Sometimes you just feel that urge to head into the countryside and get away from it all. You might want to keep it simple and set up base in an off-grid hut, or you might prefer a slightly more splendid form of isolation, with fluffy robes, designer furniture and underfloor heating. Either way, we’ve got you covered with these cute and cosy rural bolt holes.
Brock and Howlet — badger and owl in Old English — are two new, two-person “tree cabins” in rural Northumberland. With the space of a cabin and height of a treehouse, they both maximise the vantage over the River Till valley and the heather-carpeted Cheviot Hills; the nearest village is Cornhill-on-Tweed. These cabins’ names might be ancient, but inside it’s all 21st century, with underfloor heating, contemporary kitchens and super-king beds, as well as shared exclusive use of a modern mirrored sauna that sits high in the tree canopy.
Details Two nights’ self-catering for two from £370 (tiptoeretreat.co.uk)
2. Looking Glass Lodge, East Sussex
Windows span the length of this lodge
On paper, this is a treehouse. It’s also a departure from urban life in the most stylish space possible —only an hour’s drive south from London in Fairlight, not far from Hastings. The treehouse’s glass fourth wall is completely filled with a view of the ferns outside, and a green expanse of treetops, birds and sunshine and sky. Since glass spans the entire cabin, guests have this view from their freestanding egg bathtub, from the bed and from the designer sofa that is warmed by the suspended metal fireplace. We bet it’s only a matter of time before it appears as a TV location, if Kevin McCloud hasn’t already been on the phone.
Details Two nights’ self-catering for two from £670 (lookingglasslodge.co.uk)
• 20 of the best treehouse stays in the UK
3. Pod St Ives, Cornwall
It’s just a short walk to the beach from this timber-clad cabin
KBRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHY
Don’t let the word “pod” fool you — these are no sweaty plastic domes, the type restaurants used in their gardens during Covid to lure diners. No, these pods are architecturally innovative timber-clad cabins with flat-screen TVs, private hot tubs, outdoor showers and access to the Nest Spa Garden for its treatments, sauna and ice bath. Breakfast is delivered daily, while the Pod Concierge can stock your larder pre-arrival, and you’re on the Carbis Bay Hotel’s estate, with its bouji restaurants and deli. Which makes the beach a short walk away for a surf or a stroll — or a smug strut, considering you’re sleeping in Cornwall’s coolest digs.
Details One night’s B&B for four from £295 (podstives.co.uk)
4. Wilder Retreats, Pembrokeshire
These A-Frame cabins with floor-to-ceiling windows let plenty of natural light flood in
The owner of Wilder Retreats — a collection of cabins on the edge of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park — works in luxury yachts, so they know a thing or two about squeezing style into small spaces. The latest additions are four A-frame cabins with floor-to-ceiling windows and views towards St Brides Bay and over the pretty four-acre wildflower meadow. Each sleeps two and has a hot tub and wood-burner. There are beautiful walks from the door, and along the Pembrokeshire Coast Path and nearby beaches, plus books and games on hand if the weather doesn’t play ball.
Details Two nights’ self-catering for two from £370, including welcome hamper (wilderretreats.co.uk)
5. The Scrumpling, Somerset
This affordable vintage cabin comes with two acres of private woodland
KYM GRIMSHAW
You’d think all this talk of huts and living “off-grid” might mean back-to-basics rates, but sadly many British cabins are not a cheap holiday option. That’s why we’re including the Scrumpling near Frome, a restored vintage caravan sleeping two, with a starting price under £100 per night (there is a two-night minimum, mind). Scrumpling is an old word for a small, wonky apple, yet there’s nothing wonky about this accommodation, with chic sheepskin throws, its own driveway and two acres of private woodland with a garden and hammocks. Your kitchen and bathroom are exclusive-use, but in separate outbuildings, with no wi-fi, heating or electric lighting across the site (don’t worry — there is hot water in the washroom).
Details Two nights’ self-catering for two from £190, including welcome hamper (thescrumpling.co.uk)
6. Elmley Nature Reserve, Kent
Cabins at Elmley Nature Reserve have snug wood-burning stoves
2024 REBECCA DOUGLAS
You could say Plankbridge is to shepherd’s huts what Dyson is to vacuums — the very best designers in their field. Thus, you’ll see their huts (made using recycled and sustainable materials) at Pig hotels, in TV’s Escape to the Country, and you can even buy one for your own garden office. So when Elmley Nature Reserve added two cabins to its accommodation (which already includes a farmhouse, cottages and bell tents), they called Plankbridge who delivered dinky James’ Hide and the Isle. Each sleeps four (two adults and two children under ten), with room enough for a small kitchen and wood-burning stove, and an outdoor bathtub with Swale Estuary views and fire pit for larks.
Details One night’s self-catering for two from £190 (elmleynaturereserve.co.uk)
7. Galgorm, Co Antrim
These dens in Co Antrim have a cute, hobbit-y look to them
If your idea of staying off-grid still involves posh bathroom toiletries and a spa within walking distance, Galgorm’s new Forest Dens will please you. Galgorm sits on the banks of the River Maine in the countryside of Co Antrim, its estate incorporating a hotel, cottages, various restaurants and a thermal spa village. These new Forest Dens are the first arrivals to the Forest Garden part of Galgorm, which will provide more rustic accommodation, rural walks and be connected by rope-bridge when complete. The dens have a cute, wood-tiled hobbit-y look to them, and the best bit is the “bohemian backyard”, with a private outdoor shower, wood-fired sauna and bathtub.
Details One night’s B&B for two from £280 (galgorm.com)
• Galgorm resort review: Co Antrim’s luxurious riverside spa hotel
8. Avington, Hampshire
Will you sleep with Nell, Elizabeth or Henry? These are the names of three new shepherd’s huts on the privately owned Avington estate in the South Downs National Park (not too far from train-linked, gentrified Winchester). Nell is simple and intimate, with an outdoor hot tub and fire pit, plus a king bed, smart TV and posh Wildsmith toiletries, yet lacking the log-burners and skylights that make Henry and Elizabeth an upgrade. All three have decks overlooking Avington’s lakes and the River Itchen, which encourages wild swimming, paddleboarding, kayaking, row boating and use of the waterfront sauna (all free, including use of boards and boats). The estate’s own Chestnut Horse pub will feed you post-swim.
Details One night’s self-catering for two from £200 (avington.com)
9. The Bon Bon, North Yorkshire
The Bon Bon provides five-star outdoorsiness
As its chichi name suggests, this is the luxiest of cabins, with on-trend furniture from Barker and Stonehouse, Pooky and Nkuku. You may be sleeping in a corrugated iron cabin among wildflowers, but it’s a five-star type of outdoorsiness you’re signing up for here; there’s a spa with fluffy robes, as well as breakfast room and pizza parlour at Kip & Nook, the hub on this North Yorkshire estate of barns, cabins and camping pitches for rent. Bon Bon also has a log-burner, outdoor bath, fire pit, private garden and million-dollar views.
Details One night’s self-catering for two from £325 (kipandnook.com)
10. The Bracken Hide, Isle of Skye
These 27 timber hides are dotted among the heather and gorse of Skye
SKYE COMMERCIAL PHOTOGRAPHY
From above, they look like little sheds tumbling down to the edge of Loch Portree — or from high altitude, perhaps you might think it’s a fairy village … These 27 timber hides are dotted among the heather and gorse around a natural-looking main building hub where you’ll find Am Braigh restaurant, a wild plunge pool, Estonian saunas, and the Snug whisky bar. Each cabin has underfloor heating, air con, shower and comfy bed, the only difference being your location — at loch-level for guests with lesser mobility, or high on the hill for spectacular sunsets.
Details B&B doubles from £149 (perlehotels.com/brackenhide)
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