These gorgeous huts are the perfect way to see the countryside in comfort and style.

02.07.24 | By Olivia Lidbury | Journal

7 Quirky Shepherd Hut Stays Around the UK

These gorgeous huts are the perfect way to see the countryside in comfort and style.

Design-led hotels in cosmopolitan cities score highly when it comes to a weekend away. But for the moments when you want to lose yourself in nature and wake up to the sounds of the birds, we have just the answer – and thankfully, it doesn’t involve a sleeping bag or mismatched tent poles.

The premise of a shepherd’s hut hasn’t changed all that much from when they were used by sheep farmers over 100 years ago as a refuge from Britain’s unpredictable weather during the lambing season – but the ones listed here are reassuringly more elevated. Situated in bucolic countryside, some feature home comforts to appease even the most uncompromising of urbanites.

So go off-grid, leave the phone charger at home (and remember to pack your wellies). Here are some of our favourites to plot an escape to…

1. Aller Dorset

Putting the luxury into the great outdoors, the decor of Aller Dorset’s pair of huts is the brainchild of a former fashion PR Cat and it shows – think statement printed headboards and kitchenettes painted in bold shades by Farrow & Ball. Each purpose-made hut has its own bathroom (hurrah!) and an outside bathtub for some star-gazing with a difference. For dinner, there’s a barbecue for roasting meats, and Cat’s homemade granola for breakfast. Each hut overlooks a spring-fed lake – AKA a natural swimming pool for the brave.

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2. The Shepherd’s Hut Retreat

The perfect place to do nothing, these six huts by a picturesque lake boast access to a hot tub and sauna – so don’t forget your bathrobe. The on-trend decor is inspired by boutique hotels and each one’s fully-equipped kitchen and private bathroom ensure there’s no sense of ‘roughing it’. Make your own pizzas to pop in the wood-fired ovens, or amble over to the nearby gastro pub.

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3. Wriggly Tin Huts 

Looking for something more authentic? Some of these pretty huts in a secluded bluebell meadow in the South Downs date back 100 years. There’s no electricity or wi-fi, and you’ll need to keep the stove going to heat up the water for hot drinks – oh and to wash with, for there are no showers here. The pastel-hued, wood-panelled interiors will make you feel like you’ve stepped back in time – in an utterly charming way.

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4. Fen Lodge 

Bunk beds with a pastel-green ladder? Book us in! This trio of purpose-built huts in pretty Suffolk includes the Alder, a family-size set-up perfect for four guests. Crammed with vintage crockery, oil paintings and Welsh blankets, you’ll be hard-pressed to leave, but the beaches of Southwold and Aldeburgh are just a 20-minute drive if you’re keen to blow away the proverbial cobwebs. Even better still, each hut has a separate but dedicated washroom.

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5. Snowdonia Glamping

Like your own private compound, the unique set-up in this breathtaking national park features a wood-fired hut for sleeping in, a neighbouring one with a shower and sauna for washing in, and an outdoor kitchen covered by a canopy for barbecuing and sitting out by the fire pit. Your mobile phone won’t catch any signal – so you can forget any internet or streaming connections. Instead, the soundtrack to your stay will feature bleating lambs and chirpy birds.

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6. Folly Farm 

Expect neighbours of the four-legged variety at this standalone hut situated on a working farm in the heart of the Wessex Downs. There’s a petite bathroom and a sheepskin-lined seating area to contemplate life – which you’ll have plenty of time to do as there’s no wifi or TV. Grab a blanket and sit back in the Adirondack chairs whilst you toast marshmallows alfresco around the fire pit.

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7. Shepherdess Sussex

You’ll have to wait until next spring to book a stay at Shepherdess Sussex’s trio of Insta-worthy huts, for there’s no heating. But it’ll be worth the wait. Each space is designed by a different sister to reflect the magic of its ancient woodland setting with rich paint colours, patch-worked bedspreads and equally desirable finishing touches. A barn and caravan (and two bathrooms) make up an offering for 10 guests, so it’s a popular spot with friends booking weekend-long private retreats.

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These gorgeous huts are the perfect way to see the countryside in comfort and style.

7 Quirky Shepherd Hut Stays Around the UK

These gorgeous huts are the perfect way to see the countryside in comfort and style.

1. Aller Dorset

2. The Shepherd’s Hut Retreat

3. Wriggly Tin Huts

4. Fen Lodge

5. Snowdonia Glamping

6. Folly Farm

7. Shepherdess Sussex

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These gorgeous huts are the perfect way to see the countryside in comfort and style.

7 Quirky Shepherd Hut Stays Around the UK

These gorgeous huts are the perfect way to see the countryside in comfort and style.

1. Aller Dorset

2. The Shepherd’s Hut Retreat

3. Wriggly Tin Huts

4. Fen Lodge

5. Snowdonia Glamping

6. Folly Farm

7. Shepherdess Sussex

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3. Wriggly Tin Huts 

4. Fen Lodge 

6. Folly Farm 