There is something quietly extraordinary about lying in warm water as the trees move overhead, birdsong drifts through the air, and the day slows around you. Each pod at Tarn Sike comes with its own private outdoor bath — large enough for two, and filled by you whenever the moment feels right.
The Experience
These are not hot tubs. They are something more personal — a proper outdoor bath, designed for unhurried time. Fill it at the temperature you choose, sink in with someone you love or keep it to yourself, and let the woodland do the rest. The stone resin material retains heat beautifully, keeping your bath warm for an hour or more without needing to top it up. There is no hum of machinery, no jets, no artificial light show. Just water, warmth, and the world outside your pod.
Whether you choose to bathe as the sun sets behind the fell, beneath a canopy of stars on a clear Cumbrian night, or in the still quiet of a woodland morning — the experience is entirely yours to shape.
How It Works
Each bath is simple and intuitive to use. You fill it yourself whenever you want with hot water provided by the pods own heating system — no waiting for a dial to reach temperature or tending to a wood fire, no chlorine smell, no maintenance routines. When you are ready, you simply run it, climb in, and enjoy. The stone resin holds heat exceptionally well, so a full bath stays genuinely warm for an hour or more without any need to top up.
You will find the bath set into your private garden area, screened for privacy while remaining open to the sky above and the woodland around you. Towels and everything you need are provided in your pod.
Why We Chose Stone Baths Over Hot Tubs
We thought carefully about this. Hot tubs are a popular glamping feature, and there is no question they offer comfort — but at Tarn Sike, we did not feel they were the right choice for this landscape or for the values we want to build the retreat around.
Our reasoning was straightforward:
- No chemical pollution. Hot tubs require significant quantities of chlorine and other chemicals to remain safe between guests. Those chemicals have to go somewhere when the water is changed — and at a site that sits alongside a stream, a lake, and a nationally important wetland habitat, that is not a compromise we were willing to make.
- Lower energy use. Hot tubs maintain a constant temperature around the clock, whether they are being used or not. Our baths use hot water only when you choose to fill them, with no continuous heating cycle. For a retreat in a landscape that includes Sites of Special Scientific Interest, reducing our energy footprint matters.
- A better experience for this place. The quietness of a stone bath — no pump, no bubbles, no artificial sound — means you can actually hear the woodland. The kingfishers on the lake, the curlew on the moor, the wind in the trees. That is exactly what people come here for.
We believe the outdoor stone bath offers everything that makes outdoor bathing special, while asking far less of the land and water around it. It is one small part of how we try to run Tarn Sike in a way that takes the responsibility of being here seriously.
A Note on the Setting
Tarn Sike sits alongside Tarn Sike stream, which flows through our land from Cow Dub — a smaller lake connected to Sunbiggin Tarn, one of England's most important freshwater habitats. It is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a Special Area of Conservation, supporting rare orchids, breeding wading birds, and plant species found nowhere else in England. The decisions we make about how we run this retreat — including this one — are shaped by what lies outside our gates.
Every pod at Tarn Sike includes an ourdoor bath as standard — there is no supplement, and no need to request it in advance. It is simply part of what a stay here means.