Villas in Hessisches Bergland

It is the hill country of northern and central Hesse, around Kassel, the Edersee, the Knüll and the Fulda valley. Frankfurt is around an hour and a half to the south, and the hills are low and heavily wooded.

Mostly not. The stock is mainly holiday houses, cottages and flats, many in small villages or near a lake. A few larger houses suit groups, but private pools are rare.

Yes. There are bathing beaches around the shore, and the water is warmest in July and August. In a dry year the level falls through late summer, and some beaches and boat landings can be left high and dry.

Yes. It protects old beech forest on the hills south of the Edersee, on the UNESCO list, with marked trails of all lengths. The Urwaldsteig path loops along the lake shore through the steepest, wildest woods.

Frankfurt has the most flights from the UK and is around an hour and a half to two hours from most houses. Paderborn is closer for Bad Arolsen, and Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe station is a good rail link from Frankfurt.

The Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe and its Hercules monument, the Grimmwelt museum and the Löwenburg mock castle. The Edersee and the half-timbered towns of Fritzlar and Homberg are under an hour's drive.

Yes, along the river valleys. The Fulda cycle path follows the river past Rotenburg and Bad Hersfeld, and the Eder path runs from the Edersee towards Fritzlar. Away from the rivers the hills are short but steep.