Home Rentals and Vacation Homes
in the U.K. and Ireland

British Travel International. (800-327-6097; www.britishtravel.com). A reliable U.S. agency for British home rentals. Not in the budget range, but they know their stuff. They also handle rentals in Ireland, France, Spain, Portugal and Italy plus airfares and car rentals.

www.visitbritain.com. Visit the British Tourist Office’s outstanding web site; choose “Where to Stay” and you’ll get access to a large online database of self-catering rentals, most at very affordable prices.

British Holiday Homes: Special Places to Stay by Alastair Sawday (Globe-Pequot Press, 2002, $14.95). Glorious photos and descriptions of 115 home rental properties, many at reasonable prices. You can preview a subset of listings online at www.specialplacestostay.com.

Cottages to Rent, www.cottages-to-rent.co.uk, is a guide to some of the most picturesque locations in the richly varied countryside of the United Kingdom that are ideal for holiday cottage rental.

Holiday-Rentals.co.uk; www.holiday-rentals.co.uk. Not an agency but a U.K.-based database that lists over 1,500 private homes, most with photos, full details, and prices. Has become more expensive now that the pound is high and the dollar low.

Irish Cottage Holiday Homes. www.irishcottageholidays.com. Good variety of listings from 150 euros and up per week.

Irish National Tourist Board. www.irelandvacations.com. Select “Accommodation” then “self-catering” for a good selection of listings from about 100 to 700 euros per week.

The Landmark Trust, www.landmarktrust.org.uk. The Landmark Trust is a building preservation charity established to rescue historic and architecturally interesting buildings and their surroundings from neglect and, when restored, to give them new life by letting them for holidays. The aim is to enable as many people as possible to experience living in them for a short time. The rental income this generates then pays for the buildings’ future maintenance.

Nettle Cottages Self-Catering Holidays, www.nettle-cottages.co.uk, offers rentals in Scotland at a lively location with lots to do.

Shamrock Cottages - 300 select individual cottages in Ireland.

SPARE ROOM.co.uk, www.spareroom.co.uk. Looking for accommodation in the UK? Spareroom.co.uk, the U.K.'s leading flat and house share site, has thousands of room across London and the UK plus lots of useful information on sharing and finding somewhere to live. Place your free advert today. Tel. +44 (0)7834 158483.

Stay Rentals, www.stayrentals.com, lists European holiday home rentals, villas and apartments, direct from the owners, including England, Scotland, and Wales.

VacationVillas.net, www.vacationvillas.net, provides information on holiday homes and vacation rentals worldwide, with a section on Europe, including England and Scotland.