Stay review: Wildcomfort, Stoke Fleming
Muddy Stilettos: 23rd April 2025
Muddy puts away the laptop and heads to Dartmouth for a spot of grown-up glamping in an eco cabin overlooking Blackpool Sands.
WHAT/WHERE?
Wildcomfort is an extraordinary eco glamping retreat, perched on the hillside overlooking the Blue Flag beach of Blackpool Sands, one of the South Hams’ most beautiful beaches. Here you’re close to the upmarket harbour town of Dartmouth, and guests of ex-Londoners Lou and Tim, who conceived and designed wildcomfort themselves. Your choice of stay comprises two identical Birdhouse Cabins, which sleep two, or a bespoke-designed canvas Tree Tents structure, The Lookout, which comfortably sleeps two in a mezzanine, or up to four if you don’t mind being cosy.
South Hams is Devon’s answer to Cornwall, but wildcomfort’s patch feels even more paradisiacal thanks to its setting of a former Victorian plantsman garden. With that golden beach, the Med-blue water, high light levels and tree ferns – you could be on the other side of the world.
This whole coastline, from the village of Stoke Fleming all the way to Start Point lighthouse on the headland opposite is owned by the Newman family, from whom Lou and Tim rent the land. The family are all keen conservers, who walk the talk both on the land they own and their Blue Flag beach. In April, when I saw it, the gardens were just springing to life with dainty English bluebells, yellow primroses and wild garlic. Delightful.
THE VIBE
Birdhouse is a great name for the cabins. You’re perched high above the bay, hidden in the canopy and and totally immersed in nature. It’s sustainably high-tech, with a low footprint, so no concrete and it’s plastic-free. Quite unlike any glamping stay I’ve ever been, the Birdhouses can’t help but unhook you from your screen and hitch you up to nature. That giant porthole window in your cabin, the deck and proximity to the outdoors give you an eyeful of blue, tweeting birds and starry night skies.
There’s a key safe system on your cabin to come and go as you please, but you’re likely to see Lou around as she’s very hands-on and full of fun and local knowledge. She’s also busy with their newest stay, which opens in June 2025, Robin’s Nest, which has higher-up views and will eventually have its own private sauna.
The five-minute walk to Blackpool Sands takes you down a zigzag path lined with ancient tree ferns, cork trees and Antipodean shrubs (aptly for Lou who’s originally from New Zealand). Cross the road, and there’s a fabulous café, for brunch and complete with tiki-style parasols and cocktails, along with a beach sauna and the opportunity to hire kayaks and paddle boards. Play time!
Every glamping stay I’ve ever been to has always been oriented towards kids, but here feels more grown-up. It’s not recommended for under 8s due to the cabin’s bijou size and high-flung decks on the hillside.
PILLOW TALK
Honey Buzzard, like Little Owl next door, is a ultra-cosy with a kingsize bed under a porthole window giving up those sea views. It’s really well insulated from all weathers, and full of thoughtful details, including detachable curtains which meant we slept in well beyond our usual wake up call. Must be the sea air!
Honey Buzzard, like Little Owl next door, is a ultra-cosy with a kingsize bed under a porthole window giving up those sea views. It’s really well insulated from all weathers, and full of thoughtful details, including detachable curtains which meant we slept in well beyond our usual wake up call. Must be the sea air!
In a separate identical cabin on the deck, is your separate shower-room and loo, laid on with scented eco toiletries and a high-tech incinerator toilet. All the instructions look a bit intimidating at first, but it’s actually super-simple, and much less, erm, outdoorsy than a compost toilet.
SCOFF & QUAFF
Each Birdhouse comes with a gas hob, hot and cold water and a cool box, while, for bigger meals, head to the communal Captain’s Cabin where there’s space to chill and a fully kitted kitchen with a wood oven, gas hobs and a wood burner.
Super helpfully, they’ve organised 10% off discounts when you wear a wildcomfort wristband at a few local eateries, including The Green Dragon, a lovely old pub with a beer garden opposite the church in Stoke Fleming. You can walk there in less than 15 minutes’ and grab a good wine, a pie or a stone-baked pizza.
We had a drink there and drove the 15 minutes to The Tower Inn at Slapton, which I’d heard has a French chef, and is popular for their Sunday lunches. It was worth the drive – very old and atmospheric, sitting under the tumble-down ruins of an ancient tower and with candlelit tables and a fire in the grate. Quite magical.
ANYTHING ELSE?
Wildcomfort is all off-grid and everything runs off 12v, so you need to be prepared to wave bye-bye to your laptop and hairdryer. There’s no wifi, but they do have 4G and you can plug your phone in, thanks to two USB sockets and a 12v car outlet socket in the cabin. The cabins also have LED dimmable lights and a bedside light for bedtime reading.
OUT & ABOUT
There’s a handy folder with local information in your cabin with advice on the best places to eat locally (The Seahorse, Andria), the local pubs and day trips, which could easily include Dartmouth, Slapton Ley Nature Reserve and Torcross. But if the weather is good, you might just be content with lazing around at the beach and café, or doing some water sports.
We loved the new wooden beach sauna on Blackpool Sands which has windows looking out at the waves. You can book in for a private 50-minute session for £59 (or £15pp general session) and dive in and out to use the shower or throw yourself into the waves.
OUT & ABOUT
It’s fairly hilly up and down to the beach, and on grass and gravelly tracks, so not especially suitable for wheelchairs and buggies.
KID-FRIENDLY?
Book the babysitter for under 8s: here’s a more grown-up stay. Besides, who needs the kids around when you have a chance to act like one yourself?
DOG-FRIENDLY?
No. The garden is full of bats, birds and wildlife, so furry friends will be off to the kennels instead.
THE MUDDY VERDICT
Sshhh, don’t tell everyone but I think I’ve found South Hams’ most magical glamping stay. That beach, that exotic hillside and the unique Birdhouse cabins are quite a combo. I guess when the weather is poor, it would be less fun, though still much cosier than camping. That said, the night after we left they were treated to a storm with fork lighting over the bay which must have been spectacular.
Good for: that wonderful childlike sense of baggage-free, sand in your toes freedom; outdoorsy types, beach babes, adventurers, botanisers and bird watchers; for learning to surf, kayak and paddle board; a sustainable stay; avoiding the car and your inbox for a few days.
Not for: kids under 8 years’ old; pets; less than two nights; a winter stay – it’s open from April-November; if you come out in hives at the thought of being offline or using a high-tech toilet; people who prefer hotel perks, fluffy carpets and groomed hair.
The damage: Birdhouse cabins start at £175 per night. The Lookout (above) is from £160.
wildcomfort, Stoke Fleming, Dartmouth, Devon TQ6 0PZ. Tel: 07787 500 538; Email lou@wildcomfort.co.uk or check availability and book your stay here.