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Great Escapes
April/May 2008 - Junior Pregnancy and Baby
NATURAL RETREATS Luxury Eco-Getaways in the UK
30/04/2008 - Inhabitat (website)
By Bridgette Steffen
NATURAL RETREATS Luxury Eco-Getaways in the UK
30/04/2008 - Greenedia (website)
Immersed in the view
10/04/2008 - the Guardian
It's a wonder
4th April, 2008 - ES Magazine
Great Escapes
April/May 2008 - Junior Pregnancy and Baby
Villas great and small for fabulous family holidays
The eco villa
For eco-friendly villa getaways with your baby check out Natural Retreats in the Yorkshire Dales. This cluster of 19 glamorous eco-lodges have contemporary styling and a genuinely sensitive approach to the beautiful environment around them. Their combination of luxury kitchens and bathrooms, with leather sofas and real oak floors plus a superb setting make them a perfectly natural choice. A five night star in summer starts from £880 per residences (sleeps up to six people).
Great Escapes
April/May 2008 - Junior Pregnancy and Baby
Villas great and small for fabulous family holidays
The eco villa
For eco-friendly villa getaways with your baby check out Natural Retreats in the Yorkshire Dales. This cluster of 19 glamorous eco-lodges have contemporary styling and a genuinely sensitive approach to the beautiful environment around them. Their combination of luxury kitchens and bathrooms, with leather sofas and real oak floors plus a superb setting make them a perfectly natural choice. A five night star in summer starts from £880 per residences (sleeps up to six people).
NATURAL RETREATS Luxury Eco-Getaways in the UK
30/04/2008 - Inhabitat (website)
By Bridgette Steffen
Combining the highest levels of luxury and sustainable development with beautiful locations, Natural Retreats offer a chance to explore beautiful national parks, bask in luxury, and feel confident that your holiday has a low environmental impact. Built with sustainability in mind, these eco-getaways can be found within four of the UK national parks, with plans to acquire sites in, or alongside, ten more. At current, green-minded travelers can escape to Yorkshire Dales, Snowdonia, Lake District, and North York Moors - all beautiful landscapes and perfect settings for an eco-friendly nature retreat.
The green building technology and sustainable design practices included in the residences are extensive. The lodges all incorporate sustainably-harvested timber, recycled glass insulation, green roofs, raised platform foundations and organic paints. Mechanical systems boost energy efficiency through energy saving bulbs, super efficient, dual rate gas boilers and solar glazing. All electricity needs are met by 100% renewable sources through Good Energy, and landscaping has minimal impact on surrounding ecosystems by use of native species. Recycling and composting stations are conveniently located within each residence to encourage earth-friendly behavior from guests.
Matt Spence, the Director of Natural Retreats says, "I wanted to challenge the way people saw and experienced the countryside. I wanted to show them there was more to the breathtaking and varied landscapes we have in this amazing country. But more than anything, I wanted to do it in way that had never been seen in the UK before. The creation of truly luxurious residences that blend in with the immediate environment and local communities to create a harmonious, unique experience. The chance to enjoy nature at its most amazing in environmentally friendly luxury."
In addition to being built green, the residences are stylish and contemporary, with solid wood floors, extensive glass wall frontages, and simple design. The inviting spaces are light, open and uncluttered providing the perfect eco-friendly shelter to complement the beauty of the surrounding nature.
Immersed in the view
10/04/2008 - the Guardian
From cabins and lodges to cubes and croquet pavilions, Laura Burgess chooses 10 green getaways in the UK
When there's so much nature to play with, your choice of accommodation can help you feel truly immersed in the view. I discovered some unique miniature abodes that help eliminate those degrees of separation from the great outdoors. They are also some of the most inspired green getaways in the UK. From cabins and lodges to cubes and croquet pavilions, they all enjoy some spectacular locations on the coast, hidden in the woods or overlooking the hills. I'm also a self-professed slow traveller and am always sure to use public transport, my bike or my legs to get where I need to go. So I've included details of how to arrive slowly.
1. Natural Retreats, Yorkshire Dales
There's nothing like bringing the beautiful outdoors inside. With panoramic glass frontages, this group of wooden residences does just that, allowing in the greenness and light of the Swale Valley in Yorkshire. The 10 sustainably-built lodges are carefully tucked into the Yorkshire Dales hillside. The founders of Natural Retreats wanted to support the local economy and decided not to provide any onsite shops or bars to encourage guests to venture to the nearby Georgian market town of Richmond.
·From £325 for two nights, naturalretreats.com
How to get there slowly: The nearest railway station to Richmond is in Darlington from where there are regular buses to Richmond. From the town it's a 20-minute walk to the residences or short taxi journey.
It's a wonder
4th April, 2008 - ES Magazine
Where: Yorkshire Dales, England
Sustainable development meets National parks scenery with a Natural Retreats lodges. Forget Center Parcs, these lodges have been designed to blend in with their environment without sacrificing style points. The Natural Retreats business plan calls for lodges to be established in each of Britain's 14 National Parks - by this summer, 19 lodges in the Yorkshire Dales, close to the historic North Yorkshire town of Richmond, will be available. Sites in Snowdonia, the North York Moors and the Lake District are up next for the Natural Retreats treatment by 2009.
Yorkshire stone was used for the Yorkshire Dales cabins, while the oak flooring, complete with underfloor heating, is from sustainable timber sources. Insulation against the north wind comes from recycled glass walling, while the electricity is supplied from renewable sources by Good Energy. The floor-to-ceiling windows, offering panoramic views of the Dales, are solar glazed to provide energy as well as shade. But the most attention-grabbing feature id the sedum 'living roof', a carpet of grasses and wild flowers laid on top of the lodges. Smaller details, right down to the wormeries for each lodge's vegetable waste, haven't been neglected either: there are composting and recycling bins, organic paint on interior walls, Ecover products and energy-saving light bulbs.
So fare, so-worthy - and that's without mentioning the Klargester sewage treatment system. The Natural Retreats concept offers an alternative to cramped B&Bs and tired rental properties in some of Britain's most sought-after holiday spots. Each of the newest lodges in the Yorkshire Dales has three double bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms, an open-plan living and dining space with an island kitchen and a lobby for muddy boots. Décor is simple but sharp. Barns have been converted into 'The Sanctuary' with a library, Wi-Fi and an educational area. But don't spend time indoors: pull on an anorak and get a natural lesson in one of Britain's oldest National Parks.