A Red Cabin in a secluded orchard at Drove Orchards, near the North Norfolk village of Thornham, offers guests a private autumn retreat with a wood-fired sauna and hot tub. The cabin is one of six Red Cabins to have opened in the UK, with the first established on a sheep farm in Kent and others located on farms and vineyards in southern and eastern England.
The cabin sits in the far corner of a quince orchard and is designed to be private, with trees as its only neighbours. Its wood-fired stove, sauna and deck-mounted hot tub are prepared with starter logs for guests to light. The cabin is insulated with recycled plastic, while its unfussy design draws on Japanese and Scandinavian influences.
Built in Britain using materials including timber, plywood, cork, wool and hemp, the cabins sit on wheeled chassis rather than concrete foundations. They operate off-grid, with rooftop solar panels charging batteries. Each has a mains water supply and a dry toilet that bags waste at the press of a button.
Drove Orchards is within walking distance of Thornham and its pubs, and the Coastliner bus from King’s Lynn stops outside the orchard. From the cabin, footpaths and boardwalks cross the marshes to Thornham Beach and Holme Dunes nature reserve. Longer walks can take visitors to RSPB Titchwell Marsh and along the beach to Brancaster.
The orchard site also has a farm shop, independent retailers, a café, a pizzeria and a fish-and-chip shop. The cabin’s location is part of founder Tally Rix’s effort to help farmers diversify by working with landowners and tenant farmers to select sites. Two more cabins were due to open at Wyken Vineyards in Suffolk and Rathfinny Wine Estate in East Sussex. Stays at the cabins start at £220 a night, and each can accommodate up to four people.
Sources: The Guardian Travel.