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Unique, hand crafted Pioneer Cabins and Canvas Lodges set in a natural Coombe, surrounded by hills and forest and looking out across the Blackmore Vale. Accommodation is luxuriously appointed with private bathrooms, electricity, hot water, kitchens, bedding and lots of extras to make your stay special. Each accommodations boast their own private wood fired eco-tub, for those perfect relaxing soaks under the stars...
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Wow, wow, wow. We stayed in our stunning Gold Panners cabin to celebrate my 50th BD. The cabin was brilliantly designed with clever storage spaces and hanging hooks. Both the inside and out was very authentic with touches that took me to another era. The balcony with the rocking chairs was a real favourite with stunning views across the valley to Hambledon Hill which we climbed one day. Another fantastic walk was through the woods behind Loose Reins. The cabins have good cooking facilities and cooking barbecues on the fire pit was just magically and memorable. Marc, Jannette and other staff were really friendly, helpful and gave advice on the local area. The loyalty shop is stocked with wonderful local produce - my favourites were the local IPA and ice cream. The log fire and firepit were easy to get started. The shower was really good and always had warm water. We travelled further afield to places like Durdle Door but equally we had gorgeous days just enjoying the cabins and the beautiful location. Interacting with Butch and Sundance (resident goats), lassoing bull and horse shoe tossing were wonderful touches making the visit memorable. On the final night, with no lighting we witnessed the most amazing night sky, with so many stars and constellations. We had a truly wonderful time and will return. The cabins designed by Marc are really something special and all the top ratings for this magical place are deserved. Many thanks
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Date of stay: August 2020Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Yasmin Sara Dadkhah, Owner at Loose Reins
Responded 4 Sept 2020
Aww, thank you so much for your review and for taking the time to write it for us! It sounds like you guys had a great trip and packed a lot in!! So glad you enjoyed it and had such a lovely time, especially for a special birthday! We love the rocking chairs too, especially at night, it is a particular favourite of ours. :) Thank you and we really look forwards to welcoming you back again in future, From the Loose Reins team
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We had a great week staying in one of the Loose Reins safari lodges. Despite having to deal at a distance due to COVID-19 requirements, the owners gave us a very warm welcome - all relevant info emailed in advance, the Lodge was spotless when we arrived, and our welcome pack meant we could have a cuppa straightaway! Views from the lodge are superb and everything was very comfy. There were some lovely walks right from the farm, and it's close to the North Dorset Trailway for biking or walking.
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Date of stay: August 2020Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Marc Gibbs, Owner at Loose Reins
Responded 9 Aug 2020
Our warm thanks for taking the trouble to leave a review, Katie. We so enjoyed meeting you all and we're absolutely delighted you had a great week! With our best wishes Marc and Jeanette.
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I have wanted to stay here since I first heard about it 10 years ago, but never found availability to coincidence with my time off and school holidays. I was so excited when I found availability on my birthday weekend and booked even though I thought it expensive at £550 for 2 nights in a cabin. The check in is after 5pm and check out 9am so the holiday is only 2 nights and 1 day.
Positives: The cabins are tiny but beautiful, very cleverly thought out and perfect for 2 people. (4 would be a bit of a squash). They are kitted out with everything you could possibly need and a lovely welcome hamper of eggs, bread, butter, jam, tea, coffee, biscuits and milk. The bed was extremely comfortable and really good quality linen and towels. Decent size bathroom although we struggled with the shower. The wood burner is fab and kept us toasty at night and enough complimentary logs for the 2 nights. Everything was spotlessly clean. The porch is large and a lovely place to sit and watch the sunrise and set. It is a very tranquil setting and very quiet. We enjoyed watching the horses and saying hello to the ponies and goats
Negatives Couldn't get the shower to maintain a warm temperature which was a bit annoying. Check in time is very late and check out time very early. I understand the accomodation needs deep cleaning but 8 hours to do so seems excessive. It would be nice to have more time to enjoy a laid back morning on departure day rather than rushing to pack up and be out before 9am. The shop doesn't sell wine or cider although some of the literature says it does. We were looking forward to a cream tea but although there were scones and jam they had run out of clotted cream. I struggled to contact Loose Reins prior to our visit, no answer to 2 phone calls and no response to my first email. An extra £25 charge for our dog. I didn't realize there is no longer any horse riding so this was a disappointment, although my fault not theirs.
I expected the place to be fully booked but there were only 2 other families staying over a school holiday weekend, which I imagine is due to the price.
We had a lovely time and really enjoyed our stay, but it is too expensive for what it is and this is why I have given 4 stars. (I've booked a stay at a very similar place in August, with the added bonus of a hot tub for £400, which I think is a more realistic price).
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Date of stay: April 2022Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We decided to go to Loose Reins last year, but couldn’t get the time. With lockdown and a pandemic still rife, we decided to bite the bullet and go for a few days as it seemed the perfect place in isolation! What a treat! Loved it on sight and our cabin was perfect for the 2 of us. A welcome basket of local produce and a card from the owners Marc and Jeanette welcoming us personally was a very good start to our little escape! We are both musicians and haven’t been hugging at all during this troubled time and with our guitars in hand, we played, rehearsed and created some great music within the hills of this treasure of a place. It was great to meet Marc and Jeanette from a distance and even more wonderful for me to have continued conversations with Jeanette on email - a friend for life in my book. We climbed the hill behind the property for about 3 hours on one day - I thought my heart would give in at one point, but we persevered and it was awesome!
We are definitely going to return there, Summer or Winter and we look forward to it immensely.
Thank you Marc and Jeanette. We wish you well in your venture and in life.
Big love and hugs,
Ginni & Eddie xxxxx
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Date of stay: July 2020Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Marc Gibbs, Owner at Loose Reins
Responded 13 Jul 2020
Dear Ginni & Eddie It was such a treat having you to stay at Loose Reins. Your smiling faces and kind hearts shine out and, as someone remarked, it was magical to have your beautiful guitar playing and singing here. Thank you for your very kind review - we appreciate it hugely and we're thrilled that you enjoyed your time at Loose Reins. We'll definitely stay in touch and will look forward to the day we can come and see you play live. Wishing you both much love and happiness. Marc and Jeanette x x x
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We stayed here for 4 nights in a cabin on the 2nd week of September (when the kids were back to school) and we brought our dog. Me and my partner needed an escape from what has been a very stressful year. Not only did we destress but I think even our Pug managed to get some relaxtion! When we arrived were were greeted with a fantastic welcome hamper with a lovely card and all the amenties you would ever need (especially in the kitchen). The ranch is located in a valley and so the first thing we realised was the lack of any noise except birds and nature and our friendly horse neighbours who greeted us every morning for head scratches! The amenties for dogs were also fantastic and probably the first dog friendly accomodation that I've experienced that offered a dog bed, towel and bowls (plus much more). It was also very helpful having the dog friendly attractions and beaches as it saved us alot of research. We spent most of our evenings in front of the firepit or rocking chair just absorbing all of the nature surrounding us. We never felt we were disturbed by any other overlooking guests. We took advantage of the on site shop and brought ourselves a BBQ pack as well as some marshmellows and more firewood (we loved the firepit!!) and it was all reasonably priced and local food. Plus the scones, jam and cream were AMAZING! We will 100% be back as I've never experienced such an amazing, peaceful place to stay (and I've been dragged around many UK stays when I was a child). Me, my partner and our Pug would like to thank the hosts for such a perfect stay and the cabins are beautiful.
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Date of stay: September 2021Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Wow.. We have just returned from the most enjoyable stay! We booked the Trappers ranch/cabin which is nestled into a private corner with the most incredible views, front & back. The tree line surrounding the grounds was just magic and so peaceful. We had a small dog which was perfect for her. The cabin's themselves are tiny (which we expected) but they have everything you need.
The bed is really comfy, the kitchen has every utensil imaginable, the shower was always hot and actually more spacious than ours at home! There's a log burner which we used whilst playing cards of an evening inside. The decking is out of this world! Drinking a cold beer on the rocking chair looking at the amazing view was so special at the end of the day.
The personal touches made it extra special, a lovely welcome basket with fresh eggs, bread, jam etc. They also had a welcome hamper just for the dog!
Outside there's a firepit perfect for BBQ's.
There's also the most quaint honesty farm shop on site which has the essentials should you need them. My only constructive feedback would be that it would be nice if the grounds surrounding each cabin was fenced off a little just so our dog could run around freely but it didn't ruin our stay at all, we were just fed up of her long-line getting tangled around & under the cabin :) She had the most perfect stay and I can tell she misses it so much since coming home! Thanks so much, I can't wait to come back and try out your larger cabins with our family!
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Date of stay: June 2021
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What a great concept! Glamping in the middle of heaven, the scenery is breathtaking. We spent a few nights and the kids loved it. The place is safe for kids to run around all day with minimal supervision whilst us adults could enjoy the peace and tranquillity the place has to offer. We had little mobile reception and that was a blessing. The tents are very nicely finished with all commodities one would expect from such a concept. Highly recommended.
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Date of stay: September 2022Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We visited 5 years ago and stayed in a cabin, but booked a lodge this time so we could bring our 2 dogs. We had the most amazing time again and so did the dogs. They were made so welcome by the owners, who are very friendly and helpful. The lodges are just lovely, very private and unique and the place is so peaceful. Fantastic walking from the door and an hour away from the Jurassic Coast beaches. It’s a shame that COVID took away the finishing touches we had last time in terms of cushions and rugs and fresh herbs, but we hope that next time we come the restrictions will be lifted as these touches really finish the experience off. It’s a truly unique experience and one we highly recommend. We will be back!!!
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Date of stay: June 2021
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
After a hectic start to the year Loose Reins was the perfect tonic to get some well needed R&R in! The location is hidden away, peaceful and the cabins are well positioned to give privacy. The cabin was beautifully presented, comfortable and had everything I needed, and having the outside veranda to sit on with those countryside views was a lovely bonus. The weather on the first night was dire but it meant making the most of the woodburner and cosy cabin, whilst the next day was glorious sunshine, perfect for trying out the hottub! They was a lovely welcome hamper of goodies and when I ran out of firelighters Yasmin came to my rescue and sat a chatted with me until the fire was roaring! Nothing was too much trouble, Yasmin and Amber have been a pleasure to deal with and I look forward to visiting again! :-)
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Date of stay: May 2023
Value
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Trip type: Travelled solo
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We had an amazing stay at Loose Reins, staying in Trappers cabin. From arrival, check in was easy - all details were sent by email in advance and we arrived to a prepared cabin with a cute little box of essentials (and some bonus bits) and a personalised card. The cabin was well equipped, every kitchen utensil thought of was in there and it really was geared up to living. We spent hours of an evening sat on the deck, watching the sun set across the rolling hills. It honestly felt like 2 weeks away, not 2 days, we were so relaxed. There are beautiful walks and villages nearby with little pubs, or the honesty shop on site for quality food and supplies, if you're staying in. We put a photo of our stay on Facebook and have been non stop with friends asking where we were, quoting how it looked amazing and like we were on a ranch in America. We cannot stop recommending Loose Reins to others who want a peaceful escape. Thank you Yasmin and Sam for being such great hosts! We will be back again.
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Date of stay: May 2021
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Good afternoon, thanks for getting in touch. Unfortunately we are a small yard and it is already full with our Quarter horses so are unable to have guest horses to stay. You are more than welcome to have a lesson or trail ride on one of ours though! All the best, Marc
Hi John. Yes you can bring a well behaved dog to stay with you. We allow one dog if you stay in a cabin and two if you stay in a lodge. Please have a look at our website or call the office for more information or to book. Thanks and best wishes, Marc Gibbs. Tel. 01258 863533
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LOCATION
United KingdomEnglandDorsetBlandford ForumShillingstone
NUMBER OF ROOMS
6
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