How to embrace a rainy glamping weekend

The Toad Hideout is made for rainy days, with a sheltered sitting area and undercover outdoor kitchen with a pizza oven, so you can enjoy the woodland surroundings without getting completely drenched. Inside, the cosy cabin is just the place to retreat to when the rain really sets in, with a wood burner, comfy sofa and a little collection of books to settle down with. 

When the weather eases, pull on your wellies and head out to explore the surrounding woods, with walks winding through the trees and the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley National Landscape nearby. Then come back, make yourself a tea, coffee or hot chocolate, curl up somewhere warm and watch the rain move through the ancient woodland outside.

When the rain comes down in the Lake District, Silva Treehouse gives you plenty of reasons to stay tucked away among the trees. Choose a story to get stuck in to from the bookshelf then settle into the huge sofas beside the wood burner, or head down to the undercover games room for a few rounds of table tennis. There's  bar for evening drinks and even a slide to get you there, although there's a perfectly sensible door if the weather is particularly wild.

When the rain clears, head out into the Lake District for a walk before returning to the cosy glow of the wood burner. With two king-size beds and a double bed, there's plenty of room for a group to settle in for a proper rainy weekend away.

It might be Scandi chic on the outside, but there are cosy casbah vibes inside The Rook’s Nook in Herefordshire. Cuddle up under a blanket in front of the wood burner and gaze out of the floor-to-ceiling windows at the rain coming down. If you want to feel more connected to the outdoors, take a long soak in the covered outdoor hot tub while watching your favourite movie on the projector. 

When you venture out at last, the clean, fresh earthy smell of the woods is worth the downpour. Pull your wellies on, stomp along the forest paths and breathe in deep lungfuls of it. Meander in the direction of Bromyard village if you need to stock up on suppliers or fancy a pint.

When a treehouse is as palatial as Nest at Sleepy Owl in Devon, a few downpours won’t dampen your enjoyment. Pad barefoot across the underfloor heating from the king size bed to the double gold bath and watch the rain come down from the cosy sanctuary of your tub. You can flop back on the bed after your soak and watch a movie on the projector that descends from the ceiling. If you’re bringing the kids they’ll love their treehouse within a treehouse, complete with colour changing lights. There’s an outdoor tub that’s even more invigorating in the rain, as well as an outdoor stove, BBQ and pizza oven. 

If it’s a special occasion, the owners can organise a celebration package or a private chef and when the rain eases off at night, stargazing through the telescope is spectacular. A five-minute walk away you’ll find fine dining at Pattard’s Restaurant and ten-minutes away is a cosy village pub.

Guests who visit Haedd tell us they leave a bit of their hearts behind in the ancient Shropshire woodland. The cosy barn is full of rustic charm with old rafters and stable doors but has been modernised to include luxuries like underfloor heating. If the rain pours, cuddle up in the hanging chair under sheepskin rugs and watch it through the windows. When it starts to ease, head out along the sheltered paths that lead through the woods, looking out for the roaming deer that often graze nearby. 

Offa’s Dyke path is a few miles away and there are wild swimming spots on the River Teme if you fancy getting even wetter. Warm up back at the barn in front of the wood burner or head to the welcoming glow of one of the local pubs – The Baron at Bucknell and the Sitwell Arms are both less than a mile away on foot.

If your ideal rainy weekend involves disappearing into a book and barely noticing the weather outside, The Heron's Haunt is the place for you. One entire wall is filled with around 4,000 books, making it dangerously easy to settle onto the sofa beside the crackling wood burner and let the rain do its thing outside. 

The covered porch means you can still sit outside and admire the surrounding countryside without getting soaked, while cards, games and puzzles provide plenty of entertainment for rainy afternoons. And if the skies eventually clear, there are walks, farm shops, Fountains Abbey and Ripon Cathedral nearby to tempt you out. After all that fresh air, retreat to the cabin for another soak, a few more chapters and a very cosy night's sleep.

This article was originally published in 2023 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.