Forest retreats: all you need to know

What is a forest retreat?

By definition, a forest retreat is a place to stay within a forest. That’s a holiday home or lodge to rent – or to buy.

The word 'retreat' tells you a lot, too – these holiday parks are designed to provide a respite from the hustle and bustle of modern living, taking advantage of the calm atmosphere deep within a forest to help you shake off the stress of work, commuting and general daily life.

What are the benefits of a forest retreat?

Immersing yourself in the tranquillity of a forest is recognised as having a calming effect; de-stressing comes to mind.

Nature – observing birds and squirrels, and, if you are lucky, deer, too, is beneficial to health and wellbeing. In fact, multiple studies have found that natural environments can reduce feelings of anxiety and depression – Japanese researchers found that forests are particularly effective for this, with 'forest bathing' lowering cortisol levels. Even if your mental health is generally sound, spending quality time in nature can help you to relax.

So, if you are looking for a place to chill out, a forest retreat may be perfect for you.

The best forest retreat holiday homes in the UK

Where should you start finding forest retreats? We’ve been doing some research to set you on the right track to finding your perfect relaxing break.

Forest retreats in the southwest

We’ll start in beautiful Dorset, where Wareham Forest Lodge Retreat sits amid woodland walks and cycle routes, at Holton Heath. You can hire a lodge here – and experience a forest retreat. And then, perhaps, buy your own lodge – your perfect forest retreat. Holton Heath is six miles from Poole and less than three miles from Wareham.

Arguably one of Britain’s most popular forest areas is the New Forest. Sandy Balls Holiday Centre, a 120-acre estate set in woodland, owned by Away Resorts, has holiday homes and lodges to rent and also lodges to buy. Buying here gets you a forest retreat with a comprehensive array of holiday facilities – restaurants and bars, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, family activities, plus a gym.

Hoburne Bashley Holiday Park, where a new lodge development is taking place, is on the edge of the New Forest, at New Milton. It’s a 100-acre park with outdoor and indoor swimming pools, plus its own Woodcraft Centre where families can learn woodcraft skills. There’s also tennis and a nine-hole golf course. The New Forest stretches out to the north of the park and the coast is nearby, at Barton-on-Sea.

Hoburne Naish Holiday Park, nearby, at Barton-on-Sea, gives you another option on the fringe of the forest with the coast very close. There’s a good choice of holiday homes to buy, including pre-owned holiday homes, and luxury lodges.

On the Lizard Peninsula of Cornwall, Franchis Holidays has a new development of 15 lodges bordered by mature trees and a woodland stream. This is an owners-only park, with no rental units available.

Brokerswood Holiday Park is at Westbury in Wiltshire, set in 80 acres of historic woodland. It’s six miles from Longleat Safari Park. Brokerswood has its own lake, with fishing and canoeing among its main attractions. Woodland trails abound. Lodges are available for rent or to buy, and letting is permitted.

Oakdene Forest Park is close the New Forest. Trails lead from the path into the Avon Forest. Lodges are for rent or purchase and activities on the park include archery. There is a gym and an indoor swimming pool, plus a coffee shop and a takeaway.

Eden Valley Holiday Park is at Lanlivery in Cornwall, set amid mature trees and has lodges to rent and buy. The park is six miles from Bodmin and five miles from the coastal town of Fowey. There’s an indoor games room, a dog exercise paddock and an adventure playground. Lodges are available for rent and purchase.

Hollies Trout Farm Lodges is set in woodland on a trout farm, a few miles from Honiton in Devon. Lodges are available to rent here, and guests can catch trout for dinner!

Meadow Lakes Holiday Park is set in 56 acres, much of which is natural forest/woodland. Many of the holiday homes and lodges back onto woodland and dense woodland surrounds the fishing lakes; a great place for walks. Meadow Lakes is a paradise of serenity  – yet with plenty of attractions, including an outdoor swimming pool with a café overlooking it, indoor and outdoor adventure play areas, a play barn and a games room, and farm pets to make friends with.

Forest retreats in Wales

Seven Springs Lodge Park, at Ceredigion, in mid Wales, and Forest View, in Northumberland, are owned by the Luxury Lodge Group. Forest View is a 32-acre park on the bank of the River Rede, with views of Kielder Forest. It’s close to Kielder Water, and is also close to the town of Jedburgh. Seven Springs is a mile from the coast, at Aberystwyth.

Pen Y Banc Woods is five minutes from the town of Llanidloes, in Powys, set in 32 acres of woodland. The park has views of the Severn Valley and the Hafren Forest is nearby. Luxury lodges are for sale here and plots are available for bespoke lodges.

In a secluded location amid woodland, and with spectacular hill views, Maes Mynan Holiday Park has two sections. One is for lodges – and the views from here, of the Clwydian Hills, Maes Mynan’s own lake, and woodland, are magnificent. The other section is for holiday homes, set in a landscape of trees. The area is a walkers’ paradise; hundreds of paths criss-cross the hills. You can start directly from the park, and join a number of ridge and valley walks. Holiday homes are for sale. Renting is not available at this park.

Forest retreats in Norfolk

Kelling Heath Holiday Park, three miles from the north Norfolk coast, at Weybourne, is arguably the very definition of a forest retreat. Set in around 300 acres of natural woodland, lodges and holiday homes to rent and to buy are nestled within the forest.

Kelling Heath has family activities at its heart. Cycle hire, tennis, an indoor pool, entertainment – it’s all here, plus a restaurant and café. Walking trails in the forest and further afield are an attraction, too.

Forest retreats in Cumbria

Fallbarrow Holiday Park is in woodland on the edge of Lake Windermere in Cumbria, a short walk from Bowness-on-Windermere, and has holiday homes for rent and purchase. The park has a restaurant and bar.

Fell End Holiday Park, in south Cumbria, is set amid 28 acres of woodland within the Arnside & Silverdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Holiday homes and lodges are for sale and rent, and there is a restaurant and bar, and a gym. The park is owned by the Pure Leisure group and is located at Hale, just over two miles south of the quaint town of Milnthorpe.

Club Holiday Homes, a division of the Camping and Caravanning Club, has several forest retreats. Among them is a park on the shore of Derwentwater in Cumbria. There is also Lakeside, five minutes’ walk from the market town of Keswick. Walking trails through woodland lead from both parks. Close to the village of Staveley, Club Holiday Homes’ Windermere park is between Kendal and Windermere. All three parks have holiday homes and lodges to purchase.

Forest retreats in Scotland

Forest retreats in Scotland are numerous; for example, in Dumfries & Galloway, Away Resorts’ Moffat Manor is set in 80 acres. The park has a lakeside tavern, lots of play space, plus endless walking and cycling possibilities, and it’s just five minutes’ drive from the town of Moffat. A good range of holiday homes is for sale here. And the park has a managed lettings service, so that you can let out your holiday home to offset some of the costs of ownership.

Seaton Estate Holiday Village, at Arbroath in Angus, is in 80 acres of dense woodland, yet is also close to the coast, which is three miles from the park. The park has a country club with three bars, a restaurant, an adventure play park and cliff trail walks from the park.