The Log Cabin at The Barn Oakenshaw

As soon as you step inside The Barn Oakenshaw’s log cabin, you realise it’s the real deal: Finnish design, built out of huge 100-year-old sustainably-sourced logs, stacked together and insulated with sheep’s wool. You can smell the wood, and you'll want to touch it too. There’s a log burner inside, and outside, a wood-fired hot tub offering views across the County Durham countryside. It’s all very much what you want from a traditional log cabin – and you'll discover more besides. This place offers self-catering stays with underfloor heating, a pool table, two Smart TVs and Wi-Fi.

It’s the first of three holiday accommodation options that are planned for this former farm. They're situated around a courtyard that's open to the south, offering countryside and woodland views. When the sun shines, it’s bathed in it all day. This, and the log cabin’s wall of bi-folding doors that look out to the patio, mean you can enjoy indoor-outdoor living.

It’s big enough for six guests, and all open-plan with two mezzanine king-size bedrooms and a large sofa bed downstairs. We say “downstairs” out of habit: it’s actually down ladders. That means the cabin is best suited to the agile, a family with children who aren't super young, or a small group of friends. Guests of all ages will enjoy making the most of the amenities, including a pool table, a hot tub, a retractable 83-inch TV and an entertainment area. There's also an arcade machine with 1000-plus retro games. That’s not the only quirky addition: owners Paul and Claire, who sometimes live on-site, have a sense of humour that’s evident in the creations hanging on the timber walls: paintings, quotes and an eclectic collection of object d’art.

All this makes The Log Cabin a fun place to hang out, but the location offers more. Visits to the famous castle and cathedral in nearby Durham City are popular, as is Beamish, the Living Museum of the North, and families will find they’re well placed for a day at Holmside Park. For a local adventure, Oakenshaw Nature Reserve is within walking distance, and the closest pubs are close by, with many different places to eat locally.