Axe-Throwing, Wild Swimming and Powerful Cars: My Weekend at Wilderness Reserve
Wellness tourism – or the ‘high-performance holiday’, if you prefer – is undoubtedly on the rise. According to recent surveys, as many as 43% of us would chose a hotel based on its health and fitness amenities, while these days the majority of us expect to return from our getaways feeling rejuvenated, not suffering under the weight of a three-day hangover.
But spa menus and salad bars are rudimentary offerings. If you’re after something more exhilarating – while still keen to indulge in a bit of old-school luxury – Wilderness Reserve delivers.
In a quiet corner of Suffolk, 15 minutes’ drive from the coast, this sprawling 8,000-acre estate hosts 27 restored properties – from 15th-century barns to thatched cottages, spaced out for added privacy – surrounded by woodland, wildflowers and lakes. If you’re craving a break from city life, then you could hardly feel further away.
The weather was unseasonably hot when the BMW team picked me up from Darsham station, just two hours from London’s Liverpool Street. You can leave your own four wheels at home: Wilderness Reserve has a fleet of BMWs on site, which guests can borrow for the duration of their stay. (Beach day, anyone?)
The first activity on our itinerary was rifle-shooting – one of multiple target sports on offer at the reserve, including axe-throwing, archery, 12-gauge shotgun-shooting and ‘laser’ clay pigeon. Despite growing up in a small country village myself – where shooting tin cans with rifles is a fairly normal pastime – I’m definitely not a natural.
Fortunately, head ranger Richard Brown and his team assured me this wouldn’t be an issue. ‘A lot of our guests have never done any target sports before,’ he tells me, ‘and a large number of them definitely catch the bug from us!’
I can see what he means. Loading and cocking a gun is, in itself, very satisfying and on the rare occasions when I hit one of the exploding targets set up in the picturesque garden attached to our property, it felt pretty damn cool.
Axe-throwing is one of the more popular experiences on offer at Wilderness Reserve. I decide to try my hand at that next, in the hope that I’ll be a better chucker than I am a marksman.
Richard suggests I think of it more like throwing a dart than a ball: ‘You need to keep your shoulders square to the target, lunge and throw in one smooth motion,’ he says. ‘Relax and enjoy it.’ It’s harder than it looks, but again – very satisfying.
My word count won’t accommodate an exhaustive list of the activities on offer at Wilderness Reserve, but further highlights include wild swimming, paddle-boarding, raft-racing, yoga, falconry and a ‘survival skills’ challenge. Oh, and wine-tasting, if you feel like you’ve survived quite enough as it is.
It’s Drive Time
As a guest of BMW, I knew my weekend wouldn’t be complete without getting behind the wheel of one of their new models. The XM is the marque’s most powerful road car yet. With a V8 engine and cutting-edge M TwinPower Turbo technology, it can take you from 0-62mph in 4.3 seconds flat. The narrow, winding country roads leading out from the estate prevented me from putting this claim to the test, so you’ll just have to take their word for it.
The XM was a joy to drive – spacious, comfortable and extravagant, with ambient lighting, four-zone climate control and a Harman Kardon surround-sound system. It feels robust enough that even the occasional confrontation with a tractor won’t rattle your Zen.
After a barbecue dinner in the communal kitchen, our group made its way up the hill and through the wheat fields for the evening’s entertainment: a bonfire, backdropped by the picture-perfect Suffolk sunset. Perched on hay bales drinking cold beers and looking out for wild barn owls (spotted!), I started to question whether it was worth quitting the city for good. If you know of any openings for novice park rangers…
Wilderness Reserve has a focus on rewilding and conservation. So, as well as the owls, guests are likely to spot red deer, kestrels, buzzards and badgers, as well as 28 species of butterfly, 20 types of dragonfly, plus a few amphibians and reptiles, if you look hard enough.
On my last morning, I rose early for a quick pre-breakfast jog. Both of Wilderness Reserve’s estates have a marked 5K running route, offering a good overview of the estate. Or for a shorter plod, try a quick lap of either of the main lakes.
My weekend ended with a swim. Wilderness Reserve has seen a notable increase in the popularity of both paddleboarding and wild-swimming over recent years, with the latter now one of their most in-demand activities.
Even in the summer it was still pretty nippy, as I lowered myself in from the end of the jetty. But once you’re fully submersed… well, you’ve probably heard enough from Men’s Health about the benefits of cold water, right?
In the winter, Richard tells me, the lakes get as cold as 3°C. ‘There have been times when we’ve had to smash the ice with axes before going in,’ he says. But some of the guests are still hardy enough to take the plunge.
‘We always say to our guests that the thought of doing it is so much worse than actually getting in the water, and everyone always feels great after coming out. Cold water gives the body a real rush – the fresh bacon rolls help, too.’
BMW XM from £110,730, bmw.co.uk
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