What it's like to go off the grid and stay in a chic forest cabin

Eve Kelliher visits woodland retreat Cabü by the Lakes to sample what life can be like when you get back to nature 

I’m trying to sleep but who can blame me if I forgive a noisy neighbour for disturbing my peace? A squirrel with a particularly heavy tread (possibly wearing tiny hobnailed boots) is flinging itself with wild abandon from treetop to my rooftop.

Wildlife, woods and water: What better way for a reset in these times — or at any time? Earlier, we had gladly closed the door on a late evening downpour after arriving at our forest wilderness and discovering that our cosy cabin was essentially a hug in architectural form. 

It’s one of 28 Scandi-style chalets at new staycation destination Cabü by the Lakes, which overlooks Lough Oughter, in the heart of a Killykeen Forest Park in Co Cavan.

As we entered, the first books we spied on the rustic coffee tables in the open-plan downstairs living area had titles such as Treehouses, Off The Grid, and Cabin Porn.

The publication of the latter, five years ago, is credited with sparking a revival of this type of dwelling.

So what was it like to sample life in a pared-down house, albeit with many creature comforts?

The complex of holiday residences, about 10km from Cavan town, was constructed in the 1980s by the OPW to show off the potential of Irish timber.

Coillte took over responsibility for it in 1989, but the State forestry company closed the holiday village in 2002, following the foot-and-mouth outbreak, and Killykeen had the air of Sleeping Beauty’s castle.

Enter JP Ledwidge and Olivia Hutchinson who bid over €750,000 in 2017 to secure this prime woodland real estate.

Wicklow-born JP and Olivia, from Co Armagh, met while working for a property development firm in London.

They purchased the family-run timber firm Cowley Timber & Partners and established modular building brand Cabü.

They gave a kiss of life to the slumbering site at Killykeen, with an investment of €4m and were able to reinstate the lapsed planning permission and add 20 Cabü-style cabins as well as upgrading existing facilities such as an equestrian centre and boathouses.

The buildings had remained beautifully intact over the years and existing cabins were stripped back and repurposed. JP said they aimed for a “back to nature” experience for guests. The interior design of the cabins is by Irish sisters Johanna and Aoife Ledwidge of J+A Studio.

Johanna and Aoife, who grew up close to woodlands and water themselves, in Bray, Co Wicklow, said they wanted their furnishing choices to be eco-conscious.

The Japanese practice of forest bathing, or shinrin-yoku, also informed the entire concept of the cabins. Shinrin in Japanese means “forest,” and yoku means “bath.” So shinrin-yoku means, literally “bathing in the forest atmosphere” — or taking in the forest through our senses.

Branches jostle for prime position outside our windows, so we really do feel that we are chilling out in a treehouse.

The following day, we take the “bathing” aspect of forest bathing very literally, by plunging into outdoor hot tubs, with the sound of trees (and a couple of fellow splashers) nearby.

Cabin fever is sweeping the land in earnest and it’s not just a fey escape route from the daily grind.

Hipster or not, who hasn’t pored over glossy shots of photogenic forest hideaways in Scandinavia and Canada and across the globe?

In fact, it is these that are prompting many of us to opt for cabins as residences in Ireland now, west Cork-based woodworker Jonny Condy tells me. A builder and designer of “all things wooden”, Jonny cites the influence of chalets in Switzerland as well as Scotland’s bothy culture when noting the popularity of wooden homes in Ireland.

“There’s a lot of respect for the use of timber in buildings now, both domestic and commercial,” he says.

And holidays in cabin resorts as well as Airbnb chalets have also inspired people to hanker after such structures as their permanent homes, he adds. “It’s given people the opportunity to be creative and that’s the way it should be,” he said.

Close to 50 jobs were created in opening Cabü by the Lakes this summer as an exclusive getaway destination by London-based entrepreneurs JP and Olivia. The former tennis court was converted into outdoor seating and lounge structure known as The Sitooterie.

The former tennis court was converted into an outdoor seating and lounge structure known as The Sitooterie. Among the first visitors to Cabü by the Lakes were social media influencer and former Miss Universe Ireland winner Roz Purcell.

In 1854, American naturalist and writer Henry David Thoreau wrote: “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.” And while fleeing urban areas to commune with nature is not a new concept, pandemic times have given cabins a new lease of life as great-escape refuges.

The Cavan retreat is also ideal for people looking for a home-away-from-home remote-working base for a few days. The only difficulty is upping sticks to go home: It’s a no-brainer as to why cabins have inspired so many to turn timber chalets into forever homes.

As for the surroundings? I’m seriously envious of that squirrel.

Cabü by the Lakes’ facilities include an outdoor seating area, an essentials shop, spa-like retreat, fishing and water sports. For more details see https://holidays.cabu.co.uk/cabu-by-the-lakes