Staycation breaks for Autumn

The vivid colours of autumn trees reflected in the still waters of a mountain-ringed lake…no, not New England but Lake Vyrnwy in Powys near Snowdonia.

The best of the autumn colour will be seen in late September and early October so what better time to opt for a break at an hotel which overlooks the lake and mountains and where there are miles of footpaths through the forests and moorland that make up the 24,000-acre estate on which Lake Vyrnwy Hotel is situated.

A three-night break from 27 September onwards leads in £405 per couple which includes accommodation with breakfast, five-course dinners in the hotel’s award-winning restaurant on the first two nights, plus cream tea on the first two afternoons. This priced is based on a garden-view room; rooms with a view of the lake start at £455. Log on to lakevyrnwy.com for more details.

Britain’s latest UNESCO World Heritage site is breathtaking in more ways than one…it’s the Thomas Telford designed Pontcysyllte Aqueduct – the ‘stream in the sky’ which carries canal boats across the beautiful Dee valley, with the river a dizzying 126ft below.

The Waterways Holidays website features a wide choice of canal boats for hire on the Llangollen Canal with departure points from Chirk, Wrenbury and Whitchurch. As well as the Aqueduct itself, other places to visit by narrowboat can include the walled city of Chester or the newly-reopened Montgomery canal.

As an example of prices, a week’s hire of ‘Duchess 2’, a 52ft., fully-equipped narrowboat (sleeps four) from Chirk starting 26 September is £760. Three-night short breaks are from £495. See waterwaysholidays.com for more details.

For bargain ‘staycation’ autumn breaks, Coastal Cottages of Pembrokeshire has more than 30 properties where couples can enjoy a four-night break from as little as £99 – just £12.50 per person, per night.

Also, with the offer – which can be taken between 26 September to the 19 December (excluding October half term) - some of the properties featured can accommodate more than two people, with the cost for each additional person being from £49.

For example, Creampot Cottage is a cosy bungalow (sleeps four) on a working farm just 1.5 miles from Broad Haven - with its long, sandy beach - and the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path. When two share this cottage the price for a short break is £99; with two additional adults it becomes £198. For more information, visit coastalcottages.co.uk.