Hamatethy: the new Cornwall retreat with 750 acres to roam

At the end of a long, wooded drive between the Camel Valley and the edge of Bodmin Moor, a seven-bedroom house has reopened its doors. Not as a family home this time, but as somewhere up to 14 people can disappear together for a few days, with 750 acres of wild Cornish land thrown in.

A house that goes back to the Domesday Book

Wild Hamatethy is taken on an exclusive-use basis, so one booking has the whole property to itself across seven individually designed bedrooms. The house is recorded in the Domesday Book and has been thoughtfully restored, designed with one aim in mind, bringing guests together to slow down and reconnect.

It sits within Cornwall’s largest rewilding project. Since buying the land in 2012, owners Yan Swiderski and Camilla Swiderski have worked to restore natural processes across the estate, building biodiversity, bio-abundance and climate resilience. In that time they have planted more than 25,000 native trees and reintroduced water voles, beavers, white storks and brown hares to the land.

📷A stork release on the Hamatethy rewilding project. Credit: Tom Mason

Storks over the meadow, and 750 acres to roam

Guests have free rein across the full 750 acres, where Welsh Black cattle, Tamworth pigs and Exmoor ponies roam. Their grazing, rooting and trampling helps create a more varied landscape through natural behaviour, rather than a mower.

“We want Hamatethy to be somewhere people can come together and properly switch off,” said Yan Swiderski. “What makes it particularly special to us is the landscape. For our guests, nature recovery isn’t simply something happening behind the scenes. It becomes part of the Hamatethy experience.”

No set schedule, just whatever feels right

There is no itinerary handed out at check-in. “There is no set schedule at Hamatethy,” Yan said. “Guests are free to take part in as much or as little as they wish, choosing whatever feels right on each day.”

Experiences are woven into the stay rather than bolted onto it. An early birdwatching walk, a chance to learn about the estate’s white storks, beaver watching at dusk, yoga, guided walks and foraging for seasonal ingredients are all included, with a dedicated host on hand throughout each stay.

Space to gather, inside and out

The house is built around a large kitchen, dining and living space, complete with an electric Aga and a woodburner, meant to work as the natural gathering point for a full house of guests. There’s also a drawing room, a dining hall, a snug and a dedicated yoga room, giving 14 people plenty of room to spread out or come back together. A walled garden and an outdoor sauna pull the stay back outside again.

Colour, craft and a country house done properly

The interiors were designed by Sarah Fortescue, whose approach to the historic house leans toward a generous, welcoming take on Cornish country living rather than anything formal or grand.

Natural materials and British craftsmanship run through every room: wool, linen and cotton, colourful Harris Tweed, and sustainable hand-printed fabrics from Rapture & Wright. Antique and market finds sit alongside existing furniture that has been reupholstered and given a new lease of life.

Away from Cornwall’s more obvious coastal hotspots, Hamatethy adds a different shape to the county’s tourism offer, built around space, calm and hundreds of acres that guests are actively encouraged to get lost in.

Wild Hamatethy is taking bookings now, with prices starting from £3,180 for three nights on an exclusive-use basis for up to 14 guests. Stays can be booked at wildhamatethy.com/stay.