Rest + Wild Exmoor

'So, we’re going to be in a field… with no shops or pubs nearby? And there’s no WiFi?!’ Mrs Smith is struggling with the concept of Rest + Wild, essentially five cabins (one per field) on the fringe of Exmoor National Park in North Devon. I hold back other tidbits: the lodge is only eight by three metres, there’s no oven or microwave, and the bath tub is outside. 

But this paints an inaccurate picture of this off-grid escape in one of the UK’s remotest corners. In fact, not only do its many clever features exude comfort and quality, but Rest + Wild Exmoor does something that other hotels looking to reduce their carbon footprint can only dream of: provide everything you could ever need and nothing more. Well, except for the bottle of English rosé waiting for us in the mini fridge. And a gloriously framed view of the Devonshire countryside. 

After a few ‘It can’t possibly be here, can it?’ moments, we arrive with our one-year-old along a tiny country lane to a gate hidden behind overhanging bushes. There are no staff to greet you here, just some well-written online instructions on how to get in and where to find your cabin. Our sense of adventure piqued, we commandeer a conveniently placed wheelbarrow to cart our daughter and our overnight bags across the bumpy field to our home for three nights.  

It’s a handsome miniature longhouse, with a double bed set against huge windows at one end; a kitchenette, wood-burner and living space in the middle; and a shower room at the other. Outside: a freestanding tub, fire pit, log store and garden table. Beyond that, the field, which slopes away to reveal a vista of patchwork farmland and distant hills worthy of a Countryfile drone sequence. 

Behind the cabin is Exmoor in all its heathery, gorsey, sheepy splendour. Listen closely: there’s not even the faint hum of cars here. The nearest main road is over five miles away. Your phone: silent. WiFi is patchy to say the least (but not non-existent). Still, we silence ours out of deference to, well, nature. Even our toddler takes to whispering. 

We agree that for a couple sans child, the cabin is ideal. With our one-year-old, though, we’re a little bit on top of each other. Luckily, Baby Smith enjoys being outside. She explores the perimeter of the field, offers grass to a sheep, delights in her alfresco baths. We spend our days blissfully unaware of the clock, reading, chatting, staring at the view. I light a woodpile in the fire pit each evening — we’re able to cook dinner on it like a barbecue. After Baby Smith’s bedtime, we hop into the bath ourselves and watch the wheeling sky turn to coral. We all sleep like babes. 

The nearest village — quiet, unassuming Molland — is down the valley, with its one shop and one pub. Travel the other way, up onto the ridge road of the moor, and the views turn 360 degree. Here, our path became blocked with pleasing regularity by sheep, lambs and wild ponies with their calves. 

Further afield are the Tarr Steps, an ancient river crossing made of huge bedrock slabs. The neighbouring Tarr Farm Inn is a lovely tree-cloaked spot for lunch. To the west, just outside the boundary of Exmoor National Park, is Quince Honey Farm. If you're fond of the sweet stuff, there are tastings and hive tours, and the deliciously heathery produce finds its way into the cafeteria’s menu, in sweet chutneys and an afternoon tea served with honeycomb instead of jam. 

Carrying on the A361 past Barnstaple, we reached the coast, all rugged headland towering over dramatic sandy bays. Croyde, Putsborough and Ilfracombe were our favourites.  

Thrillingly, it was the reddening sky rather than our own habitual urgency that indicated it was time to return to Rest + Wild. We made it to the cabin just in time to see the sun disappear over the horizon. The mist wandered in, and we, the cabin and the field disappeared into it. 

Inside our cocoon, we lit the wood-burner and settled in for a night of board games and books. Later, at home, we told friends we’d been to a cabin in a field with no shops or pubs nearby, no WiFi, and a bath tub outside. ‘How was it?’ they asked. 

‘Magic,’ we replied in unison.