EXCLUSIVE: Free cocktails with every booking (quote CANDYCOCKTAILS when booking)
🌳 4 luxury yurts | 🛌 Sleeping up to 4 | 👙 Wood-fired hot tubs | 🐶 Dog-friendly | Min 2-nights (Open March – December) | 👠Great for Hen Weekends and Girls’ Weekends
Why we love Mrs Mills’ Yurts for a weekend
“F. Scott Fitzgerald’s legendary creation, Jay Gatsby, knew how to throw a great party. And Mrs Mills – the eponymous owner of Mrs Mills’ Yurts in the Forest of Dean – has certainly taken a leaf out of Gatsby’s book. Her 4 Jazz Age yurts purr with 20s’ sophistication. Oh, and you’re never far away from a mid-afternoon cocktail or glass of bubbles.”
If you’re looking for a roaring good time when glamping in the Forest of Dean, Mrs Mills’ Yurts has you covered. Nicola and her husband Gary (Mr Mills) are the owners of Mrs Mills’ Yurts – a 7-acre glamping site studded into the lower slopes of Gloucestershire landmark, May Hill.
Nicola harbours a secret desire to live in the Jazz Age, hence why her four luxury yurts reflect her love of Fitzgerald and are styled to suit the era. Beyond the theme, however, Mrs Mills, like Gatsby, is a naturally sensational hostess.
She loves nothing more than making you happy, which is why you’ll find a decanter of sherry in your yurt on arrival. Why homemade cakes will appear, as if by magic, at 3pm every afternoon. Why the breakfast hampers are fit to burst with local food (and delivered to your yurt). And why, if you ask her to, she’ll light your hot tub and deliver a campfire supper to enjoy when you return from a walk.
The Yurts
At Mrs Mills’ Yurts, there are 4 yurts to choose from: Gatsby, Tanaduke, Hildegarde and Zelda. Each yurt is well spaced out from the other and set in its own pea-green clearing on the owners’ farmland.
All yurts come with enough height to stand up in, private terraces, designated pastel-coloured beach hut bathrooms (with hot showers and flushing loos), wood burners, central peepholes for night-time stargazing, a kitchenette with everything you need to self-cater, firepits with cast iron cookware, and picnic tables.
Nearby, a short walk from your yurt, there’s a communal Snug in the barn, filled with board games to borrow and WiFi to connect to, as well as an honesty bar. There’s also a kitchen with a large American fridge freezer, ice on tap (for those cocktails), and a double oven and hob.
Gatsby: A dashing upstate gent with a classy glint in his eye, sleeping 2 adults with space for 2 children. Deep sheepskin rugs drape the chairs and floor, a superking bed glints in gold and brass, vintage chests stack by your bed and a decanter of fine sherry welcomes you warmly.
Tanaduke: A super chap, named after Tanaduke in Fitzgerald’s This Side of Paradise. Sleeps 2 adults with space for 2 children. Under the white canvas you’ll find Art Deco luxuries, potted palms, dark sheepskins, a kingsize bed, dining table and directors’ chairs. Outside, there are chunky logs to gather on around the campfire and a wood-burning hot tub on a private deck.
Hildegarde: A voluptuous, sturdy gal with a hot tub, named after Benjamin Button’s wife. Sleeps 2 adults with space for 2 children. Inside, she’s as cosy as a cuddle thanks to warm tones, antique pine and golden cushions. There’s a sofa with velvet cushions, a kingsize bed, and a little table laid for dinner.
Zelda: A high society beauty atop a gently raised deck with a hot tub just a step away. Sleeps 2 adults with space for 2 children. Zelda’s charms include a king-sized bed plump with velvet pillows, fluffy dressing gowns and hot water bottles for two, a wood burner and kitchenette with vintage wash basin and jug.
The Local Area
May Hill (between Ross-on-Wye and Gloucester) is a National Trust Landmark which was planted with a distinctive crown of fir trees to celebrate Queen Victoria’s golden jubilee in 1887. Mrs Mills’ Yurts sit next door to the owners’ Grade II-listed farmhouse on the lower slopes of May Hill, near the rural villages of Longhope and Huntley. So, you’ve plenty of countryside walks on your doorstep – many of which, happily, end in a countryside pub.
Climb to the summit of May Hill (which is 30 minutes on foot from Mrs Mills’ Yurts) and you’ll be rewarded with stunning views across the Malverns, The Severn Valley and Wales. There are wild ponies on the hill and rare breed protected cattle and, in the warmer months, this stunning spot comes alive with wildflowers. Our advice: bring a sunset picnic (Mrs Mills can make you one) and sit amongst ‘the whisperings and the champagne and the stars’.
If you want to travel further afield than the Forest of Dean, Mrs Mills’ glamping is within easy reach of Cheltenham and the Wye Valley. And should you want to visit the yurts car-free, the nearest station is Gloucester (about 8 miles away).
- 4 gorgeous yurts in Gloucestershire (3 yurts have hot tubs)
- Sleeping up to 2 per yurt with space for 2 children
- Group bookings welcome (the glamping site can sleep up to 16)
- Includes all linen, towels, bathrobes, firewood, a kitchenette with essentials like olive oil, salt and pepper, tea, coffee, sugar and milk
- Separate bathrooms for each yurt
- Communal self-catering ‘secret’ kitchen
- All power within the yurts is solar
- Each yurt has its own fire pit, a barbecue and a gas camping stove
- Smashing range of foodie treats on offer including one-pot suppers, BBQ boxes, and cheese and wine boards
- Huge breakfast hampers available packed with local produce — including homemade jam and bread and pastries from the excellent Forest Bakehouse (your first breakfast hamper is included in your stay)
- Complimentary tea and treats are served daily
- Children are very welcome
- Dogs are welcome for a small fee of £20 for up to 2. You also get a doggie welcome pack (includes a sheepskin to sleep on, a jar of home-baked biscuits, two bowls and a towel).
- Hot tub is £50 per stay, payable directly to the owner
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