25 of Britain’s best cabins, shepherd’s huts and treehouses
In today’s world, slipping away to somewhere far removed from the metronome tick of daily existence is an almost irresistible fantasy. Wouldn’t we all like to put the brakes on our fast-paced lives and head off to a remote corner to embrace the benefits of slower living?
In the olden days, dreams of escapism were often tempered by the uncomfortable reality: soggy tents, unsanitary showers and frustrating forays into the sketchiest reaches of an Ordnance Survey map. Now, however, a different breed of hideout has established itself across the country.
Intrinsically in tune with the environment, these luxe lodgings have sprung up deep in the woods, skirting the edges of farmland, tucked into valleys and wildflower meadows or alongside wildlife-rich hedgerows. Treehouses, log cabins, shepherds huts and even old, revamped caravans are done up with wholesome originality, a sharp eye for style, a rooted sense of place and, perhaps most importantly, an eye to the best sustainable practices.
You might find a king-size bed made up with crisp linens, a roll-top bath to wallow in, or a pair of deckchairs facing a knockout view. But the biggest luxury of all at these places to stay is the absolute peace and quiet of the countryside.
1. Amazing A-frames, North Yorkshire
The pointy pair of huts at West Cawthorne look a little incongruous peeking up from the edge of the Vale of Pickering. This style of A-frame cabin is more often spotted around the lakes of America, but “once we experienced the sun go down from the sunken bath on the deck, we knew we’d made the right choice,” says owner Sophie Vermont. She and husband Rich, a Yorkshire native, went industrial on the outside, cladding the cabins with black corrugated steel. Inside, they’re super-minimal, with pared-back plywood panel walls, rush matting and crisp black accents.
Book it: West Cawthorne sleeps two from ￡170 per night, two-night minimum (07780 565135; northyorkshirehideaways.com).
2. Utter seclusion, Shropshire
The Shropshire Hills are a long way from the Dragons’ Den studio – where Jimmy Roupell, owner of Rest + Wild, turned down offers from all five dragons for his toy company. His latest venture mainlines peace and privacy: no noise, no neighbours. Five sleek, solar-powered cabins are spread right out, each in a far corner of the woods, to deliver a thrill of relative isolation (though lovely Ludlow is only 10 minutes away). Splash around in the outdoor copper bathtub with views of sheep grazing on the farmland. Pre-order a hamper stuffed with small-batch Robinsons cider and local sausages to barbecue on the fire pit. Read a book – there’s no Wi-Fi. Simple pleasures are key here.
Book it: Rest + Wild sleeps two from ￡375 for two nights (restandwild.co).
3. Haute design, Dorset
Bold and urban, here is a hut with good genes. Architect Scott Lewis and partner Caroline Jenkinson, a former furniture buyer for The Conran Shop, were inspired by designers at the Bauhaus Archive in Berlin to create their houses on trailer bases. The Bide may be small but it packs everything in: a super-king bed, a separate living area, bespoke furniture and joyful pings of colour. It sits on farmland in Milton Abbas, a little patch of the West Country that feels well off the beaten track. Buzzards circle, the occasional barn owl calls.
Book it: The Bide sleeps two from ￡120 per night (thebide.com).
4. Scout-inspired huts, Scotland
“Embrace the pace! It takes time to light a fire, boil the kettle, hand-grind the coffee…” declares former barrister Lupi Moll, who grew up on the Inverlonan estate. The inspiration for his bothies came from a scout camp set up on the site when Lupi was a 12-year-old boy. “I remember being bowled over even then by the gnarly ancient oaks, still water and the birdsong. Magical.” The setting, on the shores of Loch Nell in Argyll & Bute, is indeed enchanting. And the bothies are just as impressive – contemporary, high-end, ecologically sensitive reimaginings of the traditional Scottish hut, surrounded by woodland that white tailed sea eagles, black grouse, pine martens and red squirrels call home.
Book it: The bothies leep two from ￡200 per night, two-night minimum (07340 126 221; inverlonan.com)
5. Down on the farm, Dorset
There are five rather dreamy huts to bed down in at Ash Farm, romantically dressed by owner Ali Russell with Lloyd Loom chairs, vintage china and embroidered linens. But the sixth is all anyone can talk about right now: Pasithea is the new sauna hut, a steaming hot hideout with a fiercely cold immersion shower for the brave. Refuel with freshly laid eggs, daughter Eden’s homemade sourdough and home-reared venison from the Honesty Shop. Herds of red deer roam the land, along with a menagerie of foxes and badgers that howl and snuffle at night.
Book it: Ash Farm sleeps two from ￡155 per night, two-night minimum (07770 827 594; ashfarm.org).
6. Wilderness hideout, Devon
This is how to take a cabin to the next level. Owners Yolanda and Ben Horne called on Tom Cox of HáM Interiors for their three wilderness hideouts sequestered in the middle of a 300-acre plot in the Exe Valley. The interiors at Cove Valley channel Old Americana but, alongside the wood-fired hammered tin bathtubs and ranch-style cladding, there are crisp-linen beds with foot-deep mattresses, bathrooms with full-pressure showers and a fridge full of Amie wine. Outside a rewilding project driven by Devon native Yolanda supports the diverse range of indigenous wildlife.
Book it: The cabin sleeps two from ￡245 per night (no phone; covevalley.co.uk).
7. Cute caravan, Somerset
Travel writer Rhiannon Batten and her husband settled in the golden triangle between Wells, Bruton and Frome 12 years ago and The Scrumpling is their way of sharing a slice of it. Their little vintage caravan feels perfectly rooted. “I wanted it to whisper Somerset through and through, and to reflect the hills, orchards and woodlands that weave together the landscapes here,” says Rhiannon. The once Barbie-pink runaround has a permanent berth in the woods and feels more like a shepherd’s hut inside, with plenty of space.
Book it: The Scrumpling sleeps two from ￡85 per night, two-night minimum (07976 729113, thescrumpling.co.uk).
8. Seaside swagger, Kent
Cabü by the Sea flips the script on the idea of a seaside summer camp. Here on the edge of Romney Marsh, instead of bingo nights and waterslides, you’ll find Scandi wooden hot tubs and a swimming pool with Soho House-style stripy cushioned loungers. The 19 timber-clad cabins deliver slick design, squashy sofas and log burners – this is not roughing it. At the lifestyle shop Cabü Corner, you can pick up a Weaver Green rug or some locally made ceramics with your oat milk flat white, before renting a bike and heading out along the promenade for a wind-whipped coastal cycle to Dungeness or Hythe.
Book it: Cabü by the Sea sleeps two from ￡310 for two nights (cabu.co.uk).
9. Treetop retreat, The Trossachs
This rustic refuge in ancient Stirlingshire woodland is less than an hour from Edinburgh and Glasgow. On clear days, you’ll wake to the chuckle of cuckoos calling from the crags above. And, when it’s raining, a series of waterfalls tumble noisily down the hills. Here in the thick oak and sycamore canopy, four smart new hideouts are beginning to bed in and become part of the woods themselves. Husband-and-wife duo Simon and Louisa Dickson have stuck to local artisans and materials for The Treehouses at Leckie, committing to a desire for ‘low-impact’ tourism. That does, however, include deep copper baths for soaking under the stars.
Book it: The Treehouses at Leckie sleep 2-4 from ￡245 per night, two night minimum (07814 275 638; leckietreehouses.co.uk).
10. Rustic beach escape, Wales
When Ali and Ian Paice wanted to put down roots, the Llyn Peninsula was a thrilling discovery: “Ian wanted the mountains, I longed for the sea and we found Trefor where the two meet”. This part of North Wales is remarkably untouched still – craggy and quiet, like Cornwall 40 years ago. The Paices set up Bert’s Kitchen Garden, a back-to-nature eco-campsite in a riverside paddock and added two rustic shepherds huts for tent-swervers. In the restaurant, herbs and botanicals from the kitchen garden take the lead while Snowdonia Wagyu sizzles on the grill. It is an idyllic scene: children running through wildflower meadows, parents sipping Palomas around the campfire.
Book it: Huts sleep two from ￡175 per night (01286 660 823; bertskg.com).
11. Lakeside getaway, Essex
When brothers Nat and Archie Browning left university, they returned to their father’s organic farm and started renting out disco equipment: that idea evolved into creating their own events and hospitality set up. Now in the Browning Bros orchards and meadows near Colchester, as well as doing glamping and weddings, they’ve added two tucked-away log cabins, one of which is the Kingfishers Nest. It’s an unexpected showcase of wabi-sabi design with limewash walls and natural textures, plus a sauna and hot tub on the deck overlooking the lake where moorhen bob about. Sit still for long enough and you may even spot the elusive kingfisher himself.
Book it: The cabin sleeps two from ￡200 per night (browningbros.co.uk).
12. On the ranch, Suffolk
Built on a patch of former farmland, Ali and Sian Kerr’s eight log cabins at The Farmstead sit neatly midway between the loveliness of Woodbridge and the seaside spoils of Aldeburgh. It’s a dreamy set up, children freewheeling around barefoot, hooting into the dusk or curled up in Adirondack chairs on the covered decks. For proper uninterrupted views and no peepers when using the outdoor bath, lodges four, five and six are the ones to ask for, looking out over fields that reach to the River Deben.
Book it: One-bedroom lodge from ￡260 per night, two-night minimum (01728 746699; farmsteadlodges.co.uk).
13. Off-grid adventures, Cornwall
Two miles inland from Tintagel is the wild hinterland of Kudhva, a disused quarry reclaimed by nature. Here Louise Middleton, former Portobello Market stall holder and fashion designer, has devised a creative communal retreat. Besides teepees, there are four steel and slate spaceship-like cabins that teeter on stilts seven metres above ground. On any given weekend you’ll find live music, yoga sessions, art installations and supper-club feasting. But that doesn’t make this a luxe Cornish Daylesford. It is rustic and off-grid, with boreholes to drink from, solar power for hot showers, and advice to pack a head torch and wellies.
Book it: Kudhva sleeps two from ￡240, for two nights (kudhva.com).
14. Amid an ancient estate, Scotland
The current owners of the Brucefield Estate in Clackmannanshire can trace links back to Robert the Bruce. It’s a special, historic slice of Scotland with a fresh focus on conservation and wildlife – get involved with the no-dig tree planting of native Scots Pine or evening walks in search of common pipistrelle bats. The Schenbothies are future-facing versions of a traditional bothy, clad in powder blue or russet red corrugated tin, with knife-sharp Scandi–Scots interiors that see Arne Jacobsen chairs reupholstered in Harris Tweed. Settle in and wash down the welcome hamper’s Wild Hearth Bakery sourdough with a cuppa from the Wee Tea Company.
Book it: Brucefield Estate sleeps two from ￡145 per night, three nights minimum (01259 690013; brucefieldestate.scot).
15. Stone’s throw of the sea, Northumberland
For those in the know, it’s hard to imagine anywhere more wildly beautiful than Northumberland, with its vast empty beaches and ancient heather-furrowed crags. Trees at Tughall sits so close to the coastline you can hear the gentle roar of the North Sea on the easterly breeze. Wim Stevenson’s family have farmed this area for almost 40 years but this patch of land was sitting fallow. Former architect Wim and wife Rosie have given it fresh purpose with three confidently contemporary, carbon-neutral Koto cabins. Inside, sharp minimalism rules and there’s a kind of relief in the simplicity of it all.
Book it: Trees at Tughall sleeps two from ￡330 for two nights (07515053361; treesattughall.com).
16. Commune-style cool, Wiltshire
Eco friendly, low-impact good intentions are what drive Campwell Farm. You can’t help but be caught up in the wholesomeness of it all. There are yurts and bell tents dotted around, but Abel’s cabin is the one to book: fashioned sustainably out of timber from the surrounding woodland, it’s rustic but wonderfully cosy thanks to sheep’s wool insulation, a log burner and proper beds. If you want a bath in the glorious sunken tub on the deck, you’ll need a fire going to heat the water. Same for a cup of tea. This is bushcraft for beginners. Go foraging, wild swimming and, at night, be ready for a good old communal singalong around the campfire.
Book it: Cabin sleeps two to four from ￡165 a night, two nights minimum (campwell.co.uk/farm).
17. Vineyard sleepover, Hampshire
The four treehouses at Wild Escapes have a pretty unique view, looking out over pinstripe neat rows of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir vines. And that means there’s no shortage of something delicious to drink from the neighbouring Black Chalk vineyard. Make a beeline for Perigord, which feels more Swedish weekend retreat than Hampshire hideaway, with its charred Siberian larch cladding and limed wood interior. There are bunk beds for any stowaway children; better though to make it a grown-up weekend of wine tasting and walks around the farm’s 1,000 acres. At night, look out for the resident badgers stumbling around: they love the grapes.
Book it: Wild Escapes sleeps two to four, from ￡272 per night (07788 422713; wildescapes.com).
18. Hotel-style hideaway, Norfolk
Such is the popularity of cabins designed by British firm Koto Design, they have their own recognisable aesthetic. The tiny blackened timber modular houses are popping up everywhere from Cornwall to Kent, and here on the banks of Fritton Lake, where they share the rewilded woods with water buffalo, deer, pigs and ponies. Even better, they share all the bells and whistles of the members club too – the grass tennis courts, the outdoor pool, the paddleboards and canoes, wild lake swimming, floating sauna sessions and breakfasts, lunches and suppers in the Clubhouse restaurant.
Book it: Fritton Lake sleeps two to six, from ￡640 for two nights (01493 484008; frittonlake.co.uk).
19. Award-winning treehouses, Dorset
Here in the westernmost rural reaches where Dorset is almost Devon, woodworker Guy Mallinson let his imagination run riot. The three creations at Mallinson’s Woodland Retreat are so much more than “treehouses”, being solid, unexpected, full of whimsy and humour but, above all, a deep respect for the quality of the materials. Dazzle is particularly dazzling, inspired by the patterns of First World War battleship camouflage. The theme tiptoes throughout, with funnels on the roof and a prow-shaped deck plus textures of Douglas fir, oak and birch ply on every surface. Such is its brilliance, Guy and co-designer Keith Brownlie of BEAM received a RIBA South West award last year in 2023.
Book it: Mallinson’s Woodland Retreat sleeps two from ￡790 for two nights, minimum stay (mallinson.co.uk).
20. Pretty as a picture, Herefordshire
When Matt Pescod suggested the spot to his wife Harriet Churchward she wasn’t convinced, “it was covered in chest deep brambles.” But once The Quist was built and elevated onto stilts, it all made sense. A perfectly framed view looks out over miles of Herefordshire towards The Malverns and the whole place feels squirrelled away from the world.
It hits that sweet spot of out-there escapism without compromising comfort. There’s a deep armchair, an even deeper Easter egg of a bathtub. Harriet’s whimsical and elegant styling sees gingham linen paired with clapboard and raw plastered walls, while designer C?te de Folk gave the master bedroom a cheery circus-tent steer via a remote, one-room consultation. A secret, wildly private hidey-hole.
Book it: The Quist sleeps two to four from ￡295 per night, two night minimum (thequist.co.uk).
21. Makers magic, Somerset
Every nook of Craftsman’s Cabin showcases the best of the local land and its artisans. On the decking, a bathtub and rocking chairs face the seemingly endless green of the Somerset Levels. Willow lampshades come from the area’s last withy bed and the kitchenette was cut from maple felled on owner Decca’s farm. She built the two-bedroom cabin, sourced its deep green curtains and personally knows every potter, stone carver and wood turner involved in the process. Spread a Gather wool blanket beside the log burner and sip on family-made cider as starling murmurations swoop above winter sunsets, or yomp across the meadow to the village pub.
Book it: Craftsman’s Cabin sleeps four, plus a small child, from ￡170 per night (07966 262 308; craftsmanscabin.co.uk).
22. Classic Americana, Cumbria
The name Hidden River Cabins conjures remote North America and this collection of lodges on the River Lyne is straight from an Appalchian backwater. A 20-minute drive from Carlisle, the six log cabins are also US-sized, with four bedrooms a piece as well as huge baths, hot tubs and gleaming kitchens. Not that you need to cook: the onsite Hidden River Café serves up much-lauded haggis scotch eggs and beef and blue cheese pie.
Book it: Among the prettiest, Snowdrop sleeps up to eight, from ￡1,680 for a two-night break, though the price drops to ￡840 if there’s just two of you (​​01228 791318; hiddenrivercabins.co.uk).
23. Lochside living, Argyll
There’s no need for elaborate furnishings at Kabn 2, a ply-walled, off-grid cabin at the edge of Loch Fyne on the Ardkinglas Estate: the landscape provides all the decoration you need. On chilly mornings, a mist rises from the water and weaves itself through the forest, while dusk tints the landscape burnished amber.
Get your wellies wet with a paddle on Kabn’s loch-side beach or venture a little further through the estate on the 40-minute walk to the Cairndow Stagecoach Inn. In spring, Wild Kabn Kitchen brings chef William Hamer to Scottish feasts over an open fire for guests who book ahead.
Book it: Kabn sleeps two from ￡235 per night (07392 712465; kabncompany.com).
24. Straight out of a storybook, Norfolk
If Little Red Riding Hood’s grandma had brought in the architects, this storybook cabin is what they would have come up with. Set in 30 acres of private parkland, The Lakeside Cabin at Settle is actually the joint brainchild of John and Jo Morfoot, a salvage merchant and award-winning florist respectively.
That means reclaimed radiators as well as a wood burner help to keep the place cosy while delicate botanical prints elevate it from the mundane to the magical. Unlike many cabins, there’s more than enough room to swing a wolf (or two) as well. It even comes with two baths: a cocooning indoor one overlooking the lake and a wood-fired outdoor bath sheltering underneath its own pavilion.
Book it: The Lakeside Cabin at Settle sleeps two, from ￡280 per night (01953 497030; settlenorfolk.co.uk).
25. Forest hideaway, Perthshire
In the ancient woodland around Dunkeld, beavers build dams in the icy waters of Lunan Burn and great families of fungi flourish. This is a place where life seems uninterrupted by the centuries, so it’s a surprise to find Glen Glack’s five contemporary cabins hidden along a track at the edge of Cally Loch.
Part of the Atholl Estates, they’re inspired by traditional bothies but come with all mod-cons including televisions and Nespresso machines (the covered deck at Hazel cabin is the ideal place for a morning coffee). Should you wish to return to the olden days, there’s a button that allows you to switch off the WiFi and the modern world. Meanwhile walking trails crisscross the surrounding forest.
Book it: The cabin sleeps four in two bedrooms, from ￡490 per two-night break (01796510088; atholl-estates.co.uk).
*Some of the places featured have multiple accommodation options. Where this is the case, we’ve included the price for the smallest cabin or hut.
