Country weekend breaks near London for a super rural getaway

You’re in prime position for epic beach sunsets at The Old Rectory, the only building on Rhossili Bay in Wales. All that’s between this boxy white house and the beach is a mini grassy cliff and a few sheep. Dating back to the 1800s, it served as a base for WWII radar workers and a filming location for ‘Torchwood’ before becoming a holiday cottage. It’s got a big kitchen for cooking up feasts, and proper hygge wood-burning stoves, while outside the front door is what lays claim to being one of South Wales’ best surfing spots. Evenings can be spent in the garden out front, watching the tide come in under those pinky skies.

Found your sea legs? Live out any long-held ‘Swallows and Amazons’ fantasies by spending the night in a wooden cabin floating on a lake. The Raft at Chigborough is a simple, seculded, solar-powered, two-storey home that sits right on the water. You can fish, cook alfresco or relax on the deck, totally surrounded by nature. You can get to your new floating home via a little ferry platform and then up the adventure even more by taking a rowing boat over to the hot tub and fire pit by the bank of the lake. It’s the stuff of aquatic daydreams.

Not many places feel more remote than Alderney. The tiny, three-mile-long island is one of the Channel Islands, and you can walk the entire island easily without ever being far from the town, beaches or an unusual piece of military history. The super-secluded island, just a short flight from England, hasn’t always been so peaceful. It was strategic in a number of conflicts over the centuries – most recently, the island was occupied by Nazi forces during WWII – and is dotted with fascinating forts and batteries. Built to protect the Channel Islands during the mid-Victorian era and restored to house holidaymakers, one of them – Fort Clonque – now sleeps 13. Access is via a causeway that cuts the fort off from the island at high tide, so you can enjoy some totally secluded, simple downtime that feels a million miles away from life in London.

Has being locked down in central London been holding you back from astral exploration? StarBed Hideaways have got you covered. Their super-luxe Shepherd’s Huts are in a secluded spot, overlooking Devon’s wooded valleys on the edges of Dartmoor National Park. The key, unique feature here? All the lodges feature a curved glass ceiling, so you can gaze up at the night sky without leaving your king-size bed. Your fave new place also comes with a wood-burning stove, oven, deck and fire pit – all the essentials that mean you’ll hardly want to explore beyond the cabin.

If the view from your bedroom window is a bus stop or a bin store, your urban mind might very well be blown by the vistas from the cabins deep in Hampshire’s Blackwood Forest. The woodland near Winchester is home to 60 lodges, each with a huge picture window framing nothing but towering beech trees. In the middle of it all is the Forest Retreat, a small shop, café and bar that closes up after last orders at 8:30pm. In place of seshing hard, make the most of the zen surroundings and settle into the hot tub on your terrace. Listen to the calming rustle of leaves and keep an eye out for a different kind of night-time wildlife.

Sometimes you need to get away from it all and sometimes you need to completely remove yourself from modern society, be that work emails, doomscrolling on social media, or the seemingly always bleak 24-hour news cycle. Hansel and Gretel-esque Hex Cottage in Suffolk is a tiny thatched house for two that’s the definition of going off-grid – it’s completely electricity-free. You’ll have your own wood-burning range, open fires to keep you toasty and cupboards full of candles to light up the space in a soft glow come sunset. You just won’t be able to post about how much of a lovely time you’re having because there’s nowhere to charge your phone. Instead, embrace the quiet of the fields and woodlands around you, have a BBQ, a bike ride or a hike, or even play board games by the light of thirty flickering flames.

You don’t have to venture too far outside of London to find this rustic spot. An hour from any potential crowds in central London, and a five-minute walk from market town Wendover, sits Chiltern Yurt Retreat. Settle into a yurt, tabernacle or cabin, all of which have their own unique amenities. The Badger’s Bower tabernacle has an enormous double-ended bath, its own hammock and a firepit for alfresco cooking, while Hazel Tree Cabin comes with a hot tub in a woodland glade for wallowing and listening to the soft rustle of leaves/trying not to think about bugs.  

What’s the complete opposite of a central London new-build? An electricity-free hideout in a wild abandoned slate quarry in Cornwall. For a unique rural getaway, book into one of these architectural Kudhva cabins, raised high above the ground with sweeping views of the Cornish coastline. They are all entirely off-grid, forcing you to relax, unwind and get completely immersed in nature. You can light a campfire outside your cabin or cook in the kitchen area before retiring to your home in the treetops. Make the most of the rugged environment and try your hand at sea sports, foraging, yoga, climbing, coastal walks or surfing. Afterwards, you might reconsider returning to London. 

For full rural immersion, head to the Blackdown Hills in Somerset. It’s where Andrew, Emma and their family run a luxe glamping experience called Dimpsey, which, FYI, is a West Country term for the half-light that comes at the end of the day. If that isn’t a dreamy enough reason to visit, the huts are as luxe as sleeping in a field gets. Think log burners, wood-fired hot tubs and a garden oven. The aim is to keep you close to nature, though, so don’t expect to find an internet connection here. There’s plenty to entertain yourself with instead, though, with beautiful local walking trails, vintage picnic baskets and piles of board games on hand.

Heard about St Ives’s artistic vibes? Go in search of your own inspiration inland at Treehouse on the Lake. This rural high-rise – a treehouse 20 feet above the forest floor – is a lush place to call home for a day or two. Cleanse yourself of your city-shaped existence by wandering through woodland, stargazing or listening to the sounds of the forest from your timber terrace. The treetop hideaway might even inspire you to make your own art. But if your creative endeavours don’t go to plan, you can always feast at the on-site restaurant or lie around in the heated pool and spa instead.

Country life is all about taking things slow and you’ll definitely be encouraged to do that here, at this gorgeous farmhouse. Located on the edge of the Black Mountains, Ponthendre Farmhouse has great access to hiking – both the more strenuous kind and something a little more relaxed – while it’s within walking distance of two local pubs. Explore further afield and you’ll find a prize-winning local shop and more fine drinking establishments to freshen up in. You can also take advantage of further great outdoors activities, like cycling, canoeing and pony-trekking, or just sit back and chill out in the house, which boasts a library, board games, a big garden with a trampoline and swing, and a BBQ.