SerpApi.Org
These days, the noise of the world can feel deafening. With so much to worry about in the news and the everyday, proper escapes – the kind involving bad reception, no Wi-Fi and hidden cabins accessed by long dirt tracks – seem increasingly appealing.
Whether it’s a case of planning a cosy retreat for two, a screen-free getaway with the kids or a multi-generational celebration in the woods, there are plenty of options to choose from right on our doorstep – from burnt-cedar huts in dense forests to bell tents in blooming wildflower meadows.
Remote means different things to different people – some need to get totally off-grid and among the elements while others just want to ditch the TV for a couple of days, gaze over open fields and take a long walk to the pub for Sunday lunch. We’ve rounded up ten of the best choices for every style of traveller.
Silva Treehouse, Cumbria
Best for families
There’s whimsical and then there’s Silva Treehouse, a cabin straight from a kids’ drawing that even has a slide to the games area. Set in Into The Woods, a camping venue in Cumbria’s Eden Valley, it sits high up in the branches in its own forest clearing, with views onto a patchwork of empty fields. This is a place to be together: mixing mocktails at the bar, playing table tennis tournaments, feasting on pizzas from the outdoor oven or meandering along a nearby section of National Cycle Route.
Sleeps six; from £850 per two-night stay (canopyandstars.co.uk).
The Barley Mill, Devon
Best for romance
Live out your cottage fantasies at The Barley Mill, a tiny house that’s so fairytale-perfect it seems enchanted. Hemmed in a fern-filled Devon garden, it’s one of only a handful of accommodation options in the vast Marsland Valley Nature Reserve, known for the 34 species of butterfly that flit over its flower meadows. Guests can enjoy lazy coffees on the sun-speckled terrace, where a stream provides the soothing soundtrack (with birds on harmony duty), before wandering woodland trails towards a breezy headland and pebbly beach that can only be reached on foot.
Sleeps two; from £120 per night (coolstays.com).
Woodcock Cabin, Mid Wales
Best for a true getaway
Proper outdoorsy types will relish a trip to Woodcock Cabin, sequestered under an ancient oak tree in almost 40 acres of private land in Wales’s Cambrian Mountains. It’s so remote that there’s no address or phone signal; instead, guests follow What3Words directions to a lodge with a camping-style hob and compost loo. But what this place lacks in utilities, it makes up for in rustic style: a jauntily swinging chair on a deck between the branches, sheepskin rugs dotted about the place. The setting is magical too. Follow deserted paths through the forest towards streams and hidden waterfalls or laze in the star-gazing net under a disco-ball sky.
Sleeps two; from £655 per three-night stay (kiphideaways.com).
Thatched Mountain Cottage, County Down
Best for going back in time
Abandoned by a local stonemason who upped sticks and left for America, 18th-century Thatched Mountain Cottage has been lovingly renovated by the owners of Northern Ireland’s Enniskeen Estate and is now so pristine that A-lister Hugh Jackman once checked in. Lost in a meadow of wildflowers on the slopes of Butter Mountain, Ireland’s highest holiday cottage has been renovated using traditional materials and techniques that prove newer isn’t always better. Expect a roaring fire, copper roll top bath, mist-wrapped views of blissful nothingness, and nosy sheep for neighbours.
Sleeps two; from £495 for two nights (enniskeen.com).
The Cabin, Surrey
Best island escape
Though Surrey isn’t known for its wilderness, the route down windy, hedgerow-trimmed lanes towards The Cabin at Surrey’s Green Lane Farm feels like a trip into the unknown. And because private islands aren’t exactly ten-a-penny in the UK, this place feels particularly special. Accessed by footbridge from the mainland, it’s set on a tiny spot of land surrounded by water and comes with a rowing boat for gentle expeditions. You can fish for carp here, and wild swimming is encouraged come summer. Meanwhile, chilly evenings are best spent in the copper bathtub.
Sleeps four; from £825 for three nights (0130 663 1042; bestlogcabin.co.uk).
Eagle Brae, Scottish Highlands
Best for wildlife seekers
You don’t have to go all the way to Africa to give the kids a wildlife adventure: deer, red squirrels and rare black grouse hide in the Highland wilderness surrounding the log cabins at Eagle Brae. While some of these lodges are made for two, Cinclus is among those that are great for little families (kids will love their hideaway beds, behind checked curtains on the mezzanine). This is definitely not roughing it – there’s a private sauna and a hamper of welcome goodies – but without having to wrestle with canvas or campfire lighting, there’s plenty of time to admire the views over the inky River Glass or head out on pony treks through the Glen Affric National Nature Reserve.
Sleeps four; from £1,114 for two nights (eaglebrae.co.uk).
The Lodge, Edenhall Estate, Cumbria
Best for living the dream
The Lodge on Cumbria’s Edenhall Estate seems to have jumped straight from a storybook. Right on a riverbank dotted with daisies, the hand-built larch cabin is deceptively large. Inside, three bedrooms include a particularly cosy double under sloping, timbered eaves that’s accessed via a spiral staircase. Meanwhile, Snow White fantasies are easily indulged around the wider estate, where there are deer, red squirrels and otters to engage in conversation.
Sleeps six; from £648 for a two-night stay (edenhallestate.com).
The Roundhouse at Swallowtail Hill, Sussex
Best for total immersion
There’s no need to close the curtains in the Roundhouse at Swallowtail Hill, a tiny hideaway for two hidden in ancient chestnut forest in Sussex. The only things likely to peek in are squirrels, or perhaps a curious badger exploring by moonlight. This is a proper getaway without Wi-Fi or much power (hairdryers are banned), so guests can focus fully on long nights by the firepit or in the wood-fired hot tub. If that leaves you craving a touch of civilisation, it’s only a 15-minute yomp to the Oxney Organic Estate, where you can indulge in wine tastings and lunches among the vines.
Sleeps two; from £520 for two nights (kiphideaways.com).
Henry, Exmoor National Park
Best for weather watching
Come rain or shine, the views from Henry, a two-person cabin lost in Exmoor National Park, make outsized postcards, taking in dense clumps of yellow-tinged trees, a graphite scribble of stream, windswept hills and a slab of open sky. This is a place to cosy up in bed as the wind whips at the picture windows and flames crackle in the woodburner. It’s one of a growing number of openings across the world from Unyoked, a brand known for plywood interiors, steaming showers and a Gen Z take on cabin life that includes forest-bathing guides and collaborations with cocktail makers.
Sleeps two; from £159 per night (unyoked.co).
Tutor’s Lodge, Northumberland
Best for the cabin-averse
It doesn’t need to be timber-framed to be beautifully remote: Tutor’s Lodge once formed part of a school on the sprawling Kidlandlee estate, once dubbed to be the highest “mansion” in England. Though the main house is long gone, this cosy cottage remains amid the empty moorland of Northumberland’s upper Coquet Valley (alongside a handful of other self-catering options). Sitting 1,400ft above sea level and accessed along a three-mile Forestry Commission track, it comes with widescreen views topped by seemingly endless blue. Meanwhile, nights are extra sparkly thanks to its location in a Dark Sky area.
Sleeps four; from £665 for three nights (crabtreeandcrabtree.com).
This article was first published in April 2025, and has been revised and updated.
