Sar Lou Adventures

The Tawny Hotel, near Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire

Looking for a quick break away from busy lives we booked a night at The Tawny Hotel, a luxury ‘deconstructed hotel’ in the stunning Churnet Valley in Staffordshire. The accommodation features a collection of Shepherds Huts, Treehouses, Lookouts, Boathouses, and Retreats. Having previously stayed in one of the treehouse retreats overlooking the lake, we were in one of the boathouses this time, both of which are a nature lovers paradise as residents birds and wildlife happily roam around without a care for their human visitors.

Surrounded by the 740 acre woodland of Consall Nature Park and RSPB Consall Woods nature reserve, the site is a haven for a vast array of wildlife and birds as well as being just a short drive away from the Peak District National park. As night approaches, you’ll hear the Tawny owls close by, after which the hotel is named.

For those who love a bit of bird spotting, in just one afternoon we saw/heard:

• Countless ring necked pheasants
• Tawny owls
• Buzzards
• Great spotted woodpeckers
• Coal tits
• Great tits
• Blue tits
• Robins
• Chiffchaffs
• Nuthatches
• Song Thrushes
• Goldcrests
• Goldfinches
• Chaffinches
• Greenfinches
• Treecreepers
• Siskins
• Blackbirds
• Magpies
• Blackcaps
• Canadian Geed
• Mallards
• Ruddy ducks
• Tufted Ducks
• Woodpigeons
• Wrens
• Moorhens
• Coots
• Carrion Crows
• Dunnocks

…and that was in just one afternoon!

Dining at the award-winning Plumicorn restaurant for dinner and breakfast is always a highlight, with a fine dining experience to die for along with stunning lake views to accompany your meal.

While only a brief visit for us, we spent the afternoon exploring the grounds, hiring the E-trikes which was both harder and more hilarious than you’d have expected despite both of us having ridden E-bikes and scooters before. To be honest, the hilarity of it all and how rubbish we were just added to the experience.