The Making of
The Wagon in the Woods & Wine Barrel Hot Tub

A word from the creator

The Wagon in the Woods was designed and built by myself, Ralph.

I love the creative use of natural timber, using old materials and upcycling them.

Wagon in the Woods, Wagon and the Wigwam, Bluebird and The Horse Hut are more of a passion than a job — I love designing and making beautiful places for people to enjoy.

Timeline

• The Bluebird Penthouse & Land Rover Hot Tub was my first project, launched 11 Feb 2016.
• Then followed Wagon in the Woods, which we somehow launched to the public before the Bluebird in Nov 2015.
• In Feb 2018, we launched Wagon & the Wigwam on the same site as the Wagon in the Woods.
• The last, The Horse Hut and Lotus Spa, was ready in March 2020 — a week before lockdown!

How it started

The Wagon in the Woods is situated in the grounds of our family home. We started with the Bluebird then built the Wagon in the Woods and then added the hot tub to it.

When the bookings picked up with the hot tub, we then added a hot tub to the Bluebird and have never looked back!

Where we are now

My wonderful wife Lucy works as a physiotherapist and is my creative sounding-board. Myself and Lucy have now moved to Devon and are starting on the next little places!

Joy, your host

My sister Joy has now taken over the running of the Wagons and The Horse Hut.

Joy brings her background as an artist and more recently working for the National Trust to keep guest experience going and add some extra artistic input.

And here’s to you, our guests!

We hope that you truly enjoy your stay whilst you are with us and that you find peace, rest and inspiration here.

Each booking enables us to develop the existing projects and increase the creative ideas for new ones. By staying, you are helping make this happen. Thank you!

— Ralph

Videos

Video tour with Freedom Strider

A 10 minute interview and walkthrough of how the Wigwam was made!

Building the Wagon

It all began with a family get-together and the realisation that everyone was not going to fit in the house! We needed an extra room.

The idea of a shepherds hut came up, but we decided we wanted something lighter and more spacious. The idea of the western-style wagon was appealing because of its shape and space potential.

So, construction begun!

The essential amenities

A toilet was always an essential part of the plan.

But a trap door bathtub was a little extra surprise!

Who doesn’t love a bubble bath?

Reinventing the wheel

I loved the idea of the Wagon wheels being built of wood, however this left the challenge of ensuring the wheels were strong enough to carry the Wagon but could be crafted at home.

I overcame this by reinforcing the joints with hardboard ply.

Lucy, my parents and I pushed the wagon from the drive where it was built to the woods (no horses harmed in the making!)

Home grown timber

Many years ago we were hit by some very high winds, which brought down a Giant Sequoia onto the old chicken run. This was planked up using a chainsaw mill and now forms the table, kitchen area and basin stand.

The tree running along the roof started life as a Christmas tree that was planted in the garden when we were kids.

Wagon [Mark I] ready for launch

And after lots of painting by Lucy and more than a few finishing touches…

The first version of the Wagon was complete in November 2015.

The Wine Barrel Hot Tub

The inspiration

This was our first hot tub project and the inspiration for all the others.

We knew we wanted a hot tub for this site. We had a large space and a beautiful view suited just for it…

But it needed to be more creative than just a "standard" hot tub. Something a little more creative in keeping with the Wagon.

Being right next to Hattingley Valley vineyard it did not take long for the idea of building the hot tub into a barrel to come about.

Well we thought about it over a few glasses of wine!

The hot tub being tested in our back garden. The base is a fish pond, the seats are actually for lilies!

Originally we had the hot tub heated by a log burner. It was fun but more of an art form than a science, resulting in the hot tub being nicknamed the ‘Hot Pot’ as it could get to soup-making temperatures!

The top of the hot tub is made from cedar I milled out using a large chainsaw.

The wine barrel under construction.

The newly minted Wine Barrel Hot Tub in May 2016.

Then in February 2018, with fresh coat of varnish.

The Wild Cherry Barn

During lockdown 2020 we built the wild cherry barn, which covers the hot tub from the elements (and more).

The area before the barn was built.

My father stripping the bark from the cherry trees.

The home-grown cherry trees starting to take shape. The top round windows in the barn are upcycled washing machine windows.

And the finished Wild Cherry Barn in all her splendour.

Hot, hot, hot

The jets and hot water button were later additions as the Wagon in the Woods constantly evolves!

The hot tub is more than capable of keeping hot, hot all year around its been used at -7˚C with the only problem being any water splashed out of the hot tub turns to ice.

Keeping the Wagon green!

We have just connected up storage tanks and filtration so we can pump out the hot tub water between guests and reuse it to flush the toilets and irrigate the garden.

We also capture rain water and mix it with the old hot tub water. That means we can change the water in the hot tub and not waste the huge amount of water while flushing perfectly good drinking water down the loo!

Wagon painting

The main painting on the wall above the radio is by Gill Drew; a talented local artist.

Featuring the wagon, the hot tub (before the Saloon or barn were added) and myself. If you would like a memento of your stay you can order prints at gilldrew.co.uk

Original photo by Chris Law

The painting is based upon a beautiful photo taken in May 2016 by Chris Law.