48 hours off-grid in the South Downs: the guide to what to do, where to eat and where to stay
May 26, 2026
The South Downs National Park has a particular quality to it. The hills roll in a way that feels generous rather than dramatic, the sky above them seems bigger than it should and the footpaths out here have been walked for centuries. It's an hour from London on the train and sitting on top of one of those hills it feels like that doesn't quite make sense.
Here's how we'd spend 48 hours based out here, with the cabin as your starting point for all of it.
Getting there
By car: 1 to 1.5 hours from London, depending on traffic. Worth stopping in Petersfield on the way in to grab your food and supplies for the stay.
By train: London Waterloo or Clapham Junction to Petersfield is just under an hour. From the station it's a 7-minute taxi ride to the cabin, around £10-15. A2B Taxis Petersfield (01730 233299) are the reliable local option. Book in advance if you can.
Pick up firewood before you leave Petersfield — petrol stations all carry it, or the Waitrose and M&S in town. Stock up well because you're in the middle of the countryside once you're in.
Day 1: arrive, eat, settle in
Lunch in Petersfield
Petersfield is a genuinely nice market town and worth more time than just a shop. For lunch, Josie's is the best spot for brunch and coffee, Madeleine's Kitchen is dog friendly and does great cakes, sandwiches and deli things, and if you're after pastries then Hoxton Bakehouse (opposite the new Gail's) is hard to beat.
If you want to do a proper food shop, the M&S and Waitrose are both in town. Durleighmarsh Farm Shop is 7 miles from the cabin and a better option if you've got time for it — pick-your-own fruit in summer, good local produce year-round.
Head to the cabin and get settled
Park up, load the trolley and walk into the field. The cabin sits up on a hill with views across the South Downs that hit you before you've even got your coat off. Get the fire going, get your food sorted, spend the afternoon doing very little. That's the idea.
Walk to the White Horse
The White Horse — known locally as the Pub with No Name — is 1.5 miles from the cabin across the fields. A whitewashed 17th-century inn sitting in the middle of nowhere, with a pond out front and real ales inside. Walk over in the evening, eat well, walk back. The Hawkley Inn is also walkable at about 20 minutes, good food and classic ales with a beer garden and views of the village church. Either way, you're doing it on foot.
Day 2: slow morning, proper walk
Take your time with the morning - No alarm. Coffee first, whatever's out the window second. The cabin looks out over the South Downs and the light on those hills first thing is something you don't want to rush past.
The big walk - The Shoulder of Mutton Viewpoint loop is 8km and about 3 hours — it takes you up onto the ridgeline with views across the rolling landscape south towards Petersfield and the coast. On a clear day you can see a long way. That's the walk if you want to feel like you've really been somewhere. The Pub with No Name loop is 5km and easier — flat, rural, lovely, and you end up back at the pub for lunch if you time it right. Good for any fitness level. If the South Downs Way is on your list, it passes nearby — the full trail runs 100 miles from Winchester to Eastbourne through the National Park, but you can pick up a section of it and walk for as long as you want before turning back.
Back at the cabin - This is an evening for the fire pit and cooking outside. The BBQ is the right call if the weather's cooperating - get it hot for 30 minutes before you cook and it'll do whatever you put on it properly. Sit outside for as long as feels reasonable, then go in and get the wood burner going.
Day 3: pack up and explore before you head back
Check out is 11am, which gives you a proper morning rather than a rushed one. Queen Elizabeth Country Park is 2,000 acres of open woodland just down the road — you can walk up to Butser Hill, which is the highest point on the South Downs Way, and the views from the top on a good day are worth the climb. Arundel Castle is worth the drive if you want something more substantial - one of the most impressive medieval castles in England, with a full set of historic rooms and a good café. Midhurst and its Cowdray Ruins are slightly closer and a bit more off the beaten path, good for a wander and lunch before the drive home. The seaside is also only about 30 minutes away. West Wittering is the best beach in the area, Hayling Island is wilder and less crowded. Both are worth a stop if the weather's playing along.
Thinking about your next stay?
The South Downs are brilliant for big walks and open countryside. If you want something wilder and more remote, Dorset is the one to try - the Cerne Abbas chalk giant, proper Dorset valleys and a thatched pub two minutes from the cabin. Or if you want to stay on the coast, the East Sussex cabins are an hour east with Beachy Head and the Seven Sisters cliffs on your doorstep.
Frequently asked questions
Where are the South Downs off-grid cabins?
The cabins (Caspian and Jadis) are near Petersfield in Hampshire, on the edge of the South Downs National Park. About 1 hour from London Waterloo by train.
Can you get to the South Downs cabin without a car?
Yes. London Waterloo or Clapham Junction to Petersfield is just under an hour, then a 7-minute taxi to the cabin. Book the taxi in advance.
Are the South Downs cabins dog friendly?
Yes, all Escape Off The Grid cabins are dog friendly. A 15m stake and lead is provided at each cabin.
What pub can you walk to from the South Downs cabin?
The White Horse (known locally as the Pub with No Name) is 1.5 miles away on a footpath through the fields — a beautiful 17th-century whitewashed inn with real ales and good food. The Hawkley Inn is also walkable at about 20 minutes.
What's the best walk from the South Downs cabin?
The Shoulder of Mutton Viewpoint loop is 8km with brilliant ridge views. The Pub with No Name loop is an easier 5km circular. Both start from the cabin.
Pubs, bakeries and farm shops we actually send our Cotswolds cabin guests to — from wood-fired pizza at The Stump to cider at Dunkertons and Daylesford for your arrival shop.
Deep Dorset countryside, a thatched pub two minutes from your door and a 9-mile walk to the Cerne Abbas chalk giant. Here's how to spend 48 hours off-grid in Plush, Dorset.
Rolling East Sussex countryside, a footpath to a local pub and 30 minutes from Beachy Head and the Seven Sisters. Here's exactly how to spend 48 hours based near Chiddingly.
Green space, lower cortisol Every one of our cabins sits inside an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty - Cotswolds, Canterbury, Dorset, East Sussex, South Downs. Studies on green space have linked time in landscapes like these to measurable drops in cortisol, the stress hormone. You don't have to hike or do anything in particular. Step out of the cabin door with a coffee, and the landscape starts its quiet work. Unfamiliar paths, clearer thinking The brain runs most of its day on autopilot (same commute, same rooms, same loops). Moving through unfamiliar terrain is one of the gentlest ways to wake it up again. Our cabins are placed on footpaths you've never walked: Cotswold Way trails from the Andoversford door, woodland tracks in East Sussex, Kent meadows, South Downs chalk ridges. The parasympathetic soundtrack Birdsong and wind through leaves nudge the nervous system into its "rest and digest" state - the one most of us don't spend nearly enough time in. We chose our sites with this in mind: away from roads, away from streetlights, away from the hum of modern life. Guests often tell us they slept better than they have in months. Nowhere to be The brain has a "default mode" it slips into when there's nothing to check and nowhere to be - the background state where memory settles and ideas connect. It doesn't switch on while you're scrolling. Our cabins are genuinely off-grid: patchy signal, no TV, no passive entertainment pulling at your attention. A notebook by the window Journaling in a quiet space has been linked to less rumination and steadier emotions because a thought on a page holds still long enough for you to look at it. Every cabin has a spot for this: a table by a window, a view of the field or the trees. Reading by the wood-burner A University of Sussex study found that reading for just six minutes can meaningfully reduce stress — more than a walk or a cup of tea. Add a wood-burning stove, a soft lamp, and no phone on the side table, and you've got the kind of evening that's hard to describe until you've had one. We built our cabins to be the conditions that let your body remember how to rest.
If you ask what the Countryside Code actually says and you'll get a vague answer about closing gates and picking up litter. It's not something anyone really teaches you and the detail has shifted over the years. Its pretty important when you visit the beautiful spots you'll find our cabins in s o here it is in simple words. It's built around three words: Respect. Protect. Enjoy. 1. Respect This is the bit about other people. The farmers, the dog walkers, the family coming the other way on a narrow path - be kind and respectful. Don't block field gates, driveways, or passing places when you're parking. Tractors and emergency vehicles need to get through at all hours. Follow the signs. If a footpath is closed or a sign asks you to detour, there's a reason. Usually livestock, sometimes a fallen tree. Trust it. Leave gates as you find them. Open stays open, closed stays closed. Farmers set gates deliberately and there's almost always a reason. Say hello. A smile and a "morning" to the dog walker coming the other way costs nothing and keeps the countryside feeling like the friendly place it mostly is. 2. Protect Stick to the path. Even when it's muddy and there's a lovely dry strip of grass next to it, stay on the muddy bit. That dry strip is probably growing something, and marked paths exist to keep walkers out of crops and away from nesting birds. Take everything home. Not just the obvious rubbish. Apple cores, orange peel, sandwich crusts. Food waste doesn't biodegrade as fast as people think. It sits around attracting animals that shouldn't be fed. Don't light fires. Open fires in the countryside are almost never allowed, even small ones. Dry grass and heathland catch in seconds. Our fire pits at the cabin are fine because they're contained. Keep dogs close. Between 1 March and 31 July there's a legal requirement on open access land to keep dogs on leads because of nesting birds. Around livestock, leads go on. Leave what you find. Wild flowers, birds' eggs, interesting stones, antlers in the woods. All of it belongs where you found it. Take photos instead. 3. Enjoy The third pillar is the one people forget exists. The Code isn't just a list of things not to do. It's an active encouragement to have a proper time. Plan ahead a little. Check the forecast. Bring the right kit. Tell someone where you're going if it's remote. Download a map offline because phone signal in the places worth walking is famously unreliable. Let yourself actually be there. Put the phone away. Stop and watch the kestrel. Pick blackberries if it's August. Sit on a bench for twenty minutes doing nothing. Have the second pint. Walk slower than you think you should. The whole point of the countryside is that it's not the rest of your life. If you stride through it like you're crossing it off a list, you've missed the thing. Be considerate and leave no trace.
Most of us who grew up on The Chronicles of Narnia remember the feeling more than the plot. The hush of the wardrobe door closing behind you. The crunch of snow that shouldn't be there. The sense that you've stepped, by accident, into somewhere the ordinary rules don't apply. That feeling is exactly what we want guests to have when they walk across the field to their cabin. You park the car, close the gate behind you, follow the path through the long grass, and somewhere along the way the week you've just had starts falling off your shoulders. Each cabin is named for a character chosen because something about them felt right for the landscape. Here's who lives where. Dorset Aslan belongs here for the obvious reason. He's the heart of the whole thing: regal, old, quietly powerful, tied to the deep magic of a place. Sit outside with a cup of tea and watch the mist roll off the hills, and you'll understand. Tumnus is his gentler neighbour. The faun with the umbrella who invites Lucy in for tea and sardines by the fire. The welcoming one, the cosy one, the place you come back to after a long walk and feel immediately looked after. Canterbury Lucy is the one who finds Narnia first. The youngest, quietly brave, the one who believes in things before anyone else does. Her cabin has that sense of discovery: pushing through a gate, walking across a field, finding something nobody else has quite noticed yet. Susan is the elder sister. Steadier, more considered. Her cabin is the grounded one, with the most amazing valley views where you find yourself staring for hours. South Downs Jadis is the White Witch, which sounds ominous until you remember her Narnia was buried under endless, beautiful snow. This cabin sits higher and more exposed, and on a frosty morning when the whole valley is silver and your breath hangs in the air, the name makes complete sense. Caspian is the young prince who sails east to find the edge of the world. His cabin has that outward-looking, horizon - seeking feeling. The one where your morning coffee turns into plans for walking further than you meant to . East Sussex Hwin is the mare from The Horse and His Boy. Gentle, thoughtful, quietly wise. Her cabin is the calming one, the place for people who need to be reminded what their own thoughts sound like. Reepicheep is the opposite. The bravest mouse in all of Narnia, forever itching for adventure. This one is for the walkers who can't sit still and want to be out on the footpaths by nine in the morning. Small, mighty, sends you out into the day ready for anything. Cotswolds, Andoversford Cornelius is Caspian's old tutor, the half-dwarf scholar who teaches him the true history of Narnia by candlelight. The bookish cabin. The one you bring a stack of novels to and end up writing in a notebook for the first time in years. Rabadash is the hot-headed prince from The Horse and His Boy. An unusual cabin name until you realise Rabadash is unforgettable. This one has personality. It's the one guests remember. Miraz is Caspian's uncle, a king with a certain commanding presence. The cabin sits well in its field and holds its ground. Cotswolds, Chedworth Bree is the proud war horse from The Horse and His Boy. The showier cabin, the one with the view that makes people stop talking for a minute when they walk in. Aravis is the runaway princess who rides with Bree across the desert. Fierce, independent, stubbornly kind. Her cabin is for the people who came here to do things their own way: solo weekends, girls' trips, anything that starts with "right, I need to get away." Edmund is the Pevensie who goes wrong and then goes right again, and by the end of the books he's the quiet, just one. His cabin has that same steadiness. Forgiving, warm, the one you come to when you need to put a hard week behind you. Tirian is the last king of Narnia. There's a bittersweet quality to him, a sense of an ending that's also a beginning. His cabin sits at the edge of things, where the ordinary world runs out and something quieter takes over.
There's a particular pleasure in being somewhere where your nearest pub is a two-minute walk down a quiet lane, and the pub in question has a thatched roof, a proper fire, and has been there for longer than anyone can remember. Our Dorset cabin sits in one of the prettiest, sleepiest corners of the county, and one of the small unexpected gifts of staying here is how good the food and drink gets once you start poking around the surrounding villages. We thought we'd pull together the places we send guests to most often and most of them are walkable from the cabin if you fancy earning your lunch the proper way. The Brace of Pheasants, Plush (two minutes on foot) Start here. Thatched roof, open fire, a garden that catches the evening sun, and a menu where everything sounds like exactly what you want to eat after a day on the hills. It's the most-loved recommendation we give out, and there's something perfect about being able to wander down for a pint. Book ahead at weekends. The Gaggle of Geese, Buckland Newton (three miles, walkable) Walk to lunch, roll home slowly. The Gaggle of Geese does a Sunday roast people actively plan weekends around, and there are skittle alleys if you want to lean into the full country-pub experience. The walk from the cabin takes you through Dorset countryside, which means you arrive hungry and leave happy. This is the one to build a Sunday around. The Old Chapel Stores, Buckland Newton (two miles) Your village shop for the essentials, and also for the nice things you forgot. Bread, eggs, bacon, milk, a bottle of wine, the papers. It's open until six most days (midday on Sundays), and it's the place where the stock reflects the community. Stopping here on the way in, instead of doing a big supermarket shop, is one of those choices that makes the whole weekend feel more like an escape. The money also stays in the village, which matters. The Royal Oak, Cerne Abbas (four miles) Cerne Abbas is worth a trip on its own. You've got Britain's largest chalk figure striding across the hillside above the village (and yes, he's quite something), a pretty high street full of honey-coloured stone, and two excellent pubs to choose from. The Royal Oak is the classic. Great food, lovely garden, and if you walk up to see the Giant first you'll have properly earned your pudding. The New Inn, Cerne Abbas (four miles) The other pub in Cerne Abbas, and especially useful in winter because it stays open Sunday evenings and Mondays when a lot of country pubs shut up shop. The food is proper and the welcome is warm. Between the Royal Oak and the New Inn you could happily alternate across a whole weekend and never eat the same thing twice. The Thimble Inn, Piddlehinton (two and a half miles) Tucked into a low-ceilinged old building in a village with one of the great village names of England. The Thimble does serious food in an unserious setting, which is our favourite combination. Good for a long, slow lunch when the weather's dreich and you want somewhere that feels like it's hugging you.
No emails. No social media scroll. No endless notifications. Just the two of you, good food, a cosy cabin, and nature as your backdrop. That’s what an off-grid romantic getaway is all about - space to breathe, time to really look at each other, and moments that feel like they could have been lifted from a love story. Mornings that start slow Forget alarms and rushing around. Mornings here are slow and peaceful - you wake up to birdsong, sunlight spilling through the windows, and maybe a lazy coffee in bed before the day begins. There’s no pressure to “do” anything except enjoy being together. Cooking together... your way One of the unexpected joys of staying in an off-grid cabin is cooking together. Light the stove, pour a glass of wine, and make something simple but delicious - pasta with fresh herbs, steak on the fire pit, or pancakes in the morning. With no TV in the background or phones on the table, it’s just you, the food, and the quiet rhythm of cooking side by side. Afternoons exploring Take a long walk through the woods, wander along a beach, or find a trail that leads to a cosy pub. The point isn’t to tick off landmarks but to talk, laugh, and enjoy each other’s company. Our cabins are set in Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, so every step outside is postcard-worthy. Evenings under the stars When the sun sets, you realise just how magical the night can be without streetlights or screens. Sit outside with a blanket, light the fire pit, and watch the stars slowly appear. It’s quiet enough to hear the crackle of the fire and the sound of your own thoughts. Why going off-grid works for couples It’s not about being off-grid for the sake of it but about making space for each other. Without the constant pull of work emails or social media, you notice the little things again: the way they smile, the way they make tea, the way your conversations wander late into the night. Whether it’s your first trip together or you’ve been a couple for years, an off-grid romantic escape is a reminder of why you fell for each other in the first place. And when you head home, you take that feeling with you.
Dog-friendly cabin breaks across the Cotswolds, Dorset, East Sussex, South Downs and Canterbury. Wild walks from the door, dog-welcoming pubs, and space to roam.
There's a particular kind of peace you only find in the places we've chosen for our cabins. It's the quiet of a hedgerow waking up at dawn, of a buzzard turning lazy circles over a wheat field, of a fire crackling while the stars do their slow, silent thing overhead. That quiet is the whole point and it's surprisingly easy to protect once you know how. The Cotswolds, Canterbury, Dorset, East Sussex, the South Downs. These are all Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (or National Landscapes, as they're now called), and they're beautiful precisely because generations of people have treated them gently. We'd like to keep it that way. Which brings us to the Countryside Code. So, what actually is the Countryside Code? The short version: it's a set of guidelines, first written in 1951 and refreshed every so often since, that helps everyone enjoy the countryside without wrecking it for the wildlife, the farmers, or each other. It's not a rulebook with a man in a tweed cap waiting to fine you. It's more like good manners for being outdoors, organised around three lovely, simple words: Respect. Protect. Enjoy. We think that's a pretty good philosophy for a weekend off the grid, too. Here's how it shapes the way we run our sites, and the small things we ask of guests while they're with us. Leave no trace (and we mean no trace) Leave no trace is exactly what it sounds like. When you pack up and drive home, the area your cabin sits on should look the same as it did when you arrived. No rubbish left behind, no cigarette ends tucked into the grass, no forgotten wine bottle behind the log store. We provide bins and we ask that anything that came with you leaves with you, food scraps included. Apple cores and banana skins don't magically disappear, they just sit there for months looking sad. If you've had a fire in the fire pit, we'll show you how to put it out properly and what to do with the cold ashes. Dark skies are a gift One of the best things about our locations is that you can actually see the stars. Proper stars. The kind most people have forgotten exist because they live under a permanent orange glow. Dorset and the South Downs in particular have some of the darkest skies in southern England, and we'd like to keep them that way. This is why you won't find floodlights or fairy lights strung across our sites. We ask guests to keep outdoor lighting to a minimum (a head torch for nipping to the compost loo, a lantern by the fire) and to point any light they do use downwards, never out across the fields. Your eyes adjust faster than you'd think. Within twenty minutes the Milky Way shows up like it's been waiting for you. Wildlife was here first Every one of our sites is home to creatures who were there long before we arrived. Barn owls hunting at dusk. Badgers on their nightly rounds. Ground-nesting birds in spring who will abandon their eggs if disturbed. Deer that freeze at the edge of the tree line, waiting to see what you'll do next. The ask is simple: give them space. Keep dogs close, especially between March and July when birds are nesting. Stay on the footpaths. Don't feed anything, however tempting. A fed fox becomes a bold fox becomes a problem fox, and it always ends badly for the fox. And if a hare breaks cover ten feet in front of you on a morning walk, just stop and watch. That's the whole weekend right there. Quiet enjoyment Our sites are designed to sit lightly within the landscape. Guests are asked to minimise vehicle use, avoid artificial lighting where possible, and respect the quiet character of surrounding farmland and neighbouring homes. That means no Bluetooth speakers carrying across the valley, no late-night shouting around the fire, no drones buzzing over the treetops at seven in the morning. Most of our guests arrive desperate for exactly this kind of quiet, so it rarely needs saying. But it's worth saying anyway. The soundtrack here is meant to be wood pigeons, wind in the hedges, and the occasional distant sheep. Be kind to the people who live here The countryside isn't a theme park. It's somebody's home, and for many people it's also their workplace. The farmer whose tractor you pass on the lane is trying to get a job done. The cottage at the end of the track belongs to someone who probably moved there for the same peace and quiet you came looking for. A few small things make all the difference. Drive slowly on single-track lanes. Pull into passing places with a smile and a wave. Buy your bread and eggs from the village shop if there is one. Say hello to the dog walker coming the other way on the footpath. This is how rural communities stay welcoming to visitors, and it costs nothing. Oh, and gates: leave them as you find them. Open stays open, closed stays closed. There's usually a reason. Low vehicle movement Cars are the loudest, most intrusive thing most of us bring into the countryside, so we keep them to the edges. Once you've parked at your cabin, we'd love you to leave the car there for the duration if you can. Walk to the village. Cycle to the pub. Let the kids run the footpaths barefoot. The less the engine turns over, the more the landscape relaxes around you. If you do need to drive during your stay, go gently. Rural lanes are shared with horses, walkers, cyclists, wildlife, and the occasional pheasant who has made a poor life decision. A light footprint, on purpose You'll notice our cabins are deliberately minimal. No extras humming away twenty-four hours a day. No concrete bases. No mains electricity pylons marching across the field. The infrastructure is small because the landscape is the point. Respect. Protect. Enjoy. That's really all it comes down to. The Countryside Code isn't a list of things you're not allowed to do. It's a quiet invitation to be a good guest in somewhere special. Arrive gently, tread lightly, leave it better than you found it if you can, and in return the countryside gives you everything we came here hoping for: stars, silence, the smell of woodsmoke, and a weekend that feels three times longer than it was. We'll see you out there. Close the gate behind you.
