Get more than just bed and breakfast on a romantic UK break…in a pigsty.

Hotels in the country don’t have the monopoly on romance. For a truly memorable rendezvous for two, why not sleepover in the world’s most ornate pigsty, Britain’s only designer dovecote or a disused railway station?

Scotland: The Pineapple
It’s not every day you see a 200-year-old royal pavilion crowned by a 75-foot stone pineapple. The fruity embellishment was the brainchild of the Earl of Dunmore. In 1777, while travelling in the New World, the Great British eccentric heard that returning sailors announced their homecoming by hanging a pineapple on the gatepost. Back in Scotland, Dunmore copied the tradition and then some. The Pineapple sleeps four, so make the most of the space or take children or friends along for the ride. More

Yorkshire: The Pigsty
Thanks to a peculiar local squire, late nineteenth century Yorkshire pigs had the most stylish sty in history. These days the Doric columns and neo-classical façade of the former pen have been taken over by animals of the two-legged variety – holidaymakers forgoing luxury for beautiful views over the rolling hills towards Robin Hood’s Bay. The Pigsty sleeps two. More

West Sussex: The Railway Carriage
Relive the days of 1920s railway glamour with a night in a stationary carriage of the Orient Express. Double beds and shower cubicles have been squeezed into plush coaches dating from the Titanic era. Built in 1984, the adjacent former station house is now restored to its colonial splendour with an extensive library and a lavish lounge. Breakfast is served here in winter, on the platform in summer. More

Oxfordshire: The Dovecote
Once home to hundreds of eighteenth century pigeons, this octagonal outhouse is now a luxury hideaway for two. Voted one of the most romantic locations in Britain (The Observer, 2003), the metre-thick walls house a king-size bed, sauna, double shower, stereo, kitchen, huge lantern window, and, most delightful of all, an ancient rotating ladder affording access to the 1,100 brick nesting boxes remaining in the loft. Booking is usually necessary at least three months in advance. More

Continue to page two to discover romantic breaks in a lighthouse, a water tower and a disused arsenic mine!