Why is having a cabin in the woods not a thing in the U.K.?

[OutComeTheWolves]

So often on movies set in the US, people head up to the cabin for a few days. And someone I follow on Instagram has recently bought an A-frame cabin 'upstate'.

I'm very envious, I'd love to just have a cheap property in the middle of nowhere that I could take the kids to at the weekend. I've googled various version of 'cabin in woods U.K.' 'cabin in forest for sale' and it seems to me that the British version is buying a static caravan on a caravan site. I don't really like other people so this isn't really what I what. Surely it could be more of a thing here, there must be some sort of market for it? Or is there just not enough forest for it to happen here?

@NiceTwin

The thought of going to a cabin in the middle of nowhere, with no electricity or running water does not appeal.

How would you get enough water there to wash, flush, cook etc?

I think it is a totally romanticized view and the reality of it would be completely different.

@NiceTwin most cabins in the US have running water, electricity, indoor toilets, etc. You may not have wifi though depending on where you are.

Well I'm very disappointed in these replies telling me indisputable facts about us not having enough woodland!

I was hoping someone was going to come on to tell me about a website I'd never head of before. Something along the lines of reallycheapbutloveyforestcabins.co.U.K. Only @singtanana has came close!

A close friend in the US has just bought one. I can't wait to visit.

@thedevilinablackdress

If you look up 'hutting' in Scotland, it's been a thing here since the early/mid 20th century. Based on the Scandinavian tradition I believe.

Ooh I will - thank you!

@Iminaglasscaseofemotion

Why do people follow people on Instagram? Who could possibly be that interested in a random person's life?

I really really hope you are being ironic, oh fellow mumsnet dweller….

Have you never seen Cabin In The Wood or Evil Dead?

Apart from less woodland and less that is accessible, we have the seaside nearer than many people in the US.

@Iminaglasscaseofemotion

Why do people follow people on Instagram? Who could possibly be that interested in a random person's life?

Mostly for interior design ideas and and gardening ideas, some times outfits too. I'm not very good at putting things together in a way where I like the end result and I much prefer Instagram for getting ideas rather than magazines because it's free.

Where I’m from cabins in the woods aren’t actually in the woods but in little “communities”. We love them and most families have one, we have a big-ish land space around but can also see other houses from ours.

It’s lovely and I go every weekend.

Evil Dead ruined cabins in woods for me

Second home ownership is more common in the US - most of my friends growing up had a beach house, cabin in the mountains or lake house. My parents still have their lake house there. Land prices for a scrap of land are much lower there than here too.

Millions of Brits would soon buy up these woodland lodges so before long you wouldn't have much tranquility in the woods.
We've got a touring caravan that we use every weekend to get away into the countryside, it's on a seasonal pitch so we don't have to set it up each time however there are people here
It's still quiet though, at the moment there is us and two other couples at their seasonals so it's very peaceful, I'm currently lay in bed with the window open overlooking a field of sheep and hills beyond.

It’s probably got something to do with the British not having a tradition of shooting things that apparently many Americans have. Plus we are a sea faring nation and are instinctively drawn to the coast, most of us would settle for a cottage by the sea , or at least a beach hut, rather than a flimsy wooden shack surrounded by ravenous bears and cougars , (ok badgers and foxes ) or being menaced by inbred forest dwellers or Bigfoot.

Well I'm very disappointed in these replies telling me indisputable facts about us not having enough woodland!

The private ownership of the bulk of woodlands is just as much an issue. What we do have isn't available.

People would put them on AirB&B for a king's ransom.

We are staying here at the moment! Can't buy it but it is gorgeous. Lots of bunnies bouncing around and the forest at the end of the garden. Adults only and not horrific prices.

The problem in Scotland is ownership. Plenty of woods but owned by a very small number of wealthy landowners. Scottish journo Lesley Riddoch has just written a book about it www.lesleyriddoch.com/shop-mobile/huts-a-place-beyond

@Cupcakegirl13

It’s called Centre Parcs here 🤣

@OutComeTheWolves
There is a small movement here in Scotland, hampered by the very slow progress and the powerful opposition to Land Reform.
You might be interested in a book
Huts - a place beyond by Lesley Riddoch which relives her own “bothy” experience, lost hutting communities and “hyttes” in Norway.

[quote OllyBJolly]The problem in Scotland is ownership. Plenty of woods but owned by a very small number of wealthy landowners. Scottish journo Lesley Riddoch has just written a book about it www.lesleyriddoch.com/shop-mobile/huts-a-place-beyond[/quote]
The problem is Scotland is midges.

Wasn't the Grand Designs woodsmans cottage only permitted as it isn't permanent? And he knew how to take care of the forest.

These are popular in Russia and other former soviet countries too, called Dachas.

Really?? Why not? Are there ways around it like sustainable building practices?

To prevent travelers buying land and making it a permeant home.

And I say that as a fact not having a go at travelers. If you own a caravan on a site you cannot live there as a permanent home.

OP

You could try a bothie, but you might not have the place to yourself.

There was a man on Grand designs who built his own house in the woods. There are very strict rules about it and he had to meet a lot of conditions.

We're looking into this. One of the ways to get around planning is to have animals. We're thinking about getting a few alpacas so we can build a semi permanent structure which can then be made permanent when its been up a while.