The Nest

Nestled in tiny Danehill, on the borders of East and West Sussex, The Nest is a lofty, light-filled woodland hideaway, yet only a three-minute stroll to an award-winning local pub. Set in the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and on the edge of the Ashdown Forest, famously home to Winnie-the-Pooh and his friends, this wonderful cottage is highly rated by guests, with over 80 five-star reviews across various platforms. A stay here includes everything you might need for a couple’s romantic retreat, a small family getaway, or a few days of creative working. Not only that, The Nest is super-luxurious, too.

The treehouse-style first-floor entrance opens into a spacious, beautifully designed studio with a living room and dining/work area. You'll find ample sleeping space for four guests, with a sumptuous four-poster bed and a comfy double sofa bed with Egyptian cotton bed linen. There's a marble-tiled bathroom with a double-ended bath and rainwater shower with waterfall taps, and guests are treated to fluffy towels and bath robes. Downstairs, a fully-equipped kitchen includes a cooker, fridge, Nespresso coffee machine, washer/dryer, plus a stock of tea, coffee, milk, biscuits, and other basics. Enjoy the views of the woods while sitting at the breakfast bar.

The cottage has everything you need, your host Serena has made sure of that, kitting out this purpose-built guest accommodation to an extremely high standard. Fast full fibre Wi-Fi and a Smart flat-screen TV make sure you stay connected. Serena is usually there to meet you on arrival – The Nest sits within the grounds of her house – and she is often around just in case you need her. But otherwise you won't see her and it’s totally private – you even have a little garden space to yourselves with seating in the dappled shade of an old pear tree.

When you’re comfortably cocooned in this timber-clad cottage, looking out on the leafy canopy of the surrounding woodland, it’s easy to see why it was christened The Nest. Throw open the French windows and the sound of birdsong from neighbouring trees is interrupted only by the occasional peal of bells from Danehill church or, once in a while, by the whistle of steam trains on the Bluebell Railway as they chug past nearby.

This is life in Sussex at its tranquil best – ideal for a long weekend or even a week away exploring the many attractions nearby including Wakehurst Botanical Gardens, the Bluebell Railway and Sheffield Park National Trust Gardens or head to The South Downs National Park or Brighton and the South Coast and – all within a 45-minute drive. Alternatively, you can walk to Ashdown Forest or the bluebell woods over the babbling brook bridge, before eating dinner at the cosy Coach & Horses pub – without needing to get in the car at all. There are lots of suggestions in the coittage, including OS maps, walking routes and cycle paths.

You may not have heard of the charming village of Danehill, but it’s very conveniently located for public transport and easily reached from London, whose southern outskirts are only 30 miles away. Ashdown Forest is an ancient place of heath and woodland and is also the largest area of open-access land in the southeast and well worth a visit – much like The Nest itself.