Some of the stunning holiday homes featured in the series Extraordinary Escapes appear in a new book, including these two in the Lake District
Over the silvery waters of one of the most beautiful lakes in the Lake District stands The Lingholm Boathouse, a luxury cabin for two.
This modern waterside bolthole reinvents the traditional boathouse vernacular with its sleek, gabled timber living space and a glazed wall for gazing out at one of the area’s most sublime mountain views.
Along the pebbled shores of numerous lakes, traditional stone boathouses can still be seen, many now tumbledown ruins crumbling at the water’s edge, the safety and cover of their internal voids no longer required to keep vessels safe from the elements.
At The Lingholm Boathouse, the design has been revived for a highly contemporary holiday home built over water, featuring an internal private mooring for guests to secure a rowing boat or kayak, and to access the lake, or even jump in for a swim.
In an area known for its bounty of cosy cottages and campsites, this unique escape stands apart with its smart contemporary form, where a gabled timber exterior hides a minimalist haven of white and grey. A small, smart kitchen at the back segues into a simple lounge where floor-to-ceiling windows look out onto one of the national park’s most epic scenes, dominated by the impressive peak of Skiddaw.
The quiet interiors speak to the watery world beyond the glass, allowing attention to fall on the changing colours of the surface and the drama of the purplish peaks. The double bedroom has been jazzed up with leaf-patterned wallpaper, a free-standing bath and glazed walls that look out onto the lake and landscape. Along one side of the building runs a balcony with table and chairs. Everything is arranged to maximise the enjoyment of this treasured overwater position, a rarity among Lake District properties.
The Boathouse is part of the grand Victorian Lingholm Estate, once a summer retreat of Beatrix Potter and now a hotel, but is perfectly secluded on Derwentwater’s western shore. Those not hell-bent on absolute privacy can hire a chef or visit the estate’s restaurant in the walled garden, which was built over the old kitchen gardens that became the inspiration for Mr McGregor’s garden during the Potter’s many visits (try not to steal the cabbages). Footpaths lead from the grounds around the lake and up nearby mountains such as Catbells, but of course, water-based pursuits are likely to be the favoured activity here.
The Lingholm Boathouse, Derwentwater, thelingholmestate.co.uk.
Design-led places to stay are quite rare in the Lake District, but this splendid little off-grid cabin stands out with its stylish black timber and Scandi minimal interiors.
Total isolation is guaranteed as the structure is moved to a different secret, highly-secluded spot every 28 days, in a less-trodden area of the incredible national park.
Unique hideaways that are luxurious in their simplicity and location and that allow guests to properly reconnect with nature – that was the idea behind Hinterlandes, a ground-breaking smattering of remote huts dropped into the feisty landscapes of the Lake District.
Owners John and Hannah Graham were inspired by a surge in off-grid, sustainable living, and the tiny house movement which began in the USA.
Leaving no impact on the countryside around it, the black, Siberian larch-clad Cabin is transported to a new woodland location every 28 days in refreshingly empty corners around the Lorton Valley near Crummock Water (which is fab for swimming), always with glorious views.
Guests are only given directions and a what3words location after booking, though a staff member will greet them – with torches, if it's after dark.
Tiny it may be, but the cabin is supremely comfortable, with a Smeg gas hob in the wooden kitchen, a marble wet room, a double bed with soft Egyptian linens, plus a fold-out sofa bed that two children could share. Even when the weather outside contradicts the cosiness inside (guaranteed year-round by Thermafleece insulation), you can make the best of it here – the wood stove will be piping hot, logs are provided for the outdoor wood-fired hot tub, there’s a fire pit and blankets for cuddling up on chilly nights in the outdoor chairs by HAY. The toilet may be a compost one, but that’s a small price to pay for truly going back to nature.
All the Hinterlandes rentals are non-permanent and moveable, varying from a converted American school bus with a VW campervan welded on top, to a silver 1956 Airstream and a yacht moored on the Cumbrian coast. The most adventurous is Hidden Hut, clad in oak shingles and mounted on wheels so it can be moved to even more remote locations that must be hiked up to. The reward for finding them? Getting to snuggle up on a lonely mountaintop in sublime isolation. The dream.
Cabin, Hinterlandes, Lorton Valley, hinterlandes.com.
*Extracts from Extraordinary Escapes, the official tie-in book to the hit Channel 4 series, which is due out this month (Quadrille, £20).
