If you really want to get away from it all, how about hiding out in an abandoned slate quarry on the north coast of Cornwall? Perhaps, somewhere you can swim in a wilderness lake and maybe even wash in a waterfall. That may sound pretty “out there” but it’s what a stay at Kudhva Architectural Hideouts offers – with all the rough edges smoothed away. You’ll still have the chance to get off grid and switch off from modern life but its tipis and cabins make sure you do it in style. Tucked among the rewilding shrubs and trees of a former industrial landscape, these architectural boltholes are simple spaces with truly innovative designs.
Choose from the stilted Kudhva Cabins, which sleep two, the Danish Cabin, which is modelled on a Cornish engine house and sleeps four, and the site’s seaview tipis. Each is essentially a bedroom in the wild. Bedding is provided in the cabins but you’ll need to bring your own if you opt for a tipi. All of the hideouts have a fire pit nearby; some private and some communal. And there are shared facilities too – a kitchen, showers and loos. These are all housed together over at the reception building which doubles as a place to socialise either organically or through one of the site’s occasional yoga sessions or long-table suppers.
The whole idea of this place is to provide a kind of refuge to relax and recharge in tune with nature. The site is completely off grid with limited power in the communal space from solar energy. All of the indoor spaces, while innovative and interesting, are fairly stripped back: expect ply, timber, and corrugated tin with neutral and natural fabrics here and there rather than plush surroundings. To be honest it’s all very "Cornwall" – and let’s not forget that’s where you are. This site is two miles from the closest beach at Trebarwith Strand and not far from many of the Cornish north coast highlights: Tintagel, Boscastle, and Port Isaac are all very nearby with Bude, Bodmin, and Rock within a half-hour drive.