Little Fleece at Folly Farm

It's only right that you can stay in a shepherd's hut at Folly Farm in Berkshire. After all, this is very much a shepherd's setting. The farm covers the chalky landscape where the Chiltern Hills meet the North Wessex Downs – the sort of quintessentially English scenery you might expect in a Hardy novel – and there are sheep, as well as cows, in the surrounding meadows. You don't need to be a shepherd to stay here though. The 'Little Fleece' hut is not exactly a humble abode. With an en-suite shower room, a wood-fired pizza oven and an outdoor bathtub where you can soak and enjoy the stars, this is a rural escape where you can secretly enjoy a little pampering. It's a fine place for a holiday in the hills.

Just a few hundred yards from the Ridgeway National Trail, Little Fleece at Folly Farm is an entirely self contained shepherd's hut and the only accommodation on site, so you really have the place to yourself. Inside it has everything you need, with a clever layout that maximises the space. The double bed, for example, folds away into the wall to reveal a seating and dining area below, while the kitchen is cleverly compact yet still has everything you could possibly need, including a fridge, sink, hobs and a kettle. A wood-burner keeps the whole place snug and cosy – a particularly delight in the winter months when you'll delight in hearing the rain tap-a-tapping on the corrugated roof – while the en-suite shower room has an excellent shower as well as thoughtful little touchers, like the British-made shampoo bars and toiletries. In all, owners David and Jane and their daughter Tory, have clearly thought every detail through. Though there's a hairdryer, bathrobes and a welcome pack with jams and cakes, there is no WiFi and they haven't installed a television. This is a place for enjoying your immediate surroundings, not scrolling through TV channels.

And what surroundings they are. Outside your hut there's a grass and gravel area where you can make use of the pizza oven and barbecue pit, while, beyond, footpaths lead up on to the ridgeway or in to the local village where there's a welcoming, family-run pub overlooking the cricket pitch. Rise early and you'll catch the sight of horses riding out on the downs as you walk the ridgeway – there are several gallops in the area where racers let off steam – and there's also a good chance of spotting the best of the local wildlife in the morning hours. Come evening, meanwhile, and there's only one place to be. The wood-fired bathtub, shielded by a screen of woven hazel but otherwise open to the elements, is a perfect place to gaze at the stars. If it rains it can be all the more atmospheric and the perfect place to soak before retreating back into the hut with a good book.