Here’s How Britain Is Leading The Way On Global Travel Trends

Rewilding, remote cabins, capering off grid – travel trends come and go, but Britain has been quietly leading the way for decades. We just don’t like to shout about it, says Francisca Kellett

Top Travel Trends 2025: Where To Go In The UK

Sometimes, we Brits are just too bloody polite for our own good. We’re bombarded with news of travel trends and ‘hot’ holiday ideas, but do you know what they (almost) all have in common? Britain has been doing them for years. We’ve been quietly, politely leading the way in rewilding and wellness, and slow travel and reconnecting with loved ones. All those experiences we’re told we must travel around the world for? They’re right there, on our doorstep. But let’s not make a fuss. That wouldn’t be polite. That wouldn’t be British. 

Rewilding

Probably the hottest trend right now, whether we’re talking about landscapes or ourselves. Hectic jobs, mobile addiction, global political meltdown and all the rest mean we’re craving something simpler, something slower. Happily, it’s something we’re brilliant at close to home. 

There’s the Knepp Estate in Sussex, of course, but Scotland is leading the pack, from the vast rewilding estates and Scandi-chic properties of Wildland, to the 23,000 acres of Alladale, with its remote, rustic cottages and conservation workshops. 

Rewilding is taking hold in all sorts of surprising pockets, too, such as the 13th-century Elmore Court Estate in Gloucestershire, where 250 acres have been given over to letting the land recover. Keep an eye out for shaggy longhorn cattle and check out the sauna and Rewild Swim Club at the beautiful lake. Over in Ireland, at the brand new and super-gorgeous Native Cabins in the village of Ballydehob in West Cork, 20 percent of all profits are being put into a rewilding project, 10 minutes’ from Native, where a 75-acre site is being rewilded with native Irish flora.

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Wild Swimming

Speaking of wild swimming, why follow just one trend when you can tick off two? The nature-wellness combo taps nicely into our longing to slow down and regroup. Alladale, again, is big on this, offering retreats such as the I-Guru Man Retreat, covering yoga, breathwork and meditation in the wilderness, and there are all sorts of experiences and retreats on offer at Yorkshire’s Broughton Sanctuary, which combines holistic wellness with a 3,000-acre rewilding project. 

At Thornfalcon, a new organic cider farm and vineyard in Somerset, there’s a large lake for wild swimming plus a wood-fired sauna, barn accommodation and a gypsy caravan for kids. The interiors are filled with antiques from the UK, Spain and Morocco, with chic designer bits and bobs from the likes of Kit Kemp and Matilda Goad, and guests are greeted with a welcome hamper full of goodies from the walled garden. 

There’s more wellness-meets-wholesomeness at the 1,000-acre Fritton Lake, where you’ll find jeep safaris on the rewilded Norfolk-Suffolk borders, as well as open-water swimming, foraging walks, paddle boarding and a huge forest play area. Accommodation is in smart clubhouse rooms, cottages and cool Koto-designed cabins.

Going Off Grid

Cabins have been all the rage for a while now, but are only getting more popular as we seek to go off-grid, ditch the phones and perhaps even talk to each other. Head into the wilds of Northumberland for a taster with Trees at Tughall – lovely cabins located an easy stroll from Beadnell Beach. Back in Scotland, the Glen Glack Cabins, on the 145,000-acre Atholl Estates, are clad with sustainable larch and built on stilts overlooking Cally Loch to leave the lightest possible footprint, with wood-burning stoves and fully stocked kitchens. 

Over in Wales, Fforest has reached cult-like status for its 200 acres of forest, rugged coastline and über-glam cabins, yurts and domes, plus outdoor activities that tick all our put-your-screens-away boxes. Not sure where you want to go? Have a look at the seriously stylish, off-grid and solar-powered cabins on offer from Unyoked, with options in Norfolk, Wales, Suffolk, the South Downs and more.

Nature With Frills

If your holiday vibe is more turndown service than DIY, PoB Hotels offers a good selection of smart hotels with multi-generational options – another big travel trend. Armathwaite Hall, for example has a range of interconnecting rooms, a swish spa and 400 acres of woodland for outdoor romping, while Bovey Castle in Dartmoor National Park has a mind-boggling array of activities, from beekeeping and falconry, to bushcraft lessons. 

All this connection with nature is, of course, somewhat reliant on the weather. But then that chimes perfectly with another major trend – ‘coolcations’, where travellers opt for cooler climes during those months where traditional Mediterranean resorts are becoming hotter and hotter. Perhaps it’s flippant to suggest that climate change is making holidays in Britain all the more appealing but, either way, you won’t hear us shouting about it. We’re much too polite.