Luxury wilderness cottages
If you go down to the woods today you're in for a big surprise. In places where bleating sheep and burbling hot tubs are the only hubbubs to break the silence, our luxury wilderness cottages are a breath of fresh air.
Evenings in the wilderness: between cups of tea and bites of oatcakes, you'll balance on the sofa’s edge to remove Jenga blocks in the lull of a late-night radio show. Later, you'll dash between the hot tub and sauna, wrapped by the winds of a forested valley, and be glad you escaped from the city. Including one that was dubbed ‘possibly the best log cabin in Britain’, our luxury wilderness cottages pack a paradisiacal punch. These are places that carefully balance the great outdoors with the great indoors; meaning, there's swimming pools in Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, yoga decks in the Outer Hebrides, and cinema barns among Welsh mountain ranges.
Taking a break from urban living may well calm the mind and soothe the soul, but its greatest accolade is how it helps us return to our most wholesome selves. Hike up high hills with your city-fatigued dogs, take the children blackberry-picking, or gather in the garden to char homemade margheritas in the pizza oven. Now's the time to assemble your coterie and make for the wilds, trying a slice of expeditionary life on home soil. These cosy private homes are made for storytelling by the inglenook fire, morning coffee among 20,000 books, and warm crumble made from backyard apples. Solitude is beckoning; how far will you go for your wilderness escape?
Hinterland Cabin
Perched on a hill overlooking the Conwy valley, this luxury log cabin sits on the border of Snowdonia, enveloped by big skies and soaring mountains. Whether hill hiking or gorge trekking, the hot tub and sauna will be the perfect remedy to the day's adventures.
Sleeps: Up to 2 guests
From: £1,595 per week, £1,295 per short break
Pets: Two medium well-behaved dogs are welcome
Features: Hot tub, sauna and yoga deck
Idlewylde
Machynlleth, Snowdonia, Wales, UK
From the sweet seclusion to mountain vistas, hot tub to glittering skies uninterrupted by city lights, Idlewylde is an impossibly romantic escape for couples in North Wales.
Sleeps: Up to 2 guests
From: £1,550 per week, £1,150 per short break
Pets: Two well-behaved dogs are welcome, or three on prior request
Features: Hot tub
Tincture
Llanwrtyd Wells, Cambrian Mountains, Powys, Wales, UK
A fairytale, off-grid cottage riding on the tides of nature in the heart of Wales' wild and little-discovered Cambrian Mountains.
Sleeps: Up to 4 guests
From: £1,650 per week, £1,250 per short break
Alternative Group Option: Up to 2 guests
Pets: Two well-behaved dogs are welcome
Eirianfa
Llanbedr-Dyffryn-Clwyd, Ruthin, Wales, UK
Cradled within a peaceful valley near Ruthin, this heart-stirring luxury cottage in Denbighshire boasts a games room with hot tub and a private lake, all set within 17 acres in North Wales.
Sleeps: Up to 4 guests
From: £1,995 per week, £1,450 per short break
Alternative Group Option: Up to 2 guests
Pets: One medium or two small well-behaved dogs are welcome on prior request
Features: Hot tub, bar, 50" TV, pool table, private lake
The Wilds
Crickhowell, Brecon Beacons, Wales, UK
This family home sat beneath the peaks of the Brecon Beacons has been sympathetically renovated into a countrified yet stylish abode, complete with a hot tub on the private sun terrace.
Sleeps: Up to 12 guests
From: £3,595 per week, £2,695 per short break
Alternative Group Option: Up to 8 guests
Pets: One well-behaved dog is welcome
Features: Hot tub
Charity
Black Mountains, Herefordshire, UK
Modern rusticity, clever artistry and divine seclusion combine to make Charity the ultimate wild retreat for friends and family gatherings; set down a winding mountain road in the Olchon Valley near the Brecon Beacons.
Sleeps: Up to 12 guests
From: £3,395 per week, £2,550 per short break
Alternative Group Option: Up to 6 guests
Pets: Two well-behaved dogs are welcome
Features: Wood-fired hot tub, sauna, outdoor shower, outdoor pizza oven, table tennis, snooker room, cinema barn
