Monday 1 July 2019

Two Nights In An Off Grid Cabin


For a long time now my husband and I have been really interested in off grid living. Slowly but surely he has started to add solar panels to our roof and he's even bought himself a mini wind turbine which helps to generate power for his shed. I've really got into growing my own vegetables over the past couple of years and often day dream about what a completely self sufficient lifestyle would be like. 

When it came to organising a little break away for his 40th birthday we were both keen to just get away from it all somewhere really peaceful and dog friendly. My first port of call was to search the Canopy & Stars website which is a favourite of mine for finding more unique UK breaks away. We'd left it quite late to book something and I was worried we wouldn't find anything we liked but then I stumbled across Knotting Hill Barn House - an off grid cabin in its own private woodland. I felt like I had struck gold! 


The cabin looked stunning from the photos but it completely exceeded our expectations in person. I don't really know what I had been expecting but when we arrived it just blew me away! The location, just outside the Leicestershire town of Melton Mowbray, only took us two hours to get to by car but it felt like we were a million miles away from everything. I don't think I expected the private woodland area to be as big as it was and it felt unreal that we had all of this to ourselves. 



I couldn't wait to get inside and explore what would be our home for the next two nights whilst my husband couldn't wait to get inside the storage box to find out what off grid power system had been installed. He completely geeked out over everything technical whilst I lusted over the interior which can only be described as rustic chic goals! 


As soon as we stepped inside I was just reminded of our previous stays at Soho Farmhouse. Everything looked so beautiful and whoever styled this place knew exactly what they were doing. It was beautiful, cosy and so welcoming. I'm not really one to slum it and, despite his numerous requests to go camping, my husband has never fully succeeded at getting me to rough it for a few days! This was completely my kind of place and somewhere I knew I could really relax and enjoy myself. 




Everything in the cabin was just perfection and a beautiful balance of rustic edginess with a touch of luxury. I adored all the copper pipe work and wood cladded walls. I couldn't stop walking around and exploring the rooms as each and every one had something different to offer and some genius interior touches like maps on the ceilings and wine boxes on the walls. 




This cabin sleeps up to 8 people with the added option of more people setting up tents and camping within the grounds. So with a total of 4 bedrooms to choose from we were really spoilt for choice! We ended up in the main master bedroom upstairs which is open and overlooks the rest of the cabin. It was the perfect cosy retreat for us after a long day of ....well.... relaxing! 



 


Outside was just as exciting as the inside for me as the cabin comes with a wood fired hot tub, an outdoor pizza oven, a BBQ + fire pit area along with huge bean bags for lounging on and an outside dining table. Oh and I almost forgot to mention the private lake with canoe boats! This place really is very special and we literally had no reason to go anywhere else. We both wanted to make the most of everything the cabin had to offer which meant that any plans to explore local cafes and walks went straight out the window. 





We just so happened to be blessed with perfect warm Summer weather during our stay so it really did feel as though everything had aligned perfectly for us. It meant we got to spend lots of time enjoying the outside, basking in the hot tub and catching some rays. I actually returned home from this trip with a very decent sun tan! 



I think for us it was just so great to find somewhere that ticked all the boxes and the fact that it's dog friendly was the icing on the cake. Our dogs absolutely loved being here and having all the open space to explore. It was also so nice to not have to worry about disturbing anyone else. Whenever we go away anywhere with our dogs I am always so conscious about them barking or annoying other people and that didn't matter at all here which meant we could really relax and enjoy ourselves. 


I'm not going to lie, this cabin was very expensive for just the two of us but as it was a special occasion we decided to push the boat out and just go for it as it was exactly what we had been looking for. But if you do want to stay here and can share with other people then it's going to work out much more affordable for everyone. I also think that with the added option of more people camping this would be the most perfect place for a big family gathering or group getaway. 



If i'm being honest 2 nights didn't feel long enough here and we both wished that we'd booked an extra night because neither of us felt ready to leave when it came to check out morning. I genuinely felt so sad to be leaving this place and immediately started to look at their future availability for another stay. 


If you're interested in the more technical side of things and how this cabin runs off grid then be sure to check out Andy's video of our stay too! I've also saved my Instagram stories from this trip so head over there for a closer look at what we got up to. 



Does an off grid getaway appeal to you? 

Do you day dream about living completely self sufficiently!?

If so this could be the place for you.  


Share:

2 comments

  1. I booked a long weekend in September (3 nights) here a few weeks ago. Reading your blog adds to my excitement for the complete isolation and haven of relaxation.

    ReplyDelete
  2. This looks so dreamy Sarah! Considering booking a weekend here towards the tail end of summer (: How did you find it fared in terms of catering for vegan diets? x

    ReplyDelete

© Sarahs Life And Style | All rights reserved.
Blog Design Handcrafted by pipdig