The Courthouse Thorpeness, Suffolk

Superbly located in the heart of Thorpeness, this Mock Tudor property is close to the beach, shops and places to eat. Blending beautiful historic features with stylish modern furnishings, it’s a great choice for extended families or groups of friends looking for a coastal escape.

An open-plan living space with a three-storey vaulted ceiling is the magnificent centrepiece of this impressive holiday house, which also features striking beams and quaint leaded-light windows. A reverse-level design means this inviting space is on the first floor, a place where everyone will want to gather, whether it’s helping the cook at the breakfast bar in the superb kitchen, chatting around the dining table or snuggling up on the corner sofa in front of the TV and flame-effect gas fire. Tucked into one corner is a reading nook, and next to this a two-storey spiral staircase takes you up to a small mezzanine snug that overlooks the whole area. The four bedrooms are on the ground floor, all carefully designed with serene, muted tones. Three are king-size (one of which has an en-suite, wet-room-style shower room), and the fourth is a twin. There’s a family bathroom, which has a separate bath and wet-room shower, and a cloakroom with a WC and laundry facilities. Enjoy some sunshine in the open garden, where there’s a bijou patio area with a picnic table for an al fresco snack or drink.

You can walk everywhere in Thorpeness: cafes, a fabulous pub and local shops are all close at hand, not to mention The Meare, a shallow boating lake with islands that covers 60 acres. In this fascinating village, built in the 1920s, there are also tennis courts, an 18-hole golf course and extensive sports fields, with miles of mainly sandy beaches to explore and gorgeous countryside all around.