Eye Kettleby Lakes are located right in the middle of the Melton Mowbray countryside and consists of 12 fully equipped cabins each with a private hot tub surrounded by many lakes ideal for fishing. My boyfriend (now husband) surprised me with a trip to these cabins for my Birthday one year. Each Christmas I would talk excitedly at how great it would be to spend one Christmas hidden away (hopefully snowed in) in a little log cabin somewhere miles away from anywhere. Living in Britain you're pretty limited for anything that might even come close but my husband found this hidden gem. Unfortunately they were booked up for Christmas (booo) but as my Birthday falls just 6 days before he managed to book us in for the whole weekend before Christmas. 3 nights cost (I believe) around £500 which is quite steep but most of the cabins all fit at least 4 people so if you go with others you can split the cost. The location is very private. I lived in the area about 5 years before our visit and honestly did not know they existed! We stayed in one of the Hawthorn cabins which have one double bedroom with en suite and another bedroom with 2 single beds. It had an additional bathroom in the hallway with large bath tub and shower, a fairly small kitchen and a large living area with 2 sofas a very small TV and a (6 seater) dining table. As it was Christmas the cabin was also lightly decorated with a small Christmas tree inside and silver hanging lights all around the cabin outside which was a really nice touch. The hot tub is also located outside and although is classed as 'private' the fence surrounding it is only about 3 feet tall so getting in and out other people can easily see you but saying that was a lovely place to relax with a glass of wine in the chilly evenings. Soft white robes are also supplied so you don't have to take your own. We had a lovely relaxing weekend here spending the evening watching DVD's and sipping wine in front of the fire. Be warned though - signal here is terrible so we had no choice but to venture out to the local shops to buy DVD's as the TV was almost un-watchable. They have a cabin at the main entrance also where they serve breakfast daily where you can get a full cooked breakfast or just a Bacon Cob if you prefer something a little lighter. Sunday lunch is also served but requires booking. We booked for our Sunday lunch here and the food is served Carvery style (although only one trip up). There was a choice of 3 meats along with vegetables, gravy, potatoes and yorkshire puddings. The food quality is very good for mass produced (better than Toby Carvery) and the desserts if you still have room are really tasty. The staff here are also really friendly and the groundsman stopped and talked to us a couple of times. I don't know what it is with locals in the countryside, they're always super friendly and laid back. Must be all that fresh air! The scenery really is very pretty and well worth a walk if you can tolerate the mud, just make sure you take your wellies. Overall a really nice place to come for a relaxing time away and enjoy the countrysides lazy way of living. read more

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