Tranquil Pines Walnut Cottage

Natch, the beaut bucolic setting of this cottagey charmer has you splendidly set for gentle leisurely pursuits like extended strolls, scenic pedals and fishing in local waterways. You’re also splendidly set between the two resplendent spa towns of Tamási and Igal for dips, splashes and pampers among Hungary’s health-giving thermal waters. Igal’s thermal baths lie among the Igal valley, 35 kilometres from Lake Balaton and 25 from Kaposvár, and the town’s smashing spa park is supplied with wondrously warm 76 degrees-centigrade water that wells up from 651 metres below the ground and flows into nine pools around the complex. Bus services around the locale run right from the end of the road, making carless trips to Kaposvár, Siófok and the southern shore of Lake Balaton a breeze. It's around 45 minutes’ drive to Lake Balaton's southern shoreline, its perimeter fringed fably by beaches all around and surrounded by Hungary’s vast volcanic lands. Siófok’s kid-friendly beach is a cracking spot to take the kids on a day away from your comely cottage or, if you’re travelling sans tiddlers, then you might then instead opt for sits, sips and scoffs among the eateries and bars that line the town’s Petőfi walkway. The county seat and arty city of Kaposvár, within 40 minutes’ drive, lies handsomely among the hills that flank the upper valley of the Kapos river: it’s here you should head for an historic wander round to scope out its ancient castle ruins, 18th-century parish church and restored 11th-century Benedictine monastery.