With the weather getting better, the nights getting longer and the summer just around the corner, many will be thinking about their summer holidays.
One positive from the pandemic is the rise in popularity of staycations, with many still choosing to holiday in the UK. That has seen accommodation providers get really creative with their offerings, and in Northumberland you can stay in a heart-shaped treehouse or a canal boat moored on the side of a hill - as well as several cabins in the wilderness.
Two of the latter have made it onto a list of the best cabin stays in the UK in the Times: Hillside Huts and Cabins near Morpeth and the Glebe retreat near Alnwick. Chronicle readers may be familiar with Hillside Huts and Cabins, as we visited last year when it was given a similar award as one of the best new glamping sites in the country.
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It has since gone on to win two North East Tourism Awards, gold for the best new business section and silver for best glamping site of the year.
Of Hillside Huts and Cabins, the Times wrote: "Under trees between farm fields, the cabins (one sleeping four and three sleeping two) have wood-burners, luxurious bedding, heated towel rails and private covered decks, hot tubs and fire pits. Eco credentials alert: the huts are hand-built from reclaimed wood and insulated with sheep’s wool while electricity comes from the farm’s wind turbine.
"They make hay here but cut it late to protect nesting birds, and have planted 16,000 trees to create ten woodlands. Guests get a hamper of local grub and locally made goat’s milk soap, and can arrange “bush dinners” — one of the owners organised African safaris for 25 years so knows what to do.
"It’s a great place to go wild, with wild fitness, wild yoga in the wildflower meadow and wild swimming from the beach on offer in the form of guided sessions."
The second on the list was The Glebe Retreat in Edlingham near Alnwick, an armadillo-like structure providing a holiday hut for two on farm positioned between the stunning Northumberland Coast and Northumberland National Park.
Of the Glebe Retreat, the Times wrote: "There’s something of the vintage aircraft hangar about the shape of this curvaceous new wooden hideaway, the only one on a site in the village of Edlingham, just outside Alnwick with its famous medieval castle, and ten miles from the Northumberland coast.
"The oval domed living space is zoned into a neat modern kitchen, sitting area with mid-century furniture, cork-lined bathroom and a separate double bedroom, all in masculine greys and blacks. Steps descend from a half-moon deck to a garden area with a fire pit and seating area ringed by a tall fence and linked by stepping stones to a bathing area with an outdoor bath, carved from one piece of stone."
To read the full article in Times Travel, click here. For more information on Hillside Huts & Cabins, visit the website and for more on the Glebe Retreat, go to Canopy & Stars.
Where is your favourite cabin in Northumberland? Let us know!
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