The Scandi Cabin

The Scandi Cabin is a sleek, sophisticated and spacious cabin in rural Herefordshire offering an eco-friendly place to stay for two people that doesn’t compromise on comfort. It’s off-grid, using solar energy for power, a wood-burning stove for heat, and a spring for its water supply. This is by no means rustic; rather, the contemporary face of sustainability, with a high-end finish and luxurious amenities to ensure you're as well looked after as the environment that surrounds it. Those conveniences include a copper bath in the bedroom and a hot tub and sauna on your split-level deck.

Inside, the cabin is open-plan – apart from the bathroom, of course. There, you’ll find a large shower, a modern compost toilet, and geometric tiles you might fancy copying at home – just one of many design features that make this place stand out. It’s all clean lines, painted walls, wooden floors and lots and lots of light – thanks to a glass front and a skylight over the super king-size bed. What’s beyond the windows – relaxation and nature – provides your entertainment. With that in mind, there’s deliberately no TV. Instead, there are books, board games and the great outdoors. You can charge mobiles and other devices via USB ports, but there are no three-pin plugs.

Here, the outside space is as important as what’s indoors. You have a hot tub beyond the sliding doors of your living space, and a sauna on the deck below. There’s comfy outdoor furniture, a pizza oven and a barbecue. It’s all there to help you enjoy woodland and countryside views by day, and the stars which appear on clear nights. This is a very private getaway, tucked among trees, but it’s actually part of a group of boutique properties – The Fold – which occupies 18 acres of a fourth-generation family farm. The Scandi Cabin is, without a doubt, the top spot – the only one with its own sauna – but the others are lovely too, spanning The A Frame cabin, The Treehouse and The Nova Dome.

The location puts you deep in the countryside of a rural county, and if you’re looking for relaxation, what’s here is enough on its own. However, if you do want to explore, a car is a good idea. A half-hour drive can get you to the book town of Hay-on-Wye or even over the border to Wales and the Brecon Beacons/Bannau Brycheiniog National Park.