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?

I have a Canadian cousin who has a “cabin”, in a forest, on a lake. It looks amazing I got and I am pretty than a bit envious.

I too have Canadian family and their cabins are called "cottages" and it's even a verb. Led to a bit of a misunderstanding when the said they were "cottaging" at the weekend and there's one area with a big sign saying "Lake So and So Welcomes Cottagers". Not sure that would work on Clapham Common...

@megletthesecond

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

Here he is: ben-law.co.uk/

@sashh ahhh thank you for that explanation. Bigotry strikes again.

There is an organisation in Scotland who are promoting this and providing info on how to do this: www.thousandhuts.org/faqs

But yes the issue in the UK is hugely inequitable land ownership - when you think about it, it's enough to make you want to turn communist. I would love a bit, just simple, no frills.

@StCharlotte

I have a Canadian cousin who has a “cabin”, in a forest, on a lake. It looks amazing I got and I am pretty than a bit envious.

I too have Canadian family and their cabins are called "cottages" and it's even a verb. Led to a bit of a misunderstanding when the said they were "cottaging" at the weekend and there's one area with a big sign saying "Lake So and So Welcomes Cottagers". Not sure that would work on Clapham Common...

Sounds like the "dogging" episode in Car Share!! 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣

Lack of suitable land, plus most woodland in the UK is privately owned a significant proportion is artificial woodland with a poor mix of tree species.

My husband has a summer house in Sweden. Around 20% of people in Sweden own a summer house and around 50% of people have access to one via family etc. My husband bought his in his very early twenties for £40,000, the prices in the last 5-7ish years have increased significantly, now a basic summer house (including land) will cost more like £85-90,0000. Its also very common to jointly own them, so it isn’t unusual for the loan on one to be shared by 4/5 people. Sweden also isn’t as densely populated, so land is more plentiful, some areas are cheaper as well, a summer house in northern Sweden can still be bought quite cheaply. You also don’t need a special mortgage etc to rent it out. My husband had a standard loan on his, he didn’t require consent etc to rent it out on a weekly basis.

I think it's a planing thing. We have much tighter planning laws in England and Wales than they do the US. Don't know about Scotland. Even on private land, you can't just put a permanent structure up with no permission.
And of course because we're so populated, even if you did do it without permission, it wouldn't be long before the authorities were on to you.

@viques

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.

The British most certainly DO have a tradition of “shooting things”. What a nasty post.

You’d be better off buying somewhere like this ( www.woodlands.co.uk/buying-a-wood/central-england/keiler-wood/) and getting a Shepard’s hut on wheels. If it is on wheels you wouldn’t need planning permission as it isn’t a permanent structure.

I know people with a wooden 'lodge' in the Lake District and people up in Scotland have them but theyre over £100,000 usually and pretty tightly packed together so just like being in a caravan on a park really. Not my cup of tea but yes, like you, I yearn for the solitude of the wilderness. There really is nowhere to ho to be truly alone here in the UK. Not enough land sadly and we're all packed in like sardines already.

There is an established cabin /hutting community in Scotland. Land ownership and planning laws are the real obstacles, we have lots of land, population density is not an issue.

The 'Reforesting Scotland - 1000 huts' is a group campaigning to change this. Slowly councils are changing, see hutting sites in Fife and South Lanarkshire as new examples. Facebook book pages such as Offgrid UK, Hutting have lots of discussion on this.

It's a vital, cost effective way to help wellbeing and will change with lobbying. This is part of Lesley Riddoch's research. Caravans are great but costly, hutting is affordable and the culture is one of reuse and recycle.

Sadly some hutting sites I've seen in the west of Scotland and North England have turned the huts into New England style beach houses.

Sandi Toksvig on extraordinary escapes stayed at The Hudnalls Hideout in Gloucestershire which looked pretty cool.

hudnallshideout.co.uk/

We have static caravans aplenty of course, every bit of coastline is dotted with those.

It's not entirely unheard of, I used to know someone who had one. Like a PP said it was rented, I don't know who from or how you'd find out but it was one of a very small number of cabins in a sort of private gated community in a wood. You wouldn't know it existed, it was hidden from any view from a road

Not quite what you're after as there were neighbours but when I went there the other cabins were empty so effectively the same

Oooh who's the Instagrammer?
Want to see!

I'd love to just have a cheap property

I think that’s your problem there. Closest the U.K. has is probably your park resort type.

Ooh I would love that!

I'm not sure how to link, @TheBullfinch, come to Scotland, I am often completely on my own up a hill, in a forest, on a beach. Scotland has a very different pattern of settlement to England. Come try one of the marvellous long distance paths, and midges can be annoying on calm, sunny summer days but honestly that rarely happens that much, all you need is a breeze!

@Shinesun14

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.

It's not quite as simple as that!

Even for temporary accommodation you will have to prove an agricultural case for needing to live on the land. The planning authority will have agricultural consultants to examine your case.

If you try and go permanent you will also need to prove that your agricultural holding is financially viable.

Even a mobile home will require planning permission as it involves a change of use of the land on which it is located.

I went to a hutting conference run by Refiresting Scotland, it was very interesting but it confirmed how difficult it is to do this in Scotland due to availability of sites and planning. A few very determined gross and individuals have done it but it seems to take years, is not cheap and not for those who dislike dealing with beaurocracy.
Leslie Riddoch was a speaker at the conference, she was great!

I went to a hutting conference

Respect, sister.

I do think it's more about planning than land availability (although presumably the planning situation is to preserve land availability tbf) as there are quite a few woods available, but you aren't allowed to live in them or build any type of permanent structure, even a tree house.

As others have said.. it is due to a long history of vast proportions of land in the UK being owned by a very small proportion of the population who avoid taxes, receive uncapped subsidies and encourage their friends in Westminster to grant them mining rights on land that has been held in trust so exempt from Inheritance Tax. As someone else said, reading this book is enough to make you want to turn to communism.

www.waterstones.com/book/who-owns-england/guy-shrubsole/9780008321673.

whoownsengland.org/. Great website..

The equivalent here is “the caravan”

So many people I know or know of seem to be “off to the caravan” for the weekend.

Population density OP.

Land is more plentiful, so cheaper, in the US. So, holiday cottages are less of a luxury, more attainable for middle class families and there is more space to put them in.