private garden with The Prisoner-style giant chess and draughts board, and a seven-seater us airways cheap airline tickets outdoor hot tub. Three-night weekends, four-night mid-week breaks throughout July and August for eight people are available now at a lowered us airways cheap airline tickets price of £1,260. Adults only, and no pets allowed. Through Premier Cottages .
PGL was called ‘Parents Get Lost’, but now its family adventure holiday is for the whole gang, with children going free. It’s best for those with children aged five years up to 18, so is good for blended families with age gaps between children, and has opportunities for the children to be looked after. A week at Barton Hall in Devon starting on 26 July is reduced to £930. There is access to an outdoor heated pool, dry ski slope, watersports and more. Through PGL . Quote PGF2, or phone 0844 371 2424.