You know how you keep saying you want to ‘get away from it all’? Turns out it actually can do you a lot of good. Leaving behind the muggy crowds of Euston, I hopped on a train to Shrewsbury, before taking a half hour taxi past handsome hamlets, countryside pubs and rolling green fields into a secluded woodland near the border of Wales. Here, you’ll find Woodland Park Lodges: a collection of charming, purpose-built treehouses that make for a stunning (and stunningly quiet) getaway.
The Bluebell Treehouse sleeps six: there’s a twin, a double and a double master bedroom with an en-suite. Built on stilts amoung the branches and done up to top-tier standards, with beautiful exposed wooden beams and outside ratlan furniture for when the sun makes an appearance, you’ll have everything you need for a chilled weekend away. Soak off in the bubbling hot tub, take a countryside walk to a local pub (I’d recommend The Vault in Ellesmere for a quirky beer garden and cocktails on tap) or cook up a family-style meal in the well-equipped kitchen to eat around the large dining room table. Nearby, you can stroll through country roads to Ellesmere – it takes around 50 minutes down country paths – where you can grab a coffee around the lake at The Mere. There are also plenty of woodland walks directly from the lodges if you fancy something shorter.
It feels luxurious but still completely immersed in nature
For entertaining, there’s a large, open plan kitchen-diner-living room with a big TV, fireplace and comfy L-shaped sofa, as well as a BBQ on the decking by the hot tub. If you have furry friends, two pets are allowed. And if you’re in a big group (this could be a great spot for a chilled hen ’do or larger famiy reunion), there are the other, neighbouring houses to rent out – though each is private enough that you won’t be on top of each other. The best part about this place, though, is the fact it feels luxurious but still completely immersed in nature. A highlight has to be the large glass windows looking out over the vast, dense forestland: throwing open the curtains to the morning light trickling in through the branches was more than enough to keep me going for another few months in the big city.
Price starts from £520 for a weekend.