The Tawny, Staffordshire
Bordering the Consall Nature Park, a nature reserve featuring 740 acres of woodland, heath and moor, is The Tawny, a “deconstructed hotel”. This means that instead of a single house with rooms there are a collection of boathouses, huts and treehouses scattered around the woodlands and lakes. At the top of the hill is a modern glass building, the Plumicorn restaurant, and a heated outdoor pool looking out over the gardens. Stargazing sessions and night-time meditation are on offer, while spa treatments can be booked in the thatched cottage onsite.
Huts from £240 B&B; thetawny.co.uk
Sharpham House, Devon
A Grade I-listed Georgian mansion surrounded by a parkland designed originally by Capability Brown and overlooking the River Dart, Sharpham House is the place to go if you’re ready to take your quest for tranquillity seriously. There are silent retreats, mindfulness for beginners and “burnout” retreats, too – and all guests are fed delicious vegetarian and vegan food, much of it grown organically in their walled garden.
From £375 for a 3-night full-board retreat; sharphamtrust.org
Hampton Manor, West Midlands
Grade II-listed Hampton Manor is built on a sprawling estate once owned by Sir Robert Peel. While rooms are available in the house, an exquisite “immersive” culinary experience is tucked away in a small clearing: a collection of modern cabins sit beside a Michelin-starred restaurant. Through the Victorian walled garden is another restaurant and a bakery, and guests are invited to take part in weekend workshops – make your own bread and butter, or a batch of cinnamon buns. In the afternoon, as part of the daily “house rhythm”, there’s an hour of curated vinyl accompanied by cake.
Rooms from £179; hamptonmanor.com
Fritton Lake, Norfolk
In the grounds of Somerleyton estate is the Clubhouse, previously a pub called the Fritton Arms, now a pub/restaurant with rooms upstairs. Down the lane are a series of cottages and cabins. And behind the Clubhouse is Fritton Lake, with water buffalo grazing on one side and, on the other, an outdoor pool bookended by open fires, tennis courts, a wooden adventure playground that weaves through the trees, and a floating sauna. They have given 1,000 acres of land on the Norfolk/Suffolk border “back to nature”, and deer, sheep and ponies roam free while families explore the grounds on foraging safaris.
Rooms from £170; frittonlake.co.uk
Pennard Hill Farm, Somerset
After feasting in the farm’s 150-year-old barn, amid herb gardens and twinkling lights, stroll into the forest to spend the night in the off-grid safari tent (which sleeps six) or, for an even more memorable experience, the tree tent. Suspended in the canopy of ancient oak and ash is a spherical tent, overlooking the Mendip hills, and below it a wood cabin. There are wood-burning stoves, a bathroom, a kitchen and, outside, a hot shower, a wood-fired pizza oven and fire-pit barbecue, to sizzle your own breakfast.
From £130; pennardhillfarm.co.uk
The Beckford Arms, Wiltshire
A country inn located in the rolling parkland of Wiltshire, The Beckford Arms offers eight bedrooms in the pub itself, plus a couple of lodges. And a short stroll away there is the Arch, built in 1755 to act as a grand arrival to the Fonthill Estate, with two bedrooms over three floors connected by a stone spiral staircase. As well as pottering around the estate and taking romantic walks around local lakes, visitors are invited to try chalkstream fly-fishing before settling down for a pint in the ivy-clad jewel of a pub.
Rooms from £119; beckfordarms.com
Fforest, Ceredigion
Just by the River Teifi gorge, next to the Teifi Marshes nature reserve and close to the gorgeous beaches and coves of the West Wales coast, visitors to Fforest can choose the level of luxury they require. There are bell tents, lofts and onsen domes – these are insulated cedar and zinc-clad pods connected directly to a geodesic dome, and outside, Japanese-style bath-houses with a shower, basin and cast-concrete sunken soaking tub. There’s accommodation that suits couples, families and a huge house for up to 14, plus they have their own cosy little pub onsite and, tucked away in the woods, a cedar barrel sauna.
£360 for two nights; coldatnight.co.uk
WildLuing, Argyll
The Isle of Luing is one of the slate islands, a group of the Inner Hebrides located 15 miles south of Oban. It has a population of fewer than 200 people, who live amid some of the most stunning and naturally diverse waters in Scotland, enjoying regular spottings of otters, seals, eagles and puffins. Last year local craftsmen finished a series of luxury suites for two, each one like a tiny boutique hotel sheltering on the bay.
From £200; wildluing.com
West Cawthorne, Yorkshire
Kip Hideaways offers a selection of rentals called the “Starry Skies” collection, cabins and huts located in Dark Sky Reserves, with star-gazing that’s spectacular enough to keep you off your phone. West Cawthorne in Yorkshire comprises a pair of A-frame structures that each sleeps two, with outdoor baths for those who want to watch shooting stars from the tub.
From £110, kiphideaways.com
The Coastguard Lookout, Kent
Isolated, elegant and peaceful, this converted tower was originally a coastguard’s radar-monitoring station for shipping in the Channel. Situated in the middle of Dungeness’s quiet shores (and, brilliantly, Britain’s only desert), the property has been reimagined by interior architecture firm Johnson Naylor, which retained the original 50s structure with style – limestone floors, Scandi furnishings and a log burner. Views of the sea, vast skies and the eerie nuclear power station add a sense of magic. Visit Derek Jarman’s house and garden, try Romney Marsh’s lovely pubs, or stay in and observe the procession of ships from the panoramic windows. On a clear day, you can see France.
Sleeps 5, from £300 a night, hostunusual.com
