Woodcutter’s Cottage
Our delightful woodland hideaway
Our gorgeous timber clad cottage hidden deep in our wood…
Designed by us and built by local craftsmen using timber from our own wood, Woodcutter’s Cottage is the cabin of fairytales. A cosy hideaway for couples, or it can accommodate a family of four.
The space inside has one small double bed and two seating areas that convert to (narrow) single beds at night – just right for children. There’s a table for dining indoors or playing board games. The mini-kitchen is compact but well equipped – with a two-ring gas hob and grill, a microwave oven, mini fridge and a sink with hot and cold water. No matter what time of year you’ll always be cosy, there’s a wood burner for the chillier months.
There’s low draw electricity in the cabin – which means you have enough to charge a phone and play the radio, but there isn’t enough to power a hairdryer or an iron.
Step outside and you have an outdoor dining deck and your very own firepit complete with BBQ equipment.
The space inside has one small double bed and two seating areas that convert to (narrow) single beds at night – just right for children. There’s a table for dining indoors or playing board games. The mini-kitchen is compact but well equipped – with a two-ring gas hob and grill, a microwave oven, mini fridge and a sink with hot and cold water. No matter what time of year you’ll always be cosy, there’s a wood burner for the chillier months.
There’s low draw electricity in the cabin – which means you have enough to charge a phone and play the radio, but there isn’t enough to power a hairdryer or an iron.
Step outside and you have an outdoor dining deck and your very own firepit complete with BBQ equipment.
There’s also the option to book the woodfired hot tub as an extra to enjoy during your stay. Built just for two it’s the perfect way to relax.
Just next door is your cute little wash-cabin – with a shower, basin and a modern compost loo.
We provide all bedding and towels and everything you need to make a self-catering break easy. Before you arrive, we’ll send you a complete kit list, so you know what to expect. Everything we supply is as sustainable and kind to the planet as possible – from the washing up liquid and loo roll, through to tea and coffee, the sheets and towels and everything in between.
Woodcutter’s Cottage is another one-off design, she sits in a secluded dell at the end of Dean Wood, our eight-acre chestnut and oak coppiced woodland. The cottage is perfectly situated for wildlife watching, from birds and squirrels during the day to foxes and badgers at night.
What Woodcutter’s Cottage Offers
Check Availability for Woodcutter’s
Take A Look at Our Farm Map To See Where You’ll Be Staying.
One of the best features of Swallowtail Hill is just how secluded our accommodation is. You could easily hide away for a few days and not see anyone else if you don’t want to! Woodcutter’s Cottage is ten minutes’ walk from the barnyard and at least five minutes’ walk from the nearest accommodation. No neighbours. Just your own little corner of heaven for a few days. When we promise ‘getting away from it all’ we really mean it.
You leave your car parked in our barnyard and we drive you to your accommodation in our farm buggy and will show you how everything works and get you settled in. We collect you again on your day of departure but in between times you are free to walk around our acres as you please.
The Woodcutter’s Cottage was exactly as described and just what I had hoped for. Right from the start things were excellent. The booking, the website, the description and the instructions/advice and the welcome and back up were all top notch. We loved the wee cottage, it was light and clean and so well laid out. Despite the mostly wet cold weather were happy to be snug with the very effective stove and enough room to be comfortable with our books. The transport to and from the gate to the door was such a good idea! I 100% recommend this place for a restorative getaway.
Food & Drink
For some, the chance to cook up a storm on the campfire is an essential part of their short break, for others having a hand with the self-catering is what having a restful holiday is all about. So, we offer a range of breakfast boxes, BBQ boxes, campfire suppers, picnics and teas that can be ordered in advance of your stay.
All of our grocery boxes contain locally sourced produce, organic where possible. Supplies in our shop are all ethically sourced too – organic, sustainable, palm oil free and local wherever possible.
There isn’t room for a travel cot, but there is room for you to bring a Moses basket or bassinet.
I’m afraid not. As a nature reserve our landscape has free range deer and lots of wildlife so we don’t permit dogs no matter how well behaved they are promised to be.
You simply add a note to your booking form or let us know by email or phone before your stay and we’ll fill it for you. We keep the hot tub as an optional extra as we’ve discovered that only around 65% of guests wish to use it. The tub is not designed to be chemically treated so if we fill it and guests don’t use it that’s 1000 litres of water wasted every time which is more than four households use on average each day! We take our sustainability credentials very seriously – so if you don’t want the hot tub you don’t pay for it, and we don’t waste the water. We charge £30 for hot tub hire which covers the cost of one fill of the tub and provides you with enough logs to heat it twice which is enough to cover the length of most people’s stays. Health and safety dictates that the same water shouldn’t be heated more than twice so any further use is charged accordingly.
No, at Swallowtail Hill we encourage you to take some time out of everyday life. To unplug in order to recharge! To stop the scroll for a while and really enjoy the time you spend here. So you won’t find wifi, or television, or cinema screens or anything like that here. We firmly believe this is what makes breaks here extra special, no distractions – just you, your loved ones, and some uninterrupted time to relax.
Thoughts on a Slow Start to the New Year
Swallowtail Hill regulars will know that we’re all about tapping into life lived more slowly. We call it the S’Lowdown as it’s the special Swallowtail Hill flavour of taking things at a pace that doesn’t leave us frazzled and disconnected.
So I regularly disappear from socials – because if I’m entirely honest – being a slave to the scroll doesn’t really match up to our values and it’s all too easy to get sucked back in which definitely has an effect on my mood.
Log Off and Look Up: Marketing Nature
This summer has been an eye opener. Not least because it’s been the most challenging one to date for our 14 year old business, but because it has made me question how we communicate the authentic appeal of Swallowtail Hill.
Sustainability at Swallowtail Hill
If you’ve stayed with us you’ll know that sustainability is at the core of everything we do. We work endlessly to ensure your footprint on the planet is as light as possible while staying here.
Waking From Hibernation
For the first time this winter we did something we should have been doing for years. We gave ourselves permission to S’Lowdown. Yep, the irony is not lost on us…
May On The Farm
May is one of my favourite months on the farm. The blossom, the hedgerow coming back into leaf, the lush grass – everything feels fresh, new and lovely…
Wind Power
Power prices are based on the wholesale price of gas worldwide but renewables are increasingly taking up the slack in power delivery…
February On The Farm
I’ve mainly been sowing flowers – my big plan this year is to dedicate two of the beds in the veg patch to flowers as I want a cutting…
Off-Grid Adventures
If you’ve not stayed with us before here’s a little flavour of what our off-grid spaces are all about! So why not have a browse and discover more!
Things To Do On A Winter Weekend!
Plenty of you arrive for a winter break just ready to hibernate for a couple of days, spending your time keeping cosy in your cabin, relaxing with a good book, soaking in…
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