Travel review: Enjoying the pace of life in The Burren's Slow Cabins

"Billed as sustainable and self-sufficient, the solar-powered cabin has a simple Scandi interior with an impressive striking Japanese charred-wood exterior which is a lot more sympathetic to the Irish landscape than it may sound."

Sat, 08 Apr, 2023 - 02:00

Tom Breathanch

Got cabin fever? Perhaps one of the greatest trends of Ireland’s staycation revival has been our new-found obsession with outdoorsy escapes.

From lodges and tiny homes to chalets or cabins, these rustic retreats tap into growing market demand to connect with nature — and to experience an aesthetic backdrop all the while.

The latest to enter this fray are Slow Cabins, a green-minded Belgian outfit who have brought their pop-up properties to the wilds of Ireland.

I’ve noticed their cabins have become a popular spot with Irish influencers in recent months, so I recently checked into their first Irish location to see if the Insta hype lived up to reality.

First impressions

Fittingly for an off-grid location, I arrive at my Slow Cabins base in Galway’s fringe of the Burren in pitch black March night.

Slow Cabins are set on the grounds of the charming Burren Nature Sanctuary, just outside the village of Kinvara, and via various gate codes, fairy lane locks and tufty field boreens, I venture off to my base flitting between directions screenshot and my iPhone’s flashlight function.

It’s a 600m walk from the car park in all, so this isn’t a getaway for guests either with mobility issues or an aversion to carrying luggage, but on a still night like this, it makes for a pretty ambient arrival.

After ten minutes or so, finally the cubic outline of my haven, Hazel Cabin, appears across a meadow and following some final key compartment rummaging, I enter into my Slow Cabin: an inviting reward for my cross-country efforts.

A picture-frame window gives you a look out onto the Burren from your bed.

Design cabin

After awaking the next morning following a fine night’s slumber, my Burren lowlands surrounds and the pretty impressive design cabin reveals itself.

Billed as sustainable and self-sufficient, the solar-powered cabin has a simple Scandi interior with an impressive striking Japanese charred-wood exterior which is a lot more sympathetic to the Irish landscape than it may sound.

There are five cabins in all on this site, but unlike other locations where lodgings can be virtually stacked alongside each other, Slow Cabins are discreetly dispersed across the meadows here meaning guests can enjoy a sense of solitude and privacy while not feeling isolated.

Bright and airy thanks to two picture-frame windows and a sliding door wall, the cabin itself features a comfy queen bed overlooking the site, a wood-burning stove for cosy hygge vibes, a bathroom featuring shower, compost toilet and products from the Irish Soap Company and kitchenette with enough essentials to rustle up a modest feast. Outside, a firepit and seating area, redundant for this drizzly day, would be an idyllic spot for marshmallow roasting in finer weather.

It’s a lovely space and while the cabin’s interiors are branded as minimal, with all those monotone wood surfaces, I do feel the cabin could benefit from a few more soft furnishings or perhaps a local wall print to add more of a sense of place... and perhaps separate it from any cabin you’d walk into in Belgium.

There are also a few colourful additions from a Burren wildflowers book to, a fun deck of “Pillow Talk” conversation cards, to inspire intimate bedtime chinwags (heads-up: if you’re not comfortable discussing your sexual fantasies with your plus one, best to pack the travel Scrabble instead).

Sanctuary setting

Slow Cabins are located upon a rewilded meadow in the Burren Nature Sanctuary; a biodiversity-focussed interpretative and natural history centre which was a surprise bonus addition to my stay.

The site itself features a number of walks showcasing Burren flora and fauna, there’s a pretty unique turlough (a tidal lake) and you can even avail of the curious novelty of taking the resident rescue pig, Emilia, for a walk along the fairy trail.

While the location itself feels pretty agrarian, a short 4km drive takes you into those iconic karst landscapes which make a great spot for a hike or picnic — just don’t drop any cheese and crackers in those grikes.

Indulge in Kinvara

The Burren, a veritable honeycomb of fantastic food and attractions is hard to beat as a destination and Kinvara, which packs a postcard punch for its size, lies just 1.5km down the road from the sanctuary car park.

Upon some great local recommendations from my online welcome guide, I paid a visit to SIAR, a gorgeous little café serving excellent food and wines; I ordered my lunch to go, enjoying the most delicious vegan dahl from the waterfront across the road. Wild Beans also made a gorgeous little fuel stop for coffee while elsewhere there are a couple of cute pub-restaurants as well as a large Spar for any provisions.

This all means you won’t have to do too much touring once you land at your cabin to soak up Burren life. In fact, you could even get the bus here via Galway, if you really wanted to cut down that carbon footprint.

Room with a view: facing out onto the Burren

Check out?

My Slow Cabin made for a pleasing and comfortable base and offered an ideal location to explore the Burren. It was super cosy when the fire was blowing and the off-grid, self-sufficient elements of the cabin, from the compost toilets to the harvested water supply, offered no functional hurdles to my stay…even that solar power worked a treat on a dreary day.

On the underwhelming side, I felt the positioning of my particular cabin, which was set in a sheltered hollow largely surrounded by natural thickets and hedgerow didn’t offer the wow-factor views you may think those picture frame views may deliver but perhaps summer brings the landscape into its own.

At €395 for a minimum two-night stay, rates are on par with some fine B&B hotel or country house stays so I’d recommend a stay for couples or solo travellers specifically seeking solitude in an aesthetic off-grid setting enveloped by nature.

They are also dog-friendly (a €35 surcharge includes some nice provisions) and given its rural off-road location, I think it would also make one of the most perfect destinations for your pet.