Editor’s Choice
25 Escapes That Are Close To London (But Feel Like They’re Worlds Away!)
For obvious reasons, 2020 has been all about the staycation.
But we know only too well that trying to relax and unwind when you’re so close to home can feel like a challenge.
That’s why we’ve rounded up 25 of our favourite escapes that are, a) no further than two hours from Greater London, and b) feel blissfully far away from the city bustle…
…so you can enjoy that much needed downtime, in a dreamlike setting that won’t take up too much travel-time.
(We’ve also thrown one London-based getaway into the mix too, in case you really don’t want to leave!)
Author: Nina Jervis
Main image: Bearsted Country Lodge | Kent
Happy Days Retro Vacations
Saxmundham, Suffolk
Experience the nostalgia of authentic vintage Airstreams and caravans, all blissfully set on a peaceful Suffolk campsite, complete with a cinema shed and two escape rooms!
Bedrooms: Varies
Sleeps: 2-32
From
£240 (2 nights)
Elmley Nature Reserve Shepherds Huts
Sheerness, Kent
Eclectic accommodation and seasonally-inspired dining on a National Nature Reserve in Kent, with an abundance of wildlife right on your doorstep.
Bedrooms: Varies
Sleeps: Varies
From
£105 / night
Sea Gem Camber
Camber Sands, East Sussex
A magnificent award-winning architect-designed beach house with panaromic sea views and private boardwalk to the sands.
Bedrooms: 4
Sleeps: 8
From
£1500 (3 nights)
The Ellis-Miller House
Ely, Cambridgeshire
Exceptional style lives and breathes in this award-winning, architect-designed Cambridgeshire holiday home for two, looking out over the romantically rural Fens.
Bedrooms: 1
Sleeps: 2
From
£404 / week
Bournemouth Beach Lodges
Bournemouth, Dorset
Bournemouth Beach Lodges provide the perfect setting for a refreshing coastal break, just a pebble skim away from seven miles of stunningly sandy beach.
Bedrooms: 1
Sleeps: 6 (4 adults 2 children)
From
£350 (4 nights midweek)
Browning Bros Teybrook Orchard
Great Tey, Colchester, Essex
Take your pick of unforgettable group glamping in the heavenly Teybrook Orchard, tucked away in rural North Essex.
Bedrooms: Varies
Sleeps: 2-4 per unit
From
£60 / night (midweek)
The Windmill Suffolk
Nr Lavenham, Suffolk
You'll be swept away to the height of luxury at The Windmill Suffolk - a glorious towering bolthole as seen on George Clarke's 'Amazing Spaces' and overlooking idyllic countryside, just two miles north of historic Lavenham.
Bedrooms: 2
Sleeps: 4
From
£325 / night
Ling's Meadow
Diss, Norfolk
Take an alpaca walk on an exceptionally friendly, family-run Suffolk farm surrounded by meadow grass and wildflowers.
Bedrooms: Varies
Sleeps: Varies
From
£95 / night (StarDome)
The Boathouse London
Paddington, London
A design-led boutique hotel barge, indulgently moored on the scenic waters of the capital's first floating park.
Bedrooms: 1
Sleeps: Up to 4
From
£360 / night (midweek)
Cedar Hollow@The Oaks
Oxford, Oxfordshire
Relive your favourite childhood fairytales in an enchanting Oxfordshire treehouse with Narnia right on the doorstep.
Bedrooms: 2
Sleeps: 6
From
£150 / night
The Windmill Blackthorn Hill
Blackthorn, Oxfordshire
The perfect romantic escape, in an historic Oxfordshire building that features 360-degree rural views.
Bedrooms: 1
Sleeps: 2
From
£200 / night (Sun-Thurs)
Shillingridge Glamping
Marlow, Buckinghamshire
Horse-friendly family glamping, filled with luxury and relaxation in the picture-perfect Chiltern Hills.
Bedrooms: 3 per lodge
Sleeps: 6 per lodge
From
£250 / night
The Merry Harriers Shepherd's Huts
Hambledon, Surrey
Five luxurious and colourful huts perfectly set by a sparkling pond that overlooks the rolling Surrey Hills.
Bedrooms: Open plan
Sleeps: 2 per hut
From
£195 / night
The Meadow Glamping
Broughton, Hampshire
An authentic glamping retreat with three quirky bohemian retreats, restyled for luxurious off-grid comfort in the Hampshire countryside.
Bedrooms: Open plan
Sleeps: 2 per unit
From
£210 (2nts; Billy's)
The Old Chapel Annexe
Nayland, Suffolk
A quintessentially English break awaits, in a heavenly holiday home exquisitely set in Suffolk's Constable country.
Bedrooms: 1
Sleeps: 2
From
£385 (7 nights)
Twentieth Century B&B
Birchington-on-Sea, Kent
A loving and authentic homage to Art Deco, perfectly set just four minutes' walk from the beach at Minnis Bay.
Bedrooms: 4
Sleeps: 2 per room
From
£75 / night (David Bowie Room)
The Old Railway Station
Petworth, West Sussex
Travel back in time to the beautifully restored station house and Pullman carriages at Petworth, first class all the way!
Bedrooms: 10 (8 carriages)
Sleeps: 2 per room/carriage
From
£130 / night
Magpies and Butterflies
Cookham, Berkshire
A cosy and whimsical Dutch barge that's styled as a floating ‘country cottage', peacefully moored in a historic Thames village.
Bedrooms: 2
Sleeps: 4
From
£150 / night
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