Award winning, eco cabins sleeping 4 & 6 with hot tubs, close to Dartmoor and amazing Cornish beaches
Hidden down the deep lanes of West Devon is a pretty and private, off-grid sanctuary. Designed to offer cosy and comfortable, year round accommodation, Devon Dens comes complete with two extraordinary, eco cabins sleeping up to four and six. Surrounded by woodland, wildlife and starry skies, and with no WiFi or phone signal, this is the perfect place to escape the noise and constant news. Dartmoor
, with it's secret swimming spots, and amazing Cornish beaches are all within easy reach. There's castles, gorges, churches perched on top of granite tors, quiet lanes and footpaths, great pubs, amazing local produce and birdsong by the bucket load. So if exploring this quieter side of Devon sounds just the ticket, or you're just looking for somewhere to sit, read and tune into the sounds of nature, then Devon Dens will delight you.
05/08/2025
Grrrr..... THIS! The recent hoo-har over wild camping on Dartmoor was always going to create a spike in tents on the moor. The balance between making sure the outdoors is available for everyone to enjoy whilst the moor itself is protected and not trashed by irresponsible behaviour, is a tricky one. The mindset of 'Let's go to a beautiful place ---- Let's trash beautiful place to make it less beautiful for everyone else' is hard to witness, and I've had a few run ins this year. Basically, don't be a dick. Go, walk, swim, camp discreetly, pack up, walk, swim etc... Take your crap (figuratively and literally) home and leave the moor as you found it 💚
25/07/2025
23/07/2025
Very last minute space this Monday, 28th July in the Carpenter's Cabin... Sleeping up to 4 with hammocks, fire pit, surrounded by nature, within easy reach of amazing beaches and beautiful Dartmoor hiking. Free hot tub included and dogs welcome 🐾
To book, get in touch or use the link in bio for the website calendar.
09/07/2025
Summer is upon us ☀️ We have one last bit of space in the Den before September.
2 nights
Monday 21st - Wednesday 23rd July
Sleeps up to 6
£380
🌿 Hammocks 🌿 BBQ 🌿 hot tub / sauna hire 🌿 beautiful beaches 🌿 fabulous Dartmoor walks 🌿 peace & quiet 🌿 surrounded by nature 🌿 off-grid cabins 🌿 no WiFi 🌿 stars
dog friendly 🌿
To book, go to the website or for more info, get in touch
📍 Devon Dens, West Devon
24/06/2025
Had the local Daisychain group to visit us (like W.I. but less formal) yesterday. It was a lovely opportunity to put the whole lifespan of how, who, when and why into chronological order and context and to share knowledge about the practicalities of running an off-grid eco tourism site. The Dens looked wonderful and they were all keen and interested, even when I made them stick their noses into the humanure bin (no smell, ever!) It was a pleasure to welcome them and we raised £35 for
13/06/2025
A wonderful swim at the brilliant on the night of the strawberry moon. This gorgeous river fed lido is such a treat. Heated (just enough) with a kiosk for post dip hot choc and cake. Chagford is charming town hidden in the folds of Dartmoor. It has wonderful independent shops and cafes and the fabulous recycling centre which is perfect for a mooch. Great walks all around too.
📍 Chagford pool
06/06/2025
Devon Dens this week has been a hive of excitement! We've had the lovely production company here filming a dystopian thriller! Doing this on an off-grid site, what with all the power hungry kit and clobber needed, has been interesting but they've overcome all challenges and the weather was kind when it needed to be, which was a relief for all. I can't wait to see the end result 🤩 More photos and details of the release date to follow...
01/06/2025
As an avid devotee of the and as someone who loved the book, I had to see how this would transfer to the big screen. For those who don't know, the 630 mile path runs from Minehead in Somerset to Poole harbour in Dorset. There are vertiginous cliff tops with thigh busting climbs and descents, ambles through lush, green valleys, world class beaches, pretty villages, tea rooms, bustling seaside towns and all the while the sea - either on your left or right, depending which way you do it.
The book, written by Raynor Winn, plots her and her husband Moth's path, from shockingly abrupt homelessness to almost accidentally finding themselves walking the route. They have to contend with chronic ill health, shame, poverty, frustration with a system that doesn't see or care, loss, grief.
I've walked the path for over twenty years, since arriving in the West Country. Not in one chunk. It's a special kind of soul on a special kind of journey who undertakes that in a one-er. We do bits mostly randomly, with many sections done on repeat over and over because either their magnificence is so bedazzling we can't keep away or there's a fabulous scone / pub lunch on offer somewhere nearby 😋 We know and love the wilder, more rugged, north coast best but the prospect of eventually exploring the slightly less brutal south coast fills me only with excitement.
We walk a particular chunk regularly with dear friends. It is almost a pilgrimage. We sometimes chat but we often walk in silence. A communion of sorts. We've seen choughs, dolphins, seals, peregrine falcons. We've passed and chatted to people from all corners of the world (quite often, on stretches further away from habitation, we hear more international languages than native english) We've walked in EVERY type of weather!
The reason the book was such a hit was because Raynor Winn captured the essence of the path. The fierce power of nature to heal, to offer perspective, to level out. It was a book of resilience and hope and love (cont'd in comments)
01/06/2025
As an avid devotee of The South West Coast Path and as someone who loved the book, I had to see how this would transfer to the big screen. For those who don't know, the 630 mile path runs from Minehead in Somerset to Poole harbour in Dorset. There are vertiginous cliff tops with thigh busting climbs and descents, ambles through lush, green valleys, world class beaches, pretty villages, tea rooms, bustling seaside towns and all the while the sea - either on your left or right, depending which way you do it.
The book, written by Raynor Winn, plots her and her husband Moth's path, from shockingly abrupt homelessness to almost accidentally finding themselves walking the route. They have to contend with chronic ill health, shame, poverty, frustration with a system that doesn't see or care, loss, grief.
I've walked the path for over twenty years, since arriving in the West Country. Not in one chunk. It's a special kind of soul on a special kind of journey who undertakes that in a one-er. We do bits mostly randomly, with many sections done on repeat over and over because either their magnificence is so bedazzling we can't keep away or there's a fabulous scone / pub lunch on offer somewhere nearby 😋 We know and love the wilder, more rugged, north coast best but the prospect of eventually exploring the slightly less brutal south coast fills me only with excitement.
We walk a particular chunk regularly with dear friends. It is almost a pilgrimage. We sometimes chat but we often walk in silence. A communion of sorts. We've seen choughs, dolphins, seals, peregrine falcons. We've passed and chatted to people from all corners of the world (quite often, on stretches further away from habitation, we hear more international languages than native english) We've walked in EVERY type of weather!
The reason the book was such a hit was because Raynor Winn captured the essence of the path. The fierce power of nature to heal, to offer perspective, to level out. It was a book of resilience and hope and love. The makers of the film have done a wonderful job. It's beautiful but not whimsical. Having two major stars doesn't detract from the story. The chemistry between them works and the initially desperate situation they find themselves in is believable. The path isn't shown in a rose tinted light. There's lashing rain and ferocious wind and the uncomfortable reality of wild camping (not technically allowed anywhere on the path). My only concern is the Poldark effect - mass tourism is never a good thing anywhere. Will this happen? Maybe not. Am I entitled to care? Maybe not. Does it mean it shouldn't have been made? No.
So it was a big thumbs up from me. It reminded me how much joy and healing and peace and awe I've found on this extraordinary route. And there's still so much to discover. Highly recommend the book, the film and the walk 💙
10/02/2025
Did you know a few years ago we won the award for Best Sustainable Tourism Site in the UK? 🥳 It was a great honour to have our eco credentials acknowledged and rewarded. We've always tried to lessen the impacts of tourism, which by its very nature has a footprint. We can't mitigate them completely, but we hope we provide a sustainable alternative to holidays abroad in a comfy and cosy environment. Here's some of the things we do to reduce the load...
1. Pollinator friendly planting
2. Extensive tree planting and management
3. Growing veg and herbs for guests
4. Growing flowers to place in the cabins rather than buying in
5. Using a natural water filtration system with reedbed and wildlife pond
6. Providing homes for wild bees with two Freedom Hives
7. Encouraging biodiversity
8. Managing invasive species
9. Composting guests food waste to enrich the raised beds and polytunnel
10. Using as much local timber as possible for our cabins and furniture
11. Using superb dry toilet systems which saves 52 litres of water per person per day
12. Promoting locally sourced food and drink to reduce air miles and encourage guests to shop local
13. Providing bat and bird boxes
14. Making sure guests have all the info they need for car free days and to make the most of local foot and cycle paths
15. Powering the site using solar with excellent PV systems
If reducing your holiday footprint without losing your creature comforts is important to you, then we'd love to see you 🥰
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Hidden amongst the deep lanes of West Devon is an award winning, off-grid retreat.
Designed to offer cosy and comfortable, year round accommodation, Devon Dens comes complete with two extraordinary, solid timber cabins sleeping up to four and six.
Surrounded by walks, wildlife and starry skies, these unique timber structures provide the perfect place to escape from the hullabaloo. The woodland has no WiFi or phone signal, just the sound of birdsong and the gentle babbling of the stream, and guests have the opportunity to stop and reconnect - with nature, with loved ones, and with themselves.
Made by Barrel Top Wagons, using sustainable wood grown here in the South West, each cabin has a private shower and toilet, along with kitchen facilities including top quality pans, knives and plates with books, games, jigsaws, guitars and their own private space to enjoy camp fires, barbecues and the chance to tune in to the sights and sounds of the great outdoors.
We wanted to create a place where people can holiday in comfort, with a light carbon foot print. Electricity is provided by solar, toilets are of the composting kind and reed beds treat our grey water. We love where we live, and are blessed with an abundance of brilliant, local produce, which can be ordered in advance.
Our own kitchen garden and poly tunnel supply guests with salads and herbs throughout the summer, which makes us very happy indeed. :)
So, if a stress-free break away from screens and the constant hum of news, with walks, lung fulls of fresh air, an abundance of nature, and with everything you need for a relaxing stay, sounds just the ticket, get in touch.
(PS. If you want to see what people who have already visited think, take a look at our
