Rewilding Britain: 7 places to spend the night in regenerated nature
Shockingly, Britain is considered one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world, with many species at risk of extinction. However, the nation’s rewilding initiatives are taking positive steps to reverse this trend. Here are seven projects that welcome ecotourists.
1. Knepp, West Sussex
The poster child of the UK’s rewilding projects, Knepp has been a trailblazer since 2000, when Charlie Burrell and his wife, Isabella Tree, realised they had to completely reimagine the way their failing family farm was run. The fences were torn down, and the journey to turn 1,200 hectares over to nature began. It’s been a resounding success, with wildlife including nightingales, nightjars, turtle doves and all five of the UK’s owl species naturally occurring. A project to reintroduce white storks has resulted in a breeding population, and beavers live within a large enclosure where they are busy transforming the landscape into wetlands. Free-ranging herbivores include Exmoor ponies, longhorn cattle and Tamworth pigs, plus fallow and red deer. The estate’s shop and restaurant offer the resulting ethical meat and produce.
Activities: Visitors can take part in a variety of safaris, guided tours and outdoor events.
Stay: Options include shepherd’s huts, yurts, cabins and treehouses from £158 per night, plus camping.
2. Alladale Wilderness Reserve, Scotland
And breathe. Set in 9,300 hectares of Highland wilderness, just 90 minutes from Inverness, this former shooting estate has had its epic landscapes restored under the stewardship of visionary owner Paul Lister. The long-term plan is to return it to how the Scottish Highlands would have been a few hundred years ago, when wolves, bears, lynx and wild boar roamed here, and nature was in balance. Over a million trees have been planted, deer numbers managed, and a pine custodianship programme is underway.
Activities: Guests can enjoy 4WD tours, guided hikes and bike rides, a bird hide and wilderness sauna experiences. Alladale operates a wild cat captive breeding programme, and you have a good chance of seeing red squirrels and golden eagles, while other wildlife includes pine martens, otters, ptarmigans, grouse and white-tailed eagles.
Stay: Alladale has three exclusive-use and very gorgeous luxury properties, sleeping up to four, eight or 14 from £3,300 per week.
Read about Lyn Hughes’ visit here.
3. Dundreggan Rewilding Centre, Scotland
Situated around an hour’s drive from Inverness and Fort William, and just a handful of kilometres from Loch Ness, this rewilding initiative from charity Trees for Life is regenerating the Caledonian Forest, both naturally and through its tree nursery, which nurtures hard-to-grow species. A pair of golden eagles nest here, and other wildlife found on the site’s 4,000 hectares include pine martens, otters, mountain hares and three species of deer. The centre is free to visit, with an extensive network of foot- paths to explore and a café open daily.
Activities: Guided walks and tours include a one-hour rewilding tour, a half-day hike, a tree-nursery tour and a diary of special events that may include anything from bushcraft to night walks and a craft fair.
Stay: There are 20 double or twin rooms within a comfortable single-storey building, costing from £103.50 per room per night.
4. Broughton Sanctuary, Yorkshire
Spread across 1,000 hectares of the Yorkshire Dales, Broughton Sanctuary offers natured-based escapes and wellbeing retreats, with a philosophy of helping guests to reconnect with their inner and outer natures. The estate combines regenerative farming with rewilding, and more than 330,000 trees have been planted in partnership with White Rose Forest. Over 1,000 species of flora and fauna have been recorded here, and the number is growing: beavers have been introduced, as have Iron Age pigs (a cross between a wild boar and a domestic pig) and Galloway cattle.
Activities: Guests can participate in wildlife monitoring, foraging, nature walks or looking for the beavers.
Stay: Opt for one of 23 self-catering holiday homes from £319 per night or the Grade I-listed Broughton Hall.
5. Rewilding Coombeshead, Devon
Coombeshead aims to restore nature to its 160 hectares of former farmland and is breeding rare and lost species in its species recovery centre. Renowned rewilding advocate Derek Gow was key in the reintroduction of beavers into the UK (as you can read in his book, Bringing Back the Beaver). At Coombeshead, he breeds wild cats, water voles, black storks, white storks, harvest mice, adders, black grouse, turtle doves and red-backed shrikes. The centre has recently welcomed several lynx.
Activities: You can join Animal Encounters tours, guided and self- guided walks, beaver watching and workshops.
Stay: Accommodation is in shepherd’s huts, which cost from around £100 per night. The site also has four camping pitches.
6. Elmley Nature Reserve, Kent
Located on the Isle of Sheppey, this 1,300-hectare family farm is all soaring skies and open landscapes, mixing livestock grazing with conservation in a mosaic of salt marsh, grassland and seasonal wetlands. It’s the birdlife that is the draw here, though. There are large numbers of waders and wildfowl, hundreds of lapwings, and there is a project to restore a breeding population of curlew. An online calendar gives an idea of what to expect nature-wise each month.
Activities: You can take part in Land Rover safaris, gentle walking safaris and private tours.
Stay: Options in the heart of the reserve include cabins, shepherd’s huts, a cottage and a farmhouse, costing from £130 per night.
7. Wildlands, Suffolk
Once a 50-hectare farm and then a golf course, Wildlands is being restored by owners Matt and Claire Thacker, who plan to return it to its natural state. Some 25 hectares of woodland are being planted, existing ponds restored and new ponds created.
Activities: This is a family-friendly stay. There is an adventure playground for kids and wellness treatments for the grown-ups. Private stargazing with an astronomer can be booked, as can photography sessions with a resident nature photographer. Look for otters and kingfishers along the waterways, hares in the grasslands, or simply relax in the wildflower meadows.
Stay: There’s accommodation in log cabins or a semi-underground, earth-sheltered ‘Nest’ from £125 per night, plus camping pitches.
