Glamping doesn’t get more idyllic than the two luxurious lakeside Cabins at Shepherd’s Huts Sussex, as our Social Media Manager Hannah found out when she went to stay…
Tucked away down a private farm track, just outside the medieval market town of Horsham, you will find a real haven of tranquillity. Having inherited two fishing lakes from the previous owners, Kate and Olly have nestled two Plankbridge Cabins beside the largest of the two lakes, spaced just the right distance apart from each other, with hurdles providing privacy from the other guests. It’s been just six months since these beautiful huts left the Plankbridge workshop and settled into their lakeside location, but they look like they have been there forever.
Having purchased the two ‘Ready to roll’ Cabins back in the winter (one of which was the very first hut we made in the lime-washed Watermill interior finish) with a view to getting their glamping venture up and running in time for the spring season, Kate and Olly requested just one change before the huts left the workshop: an exterior respray to a different shade of green from our colour card for one of them. An easy adjustment to make, it was then only a matter of delivering them to their new home in West Sussex, where they could soon open the doors for guests to enjoy.
It helps, of course, that owners Kate and Olly have thought of every detail to make their guests feel at home. A welcome hamper with a handwritten note and locally made biscuits, chocolate, beer and toiletries greeted us when we arrived, along with a wood-fired hot tub, fire pit and a choice of two outdoor seating areas outside to enjoy the lakeside views.
On our first evening at the Watermill hut, Heron’s Nest, we went for a wander around the lake to get our bearings and see the huts from the other side. The only neighbours around were the geese and the ducks that Kate and Olly rescued recently from a battery farm – all content with their lovely life on the banks of the lake. When we returned, I stoked up the woodfired hot tub so that it would be ready to enjoy when the sun went down later that evening, and lit the firepit to start cooking a classic campfire dinner. With a clever grill mechanism that can be moved over and away from the fire depending on how much heat the food needs, I loaded it up with pork and vegetarian sausages, vegetables and halloumi, which cooked to perfection with a lovely smoked wood-fired taste.
The following morning we had breakfast in the hut before walking over to the other lake where Kate had told us to help ourselves to the rowing boat if we fancied a paddle around the lake. With blue skies and the sun shining down, it felt like we were on a summer retreat.
So that we could experience both huts during our stay, Kate and Olly helped moved our bags next door to Mallard Hut, which has a slightly different view of the lake, taking in a little footbridge where the herons and ducks like to rest awhile and watch over their surroundings. Later that evening we enjoyed a summer dinner on the deck in the sunshine, with a glass of wine in hand. The perfect end to the perfect stay!
- To book a stay at Shepherd’s Huts Sussex, click here
- To find out more about our shepherd’s hut models, click here
- To read more ‘Stay in a Shepherd’s Hut’ blogs, click here
