THE HUDNALLS HIDEOUT, WYE VALLEY
As soon as you open the cabin door to this woodland retreat you are in a different world. We arrive at night (it’s hard to find, so take directions!), and find everything we need to guide us in the dark: wellies, a map and a torch. Inside, the space – styled in made.com furniture – is a cross between a Colorado cabin and a Hollywood Hills celebrity apartment. On the first evening, we cover ourselves in blankets and play snakes and ladders by the hanging fireplace. And the next day, we wake up with a view of the canopy and watch birds fly through the Wye Valley trees – nuthatches and woodpeckers gather around the bird feeder. The bedroom, which you get to via a wooden spiral staircase, is the most beautiful part of the cabin, tucked in the triangular mezzanine, with a king-size handmade loft bed and a glass window staring out into the trees.
Downstairs, an outdoor copper bath sits on the wooden decking, where you can take a dip and watch the trees sway in the wind. It’s too chilly for us to try this time, so instead we have a lazy breakfast and take advantage of the guest hamper’s pint of fresh apple juice (from the local farm shop), delicious buttercup yellow salted butter, crusty bread, home-made biscuits and croissants. By daylight, it’s obvious that the couple who run Hudnalls have thought of everything. There are Spacemasks, Temple Spa toiletries, a telescope (for stargazing), and even a marshmallow toasting fork! If you wanted to spend all weekend here, you could – but we decide to venture out: first to the St Briavels food market (for home-made sausage rolls and scones), and later to the nearby Tudor Farmhouse for dinner. At the latter, we enjoy light-as-a-feather soufflé, potato gnocchi with braised black cabbage and borlotti beans, and pork belly with pickled pears. Oh, and buttermilk panna cotta with honey and thyme plums. It’s one of those meals you don’t easily forget, and well worth the 20-minute cab ride.
By the time we are ready to say goodbye to this romantic retreat, it feels like we have been away for a week. I think that’s because there is no wi-fi, which turned out to be a great blessing. So for that reason, and all the rest, this is somewhere to come with someone you love. NATASHA LUNN
TRIP NOTES
A stay is priced from £225 (midweek) and £275 a night (weekend), based on two sharing. Visit hudnallshideout.co.uk. The Tudor Farmhouse six-course tasting menu costs £60 (wine not included). See tudorfarmhousehotel.co.uk