Shacks to grow from 19 to 61 off-grid cabins by late 2027

What Shacks has announced

This story is based on a press release issued by Shacks Holiday Limited on 14 September 2026.

Shacks operates 19 off-grid cabins in the UK today, 14 September 2026. It plans to reach 61 cabins in just over a year. Ten new cabins open in the next three months, including Blackthorn and Hawthorn in East Sussex near the Seven Sisters chalk cliffs and local vineyards. A further 36 cabins are planned for 2027. The company designs and builds every cabin in house and its own team selects every site. Current sites are in North Wales, Cheshire, Staffordshire and Sussex. New sites announced are in Shropshire, the Scottish Borders, Surrey, Wiltshire and the Lake District. The expansion takes the brand into more than 20 new counties and will create jobs and use local suppliers and tradespeople. Cabins are built with sustainability in mind and sited individually on land leased from local landowners. Every cabin is pet friendly with a single fixed fee covering unlimited pets. Booking and availability are at shacks.co.uk.

The numbers are specific and the timetable is short. Moving from 19 to 61 cabins in just over a year is a near tripling of the estate. The ten cabins opening in the next three months are the first step, and the 36 planned for 2027 are the larger phase. The named locations matter for households because they show where availability will spread. East Sussex is already a current county, but Blackthorn and Hawthorn add specific sites near the Seven Sisters chalk cliffs and local vineyards. Shropshire, the Scottish Borders, Surrey, Wiltshire and the Lake District are new areas for the brand. The company says the expansion takes it into more than 20 new counties and will create jobs and use local suppliers and tradespeople. Those are company statements, not independently verified figures. What is clear from the release is the scale and the pace: ten cabins this year, 36 next year, and a total of 61 in just over a year from now.

Why demand for off-grid breaks is rising

The company reports that website sessions rose 215 percent over the past year. It also reports that 3,334 guests have stayed in 2026 so far. Those are the only demand figures in the release. They point to a sharp increase in interest and a substantial number of actual stays in the year to date. The founder, Harry Tomkinson, says growth is slower because sites are chosen in person and cabins are built by the team, not bought from a catalogue; what has changed is demand. That statement frames the expansion as a response to demand rather than a push into new markets. The context for UK households is a shift toward slower, nature-led breaks that replace city breaks and are closer to home. Off-grid cabins fit that pattern: they are domestic, they are sited individually, and they are pet friendly. The release does not provide market data beyond the 215 percent sessions figure and the 3,334 guests figure, so those are the only demand numbers to rely on.

The 215 percent rise in website sessions is a measure of interest, not bookings. The 3,334 guests who have stayed in 2026 so far is a measure of actual use. Together they suggest that more households are looking at off-grid options and that a meaningful number are following through. The founder's comment that growth is slower because sites are chosen in person and cabins are built by the team, not bought from a catalogue, explains why the estate has not grown faster until now. It also explains why the current plan is notable: the constraint has been the build and site selection model, not demand. If demand has changed, as the founder says, then the 19 to 61 plan is the company's attempt to meet it. For households, the practical effect is more choice in more places, assuming the timetable holds. The release does not give a breakdown of where the 3,334 guests stayed or how long they booked for, so those details are not available.

What it means for UK households booking a break

For households, the main effect of the expansion is availability spreading to more counties. Current sites are in North Wales, Cheshire, Staffordshire and Sussex. New sites announced are in Shropshire, the Scottish Borders, Surrey, Wiltshire and the Lake District. The expansion takes the brand into more than 20 new counties. That means shorter drives for some households and new options for others. The in-house build model is also relevant: Shacks designs and builds every cabin in house and its own team selects every site. The company says this is why growth is slower, because sites are chosen in person and cabins are built by the team, not bought from a catalogue. For bookers, that model is a claim about consistency and site selection rather than a price or service guarantee. The pet policy is clear: every cabin is pet friendly with a single fixed fee covering unlimited pets. That is a simple structure for households travelling with more than one animal. The release states no prices, so rates are not available here. Households should check shacks.co.uk for rates and availability.

Availability is the other factor. Ten new cabins open in the next three months, including Blackthorn and Hawthorn in East Sussex near the Seven Sisters chalk cliffs and local vineyards. A further 36 cabins are planned for 2027. That is a substantial increase in capacity, but it is spread across a year and across many counties. Households looking for specific dates in specific locations should check shacks.co.uk rather than assume a cabin will be free. The pet fee structure is a single fixed fee covering unlimited pets, which is unusual and worth noting for households with more than one pet. The release does not state whether the fee varies by site or by length of stay, so that detail is not available. The company says cabins are built with sustainability in mind and sited individually on land leased from local landowners. Those are company statements. For households, the practical points are the spread of locations, the pet policy and the need to check the site for rates.

The land-host model explained

Shacks sites its cabins individually on land leased from local landowners. That is the land-host model: the company does not buy the land, it leases it, and each cabin sits on its own plot rather than in a cluster. The company says its own team selects every site, and that sites are chosen in person. The founder says growth is slower because sites are chosen in person and cabins are built by the team, not bought from a catalogue. The expansion will create jobs and use local suppliers and tradespeople, according to the company. Those are company statements and are attributed as such. The model has implications for households: individual siting means more privacy and a different feel from a cabin park, and leasing from local landowners means the sites are tied to existing land rather than new developments. The company also says cabins are built with sustainability in mind. That is a company claim, not an independently verified standard. The release does not specify what sustainability measures are used or how they are measured.

The land-host model also explains the pace. If every site is chosen in person and every cabin is built by the in-house team, then growth depends on the team's capacity to select, build and open sites. The founder says growth is slower for that reason, and that what has changed is demand. The plan to reach 61 cabins in just over a year is therefore a test of that model at scale. The company says the expansion will create jobs and use local suppliers and tradespeople. For local economies, that is a potential benefit, but the release does not give numbers for jobs or local spending. For households, the model means the cabins are sited on leased land from local landowners, which may affect the character of each site. The release does not say how long the leases run or whether sites could change. Those details are not available. What is stated is that every cabin is pet friendly with a single fixed fee covering unlimited pets, and that booking is at shacks.co.uk.

What to watch

The first thing to watch is whether the 36-cabin 2027 phase lands on schedule. The company's own timetable is 19 cabins today, ten new cabins in the next three months, and a further 36 in 2027, for a total of 61 in just over a year. The ten cabins opening in the next three months include Blackthorn and Hawthorn in East Sussex near the Seven Sisters chalk cliffs and local vineyards. The 36 cabins planned for 2027 are the larger phase and the one most exposed to delay, given the in-house build model and the in-person site selection. The founder says growth is slower because sites are chosen in person and cabins are built by the team, not bought from a catalogue. That model is a constraint as well as a selling point. Households planning a 2027 break should check shacks.co.uk for confirmed sites and dates rather than rely on the announced list.

The second thing to watch is which Lake District and Scottish Borders sites open. Both are named as new sites, along with Shropshire, Surrey and Wiltshire. The release does not give opening dates for individual sites beyond the ten cabins in the next three months and the 36 in 2027. The expansion takes the brand into more than 20 new counties, which is a broad spread. For households, the practical question is which sites open first and whether they are within reach for a short break. The company says the expansion will create jobs and use local suppliers and tradespeople, and that cabins are built with sustainability in mind and sited individually on land leased from local landowners. Those are company statements. The timetable is the company's own. Booking and availability are at shacks.co.uk. The release states no prices, so rates must be checked directly.

Source: Shacks Holiday Limited press release, 14 September 2026.

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Frequently asked questions

How many off-grid cabins does Shacks operate today?

Shacks operates 19 off-grid cabins in the UK today, 14 September 2026.

How many cabins does Shacks plan to reach?

It plans to reach 61 cabins in just over a year.

How many new cabins open in the next three months?

Ten new cabins open in the next three months, including Blackthorn and Hawthorn in East Sussex near the Seven Sisters chalk cliffs and local vineyards.

How many cabins are planned for 2027?

A further 36 cabins are planned for 2027.

Where are the current Shacks sites?

Current sites are in North Wales, Cheshire, Staffordshire and Sussex.