When I saw the beautiful Woodman's Hut on Instagram, I knew that I had to book to stay there. My partner and I have been obsessed with cabins and tiny houses ever since we started camping out in the van and we hope to end up one day building a tiny space of our own. I knew that a few days spent in the Woodman's Hut in beautiful Scotland would be the perfect Christmas present to give to key. So in January we jumped in the van and headed up north to our cabin in the woods.
In the ancient pine forests in the Cairngorms National Park, within Nethy Bridge, you will find The Lazy Duck, a six acre family homestead. They have created cosy, sustainable places to stay and relax whilst admiring the natural beauty of Scotland. They have an 8-bed snuggly hostel, a camp-site as well as three eco huts called The Woodman's Hut, The Duck's Nest and The Lambing Bothy. They believe in living gently and so make all the effort to be a kind and sustainable place to stay. They welcome you to come, relax and live slow and that is exactly what we did during our time spent in the Woodman's Hut.
We arrived at The Lazy Duck after dark to the tiniest snowflakes falling and were led through the woods with torches to get to our cabin. The fire had already been lit inside, the candles were burning and we had the biggest smiles on our faces. This was absolutely our kind of place! The Woodman's Hut is a self-catering, completely off-grid, eco-cabin which sits within the trees. The only electricity in this cabin is from a little solar panel which offers enough power for two light bulbs. It has a wood-burner which kept us warm and cosy and a composting loo a few steps away. Our first night was spent cooking dinner on the twin-ring gas cooker and drinking tea heated on a kettle on the fire whilst excitedly whispering that we hope it snowed overnight. We then tucked ourselves into the comfiest, huge box bed and watched the brightest stars from the stargazer window directly above our heads.
The next morning, I woke up to see that the stargazer window was completely covered in snow. I pulled the curtains open to see the most beautiful winter wonderland. The trees were snow covered, I saw red squirrels running around the forest and the snow was still falling. Cue two very excited cabin dwellers. We made porridge on the hob and sat outside on the veranda, lit the chiminea and ate our porridge whilst admiring the mountains in the distance.
In true slow living fashion, we spent a good couple of hours waltzing around the cabin, taking photos and drinking hot ribena before we decided to take a walk through the woods and venture into Nethy Bridge town. We stopped at Nethy House Cafe to grab some lunch and a warm coffee, before running around in the snow once more.
The woods were truly beautiful. We walked around for hours stupidly happy marveling at how much snow was falling. We were all pink nose and cold toes by the time we made it back to the cabin and so we decided a roast dinner had to be made. After dinner and numerous 'run around the cabin taking photos' moments, we tried the bush shower! The only shower in The Woodman's Hut is outside and although not for everyone, we loved it. There was something so satisfying about preparing our own shower water from a kettle on the hob, pouring it into a bucket above our head and then having a quick three-minute shower in the snow! It was surreal. In the day, you can also see the mountains whilst you scrub. It's safe to say it was my most interesting and fun shower experience. We were quickly realising we would not hate it if we had to shower outside every day.
The next day, after a short walk in the snow-filled forest, we opted to stay close to the cabin and make the most of its cosiness before we had to leave the following morning. We spent hours on the veranda, heating hot chocolate on the chimenea and enjoying the view of the mountains. We also went for a walk around the homestead to have a look at the other cabins and make friends with the ducks. To finish off the perfect day, we took a night-time dip in the wood-fired hot tub gazing up at the stars. It was worth running through the snow in just a dressing gown and a pair of crocs to get there! It was even filled with lavender essential oil to make the experience even more relaxing.
The Lazy Duck was absolutely perfect for a winter getaway and being nestled within Cairngorms National Park only added to its charm. If you are heading to beautiful Scotland and want to stay somewhere you can really immerse yourself in nature, The Woodman's Hut has you covered! Below is a video of our trip!