Glamping again - Lichen Cabin, Tintern

Last year I took the plunge, tried glamping for the first time in a cabin next to the river Nene - and loved it. So much so that when Canopy and Stars had a special Christmas promotion, buy a £200 gift voucher and get £50 one free, we treated ourselves, so this year we'll have TWO glamping trips.

This was the first - Lichen Cabin near Tintern in the Wye Valley. A lovely spot to take things easy for a few days. I'd hoped to catch the orchard in full blossom and the woods full of bluebells but I was a few weeks too late for their full glory. This didn't detract from our wonderful stay though. We hadn't intended doing much, and did even less.

The location was secluded without feeling cut-off from people, the cabin equipped with everything we needed - a squashy sofa, a comfy bed, a small but well-equipped kitchen, a properly plumbed bathroom. All in all, a lovely place to relax, and listen to birdsong and trees swaying in the breeze. The lichen on the apple trees attests to how clean the air is here. 

Up the Wye Valley Path

We spotted a green woodpecker in the orchard (first time for me) and animal tracks in the woods (probably roe deer but possible wild boar)

We called in at the cabin owner's sculpture gardensculpture garden where preparations were underway for a summer exhibition, stopped at the  Brewery a little further on, walked down the hillside to Tintern Old Station, now an information centre and tea room, along the banks of the Wye upstream to Brockweir one day and down to Tintern Parva and the vineyard there another, and up the hill following the Wye Valley Way for a short distance. 

Tintern Abbey

The only time we moved the car was to go into Tintern itself, a mile or so away, one evening after a walk along an old sunken road ended in slipperiness and flooding.

Flower-filled lanes

Brockweir

This, I think, is the future of my holidays. Off grid but with all the important facilities. Peace and quiet. Just me and the wildlife. I'm looking forward to my next Canopy and Stars holiday.