1. Forest bathe in a treetop pod in Warleggan Valley
Designed using recycled, sustainable and natural materials, with minimal, non-permanent impact on the woodland, this spherical Tree Pod suspended 3m off the ground is for those who want an extreme experience of forest bathing. Hanging above a ‘lost meadow’ in wooded Warleggan Valley, 20 acres of ancient woodland, in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and Site of Special Scientific Interest, you can get cosy in your sleeping bag next to the woodburner as you gaze out at the kingfishers hunting on the stream, babbling below.
How to book: Sleeps Two. Three nights from £345 (0117 2047830, canopyandstars.co.uk).
2. Hide away in the bunker in Sennen
Tucked away, a 10-minute drive from Land’s End, you may find the former WWII bunker in Sennen hard to find as it’s well camouflaged, covered in grass. Rather apt for a secret bunker! Luxury accommodation with four bedrooms, it has room for six people and two dogs. With no windows you might worry that it might be dingy but natural light beams in from tunnels fitted in the ceiling. With the spectacular Minack Theatre 10 minutes by car and the famous fairytale castle of St Michael’s Mount up the road, it’s a unique but fun place to stay while exploring Cornwall.
How to book: Sleeps six. From 7 nights from £693 (hostunusual.com)
3. Relax in a restored copper mine near Calstock
Staying in the converted Danescombe Mine, near Calstock, allows you travel back in time and sleep in a restored engine house that worked for around 80 years in the 19th century producing first copper and then arsenic! Restored by the Landmark Trust in 1970, the building now has large, light-filled rooms, and a raised outdoor deck so you can take in the view of the forest and stream leading to the Tamar River. A short walk away is National Trust-owned Cotehele, a Tudor house and gardens, and Calstock village and viaduct.
How to book: Sleeps four, from £353 for three nights (01628 825925, landmarktrust.org.uk).
4. Retreat in a luxury treehouse in Camborne
Clowance is a two-bed treehouse, 20m off the ground on a 97-acre country estate in Camborne, which has been home to an aristocratic Cornish family for five centuries. Nestled above the forest, the Treehouse is a high-end retreat with a curved kitchen and a shining copper outdoor bathtub. Equidistant from both coasts, you can be at the beach in 20 minutes or stay local and try a Segway tour of the estate, a photography or archery lesson, or have
a dip in the indoor pool, a treatment at the spa, a game of golf, tennis or croquet.
How to book: Three-night stay for four people from £1,050 (01994 426006, luxurylodges.com).
5. Walk like an Egyptian in Penzance
You can’t help but goggle at The Egyptian House, one of Cornwall’s most flamboyant buildings. Grade I listed, it was built in the style of the Egyptian Revival architecture, inspired by Napoleon’s campaign in Egypt in 1798 and is full of pseudo-Egyptian symbolism, sphinx-like ornaments and grand columns. It now houses three apartments run by The Landmark Trust.
How to book: Sleeps up to four. Four nights from £216 (01628 825925, landmarktrust.org.uk).
6. Stargaze in a geometric pod
Glamping goes minimalist with the Ekopod, a white geometric ‘tent’ near Camelford, which sleeps two in a bed with a transparent wall for bedtime stargazing. With sheepskin rugs, a woodburning stove with views across a meadow you can also soak up the stunning early morning views as the sun comes up over Bodmin Moor. Just next door is a bathroom pod with bathtub, compost toilet and pump shower, and kitchen pod with stove and cool box. Bliss!
How to book: Sleeps two. Three nights from £286, including breakfast and gourmet welcome pack (01566 880349, ekopod.co.uk).
7. Take a Tipi trip near Port Issac
In 20 acres of woodland valley, around a lake created from the old Tregildrans Quarry, why not stay in one of the 20 North American-style tipis five minutes’ drive from Port Issac? These 18ft-high canvas structures have generous living areas dotted with warm Turkish rugs and candle lanterns. You can just kick back in your tent, or have fun messing about in a boat and wild swimming in the crystal-clear lake or maybe even try dancing around
a rather spectacular totem pole in the upper tipi village?
How to book: Medium-sized tipi sleeps two to four people. From £255 for three nights (01208 880781, cornishtipiholidays.co.uk/our-tipis).
8. Stay on track in St Germans
Stay in one of the four award-winning, eco-friendly restored train carriages at stations along the main railway line in the village of St Germans. Whether you’re in a compact 24ft carriage for two or a 48ft carriage for six, all have original features from the 1890s – with lots of vintage velvet upholstery! Self-contained with their own gardens, galley kitchens, woodburning stoves, bathrooms (some with clawfoot baths), the carriages are a comfortable base from which to explore the 10 acres of a nearby Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Plus the famed Port Eliot Estate is just up the road.
How to book: Sleeps up to six. From £255 for a three-night stay (hostunusual.com).
9. Climb high in Tintagel
Named for the Cornish word for ‘hideout’, Kudhva is a unique architectural cabin on three tall, wooden legs 8ft off the ground with views through a triangular window down the coast to Gull Rock, Kirrin Island and the headland in Polzeath. Try outdoor cooking, wild swimming in the waterfall and reservoir, chill in a hammock suspended in the willow grove or soak away your cares in the forest hot tub. Or instead simply refuse to get out of your soft linen bed and watch the two resident deer graze in the heather and wild strawberry garden below.
How to book: Sleeps two. Prices for two nights from £216 (0117 2047830, canopyandstars.co.uk).
10. Stay in an eco-yurt in Gorran
Cotna, a small-scale glamping site on an organic farm, offers an eco-living experience in yurts made from local ash and sail canvas overlooking apple orchards near the traditional Cornish village of Gorran. The yurts are heated by woodburners and beautifully decorated with Turkish and Mongolian kiilims, Indian silks and organic Cornish linen and have room for two to five people. Surrounded by oak and hazel woodland in a hidden valley, and with a proper working harbour village of Mevagissey two miles away, here you really get the chance to live the Cornish dream.
How to book: Sleeps up to 5. Yurts from £80 a night/£500 a week (01726 844867, cotna.co.uk).
If you’re still looking for a unique break by the beach, check out 8 best weird and wonderful glamping ideas, 7 iconics places to stay by the sea or pick up the latest copy of coast magazine for more ideas of holidays by th sea.
