The people of Mapperley have no shortage of grand houses to ogle within day-tripping distance of home. But recently it’s not Elvaston or Nottingham Castles, Wollaton or Haddon Hall they’ve been cooing over. It’s not even magnificent Chatsworth that the villagers are all of a twitter about. No – it’s somewhere closer and much smaller that’s been getting their attention: Park Hall Pods. Five luxurious little glamping pods on stilts, perched on the edge of the village with whopping country views.
The fact that locals were queuing up to book holidays here before it even opened was an indication of things to come. Pretty much everyone who lays eyes on these swish new pods wants to stay in them. In fact, we’d say they have the potential to convert even the most indoorsy folk by bringing home comforts and modern conveniences to this edge-of-countryside location in the Midlands. Park Hall Pods is less like a traditional camping or glamping site and more like a cluster of detached hotel rooms or exclusive holiday homes (albeit cute and quirky ones).
There are no shared facilities at Park Hall and there’s no reception desk either. There’s certainly no need to put on wellies and traipse across a field to your holiday accommodation. Instead, you drive right up and park underneath your pod in a kind of quirky car port created by the stilts. And it’s only once you’ve climbed the external wooden staircase that the views are revealed; views that you’ll be happy to gaze at all weekend – either from the hot tub on the deck or through the pod's floor-to-ceiling glass frontage. The unusual design has made everything fit cleverly around a former railway embankment that would have stopped many other glamping projects from the outset. This and a solid, homely feel mean it’s no surprise to learn that Gill and Julian, the couple who built this place, have a background in property development.
Inside, you find a high-spec living space with a great quality finish. There are Scandi-style, white-washed cladding walls with muted mustard and grey tones in the finishing touches. There’s a shower room with robes and towels and a kitchen equipped with everything you need right down to coffee capsules for the Nespresso machine. When the living is this good, it’s likely that you’ll be content to stay local, taking advantage of the walk into Shipley Country Park like the Mapperly villagers do – or down to the Old Black Horse where you might bump into some of them. But from this location between Nottingham and Derby there’s much more to explore if you have the time; all those stately homes for a start.
Park Hall Pods are in the village of Mapperley within walking distance (two miles) of Shipley Country Park which has 700 acres to explore with a coffee shop, tea rooms, play equipment and the signposted 10-mile cycling and walking route, The Nutbrook Trail.The south-eastern edge of the Peak District National Park is just 20 miles away with plenty of opportunities for outdoor fun. This side of the park is home to some of the Peak District’s best-known sites including Chatsworth (01246 565300), Haddon Hall (01629 812855) and the town of Bakewell. A little less well known but a little closer, the Heights of Abraham (01629 582365) hilltop country park, cable car and caverns are also on this side of the national park. The DH Lawrence Birthplace Museum (0115 9173824), Elvaston Castle (01629 533870) and Wollaton Hall (which includes the Nottingham Natural History Museum and Industrial Museum and a deer park; 0115 8763100) are about nine miles from site. Both Nottingham and Derby are around 10 miles from Park Hall Pods.
The Old Black Horse pub (0115 9329624) is a 10-minute walk from site in Mapperley with a good selection of food and drinks. For a coffee, cake or lunch, you might like to head to the Bottle Kiln Café (0115 9329442), a 15-minute walk away or the Nutbrook Coffee Shop (07738 165277) which is a 20-minute walk away on the Nutbrook Trail. Oakfield Farm Shop, butchers and café (0115 9309099) is a two minute drive (or a 20-minute walk) from site. There are more shops, takeaways and a pub in the village of West Hallam (two miles away).