Victoria Harrison

Victoria Harrison

  • Home
  • My Book
  • About
  • Events
  • Press
  • Contact

August 3, 2015 by: victoriaharrison

Sleep in a Shepherd’s Hut in a Wildflower Meadow

Shepherds hut vicky harrison

As a fan of the great outdoors, but one who favours a warm, dry bed, I have been increasingly attracted by the romance of staying in a shepherd’s hut and had been searching for the perfect one to stay in for a long weekend. I got a bit obsessed, in fact, and ended up pouring over the websites of nearly every hut in the South of England, looking at all the different options and getting totally carried away with my quest to find the perfect one. Often they are grouped together in camp sites with communal washing and eating areas, but when I found this little hut the thing that attracted me most was the location. Set in a private wildflower meadow with a lake, the hut was based entirely on its own in splendid isolation and the nearest neighbours were the ducks, insects and otters (yes, otters!) already resident in the meadow.

Shepherds hut vicky harrison

When we arrived we found the hut tucked away in the middle of the meadow with little mown paths guiding us from the hut to the lake to the shower block, to the pump house and back again. And if that wasn’t idyllic enough, the hut itself was picture perfect. Think country cottage style, in miniature. Inside this tiny wooden home the owners have managed to squeeze in a cosy double bed, neat little table and chairs, a wood burning stove, a little indoor sink, book shelves, pictures on the walls and all manner of clever storage solutions. As you may  know, I have a peg-rail obsession, and the clever use of peg rails and hooks everywhere inside the hut just won me over. They even had storage boxes hanging from the ceiling!

Outside the front door was a decked area with a wonderful view over the lake (for otter watching) and I fell in love with the perfectly appointed little camping kitchen next to the hut – it had an oven, gas hob, cool-box fridge, ceramic butler sink and a vase of freshly picked flowers. I think that’s the definition of glamping. But, if that wasn’t enough, a BBQ and fire brazier were within easy reach for alfresco dining and marshmallow toasting and we even found a hammock ready to drape between two trees for lazing away the sunny afternoons. The owners had literally thought of everything.

Shepherds hut vicky harrison

In fact it was all so lovely and relaxing that we could have happily stayed there for the two days and I did idly dream of giving up the rat race, selling all my possessions and buying a hut to live in for the rest of my days. But, day-dreaming aside, we did manage to rouse ourselves on the second day and and borrowed the two bikes available to guests (another great idea) and cycled into the nearest village for a cup of tea and a wander around the shops and markets before lazily heading back. There was a lot of lazing.

Shepherds hut vicky harrison

The owners, Charlie and Jeremy, live nearby in Rose Cottage (yes, it’s as idyllic as it sounds) and were the perfect hosts. They greeted us on arrival, ensured the hut was stocked up with fresh supplies of towels and little posies of wild flowers, and the kitchen was stocked with bread, milk and tea. Then after showing us how everything worked they left us to enjoy the wonderful peace and quiet of the meadow with reassurances that they were nearby if we needed anything.

Shepherds hut vicky harrison

The entire experience was so wonderfully relaxing, restorative and authentic that I was in two minds as to whether I should even share the location, as a selfish part of me wants to keep it a secret. But my conscience won out and if you fancy staying here, all the information can be found on their website Borleymere Shepherd Huts. 

country living vicky harrrison

*Note* I was not a guest of Borleymere Shepherds Huts and this is not a sponsored post

All photos: Victoria Harrison

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Google+ (Opens in new window)
A Slice of Cornish Paradise at Hotel Tresanton, St Mawes

Comments

  1. Charlie & Jeremy says

    April 16, 2017 at 11:00 am

    Life is so slow here that I’ve only just found your piece on our Shepherd’s Hut! Beautifully written and lovely photographs, it’s really made my weekend… thank you so much. Maybe see you again one day.

    Reply
  2. Bridget Harris says

    April 24, 2016 at 8:03 am

    This is not in the south of England but Roulotte Retreat in the Scottish Borders is idyllic – French gypsy caravans in a meadow with stream, pond, views of the Eildon Hills, lots of wildlife, walks, near Melrose. These have everything in one delightful caravan – wood burning stove, shower, loo, kitchen area and some of them also have a wood burning hot tub for relaxing outside. (PS I’m not connected with them in any way but we love staying there).

    Reply
    • victoriaharrison says

      April 24, 2016 at 4:31 pm

      Thanks so much for sharing, that sounds idyllic! It’s on my list now 🙂

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Dream Homes: A Rustic Little Cabin in The Countryside says:
    February 14, 2018 at 7:06 pm

    […] preferably near some water, but at this point I’m not too fussy, and to have one or two shepherd’s huts or gypsy caravans to rent out as a holiday […]

    Reply
  2. Your Ultimate Glamping Checklist (Read before You Pack!) says:
    April 20, 2016 at 11:27 am

    […] just returned from a second visit to one of my favourite places ever – this tiny little Shepherd’s Hut. A big part of the appeal of this particular hideaway is that the owners have literally thought of […]

    Reply
  3. Travel: A Slice of Cornish Paradise at Hotel Tresanton, St Mawes says:
    August 10, 2015 at 12:45 pm

    […] stopping at glamping sites along the way for a truly British seaside holiday (inspired by my Shepherd Hut glamping experience earlier this year). However, due to work deadlines, other commitments and poor planning on my part […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Buy the book

Have a browse

Say hi on Twitter

My Tweets

Browse my Instagram

This error message is only visible to WordPress admins

Error: API requests are being delayed for this account. New posts will not be retrieved.

There may be an issue with the Instagram access token that you are using. Your server might also be unable to connect to Instagram at this time.

Error: No posts found.

Make sure this account has posts available on instagram.com.

Click here to troubleshoot

Peek inside my Book

Get social

Search the site

© 2021 · Fun Genesis WordPress Theme by, Pretty Darn Cute Design

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.