News and media
Natural Retreats, Yorkshire Dales
March 2008 - Red
Honeymoon Fund
March 2008 - Wedding Venue & Services
Cabin Fever
March 2008 - British Airways Highlife Magazine
Luxury self-catering without the hassle!
SHE Magazine - March 2008
A Happy Hideaway Naturally.
The Journal - March 2008
Natural Retreats, Yorkshire Dales
March 2008 - Junior Magazine
Designer Profile - Neil Briggs, Adaptive Space
March 2008 - Concept for Living
Look, it's a Brachytron pratense! (That's a hairy dragonfly, stupid)
March 9th, 2008 - The Independent
Natural Retreats, Yorkshire Dales
March 2008 - Red
Sustainable luxury retreats. The first is up and running near Richmond, in the Yorkshire Dales, with sites to open in all the UK's National Parks by 2001.
From £325 for two nights, sleeping six (includes food hamper)
Honeymoon Fund
March 2008 - Wedding Venue & Services
Whatever your budget, we've found a dream honeymoon for you, from mini-moons in Europe to private islands in the Maldives.
.Be one of the first to stay in the new Natural Retreats opening this summer in the Yorkshire Dales. The luxurious residences have glass wall frontages with unrivalled views, under floor heating and stylish design details. Perfect for nature lovers, you can enjoy forest picnics and long country walks from the front door in environmentally friendly luxury.
Go There: Opening in July, Natural Retreats rates start from £880 per residences for a five-night stay in the summer including a food hamper, logs, linen and towels.
Cabin Fever
March 2008 - British Airways Highlife Magazine
We all love the idea of getting back to nature, but why rough it when you can stay in a luxe lodge.
Forget louche super-villas. The rustic log cabin is now in hot demand. We like the newly upgraded cabins offered by Forest Holidays in locations from Cornwall to Scotland; the High Cabin at Groes Inn in remote Snowdonia and the eco-friendly residences launching in July in the Yorkshire Dales from Natural Retreats
Luxury self-catering without the hassle!
SHE Magazine - March 2008
Following the new breed of boutique B&Bs, self-catering has also recently undergone a facelift. Today's rental cottages and apartments are equipped with five-star bathrooms, Egyptian cotton sheets - and even chefs, as Rhiannon Batten discovers.
Aislabeck Lodges, Yorkshire
Built from sustainable timber and glass, with wall insulation made from recycled paper, each of these eight environmentally-friendly lodges has a living plant roof and makes use of solar and green energy. Discreet positioning means they don't intrude too much on the landscape. But if you think that going green means shabby living, Aislabeck is sure to persuade you otherwise. The lodges are as stylish as they are sustainable, with a sleek open-plan kitchen and dining areas, solid oak flooring and cedar decking. Luxuries include flatscreen TVs, CD and DVD players and rain showers.
SLEEPS - Each lodges sleeps up to six people.
THE EXTRAS - The welcome hamper includes wine, bread, cheese, fruit, eggs, milk and butter and is mostly sourced locally.
TO DO - There are 50 acres of privately owned woodland and meadows, plus direct access to a network of paths for walking and cycling further afield. And around a mile away is the market town of Richmond, famous for its Georgian theatre.
THE GUESTBOOK - "It was so different from the norm and very peaceful, with wonderful views. I liked the eco-cleaning products too!" writes Susan Hargreaves from Berkshire.
COSTS - From £541 per week. Visit naturalretreats.com or call 0161 242 2970.
A Happy Hideaway Naturally.
The Journal - March 2008
Mandarin Oriental meets the Yorkshire Dales - it sounds a strange concept but this is what Matt Spence has created in his home county, with the bonus of a huge chunk of sustainability thrown in. He shows Sue Mason round the UK's first luxury sustainable holiday resort and explains why it's only the first of many.
There's underfloor heating, a free-standing bath at the foot of the bed, marble kitchen worktops and a flat-screen TV set in a recycled steel unit. It's the height of luxury, yet fits perfectly with the stunning wild beauty beyond the glass front wall of the room, where a cock pheasant pecks at the grass near to a wildlife pond, against a backdrop of woodland that is home to deer and badgers.
The natural materials inside help break down barriers between what's outside, so you couldn't get much closer to nature. And if that's not good enough, all this was created with sustainability in mind.
"Sustainability is incredibly important," says Matt Spence, the man behind the first Natural Retreats resort at Aislabeck, just a mile out of the picturesque North Yorkshire town of Richmond.
Here, on 55 acres of farmland that Matt's family has owned for decades, he has built 10 luxury residences and a further nine are set to join them. "That's one for every two-and-a-half acres," he tells me. "In caravan parks, there's one every 50 metres."
He says the business is sustainability-driven rather than ecologically- driven.
"Both towards the environment and how we operate the business," he says. This means sustaining the local community as much as anything else.
"Everyone who builds the residences and who operates them is from the local community. Everyone who works here lives within five miles of the site and if we can't find the skills set we need, we will train a local person.
Instead of using water from a mains supply, it is drawn from a local spring water source. "Gravity feeds it down and it's like showering in Evian," says Matt.
The residences are made from sustainable cedar and the roofs are made of sedum, which flowers in the spring and summer; the floors are solid oak. Interior walls are decorated with organic paint and guests are encouraged to use the recycling and composting bins provided.
A ground-source heat pump, woodchip logburners and walls insulated with recycled newspaper or Swaledale sheep wool mean the annual heating bill per residence is just £25.
"The glass we use is e-glazing, so in the winter it draws natural sunlight in and keeps it in but in the summer it protects from the heat," says Matt. "It's highly effective."
Water used in the residences is recycled, cleaned and used again around the site; even the outdoor furniture is made by a local craftsman from trees in the wood (the leaves are shredded and used as mulch). And before you ask, more than 1,000 new trees are being planted on the site. All in all, Natural Retreats is a very green resort, in more ways than one. But it is also about as luxurious as you can get.
"I was on my honeymoon in Yellowstone National Park in the US and we couldn't find any high-end accommodation, except for a $1,000-a-day boutique hotel. And I thought what a shame it was," he explains. "We had to drive out and stay in a motel."
Just before he got married, Matt had a conversation with his mother, in which she told him she hadn't once made a profit from the smallholding during the past 20 years - and did he have any ideas what else to do with the land?
Back in England, Matt visited every one of the 14 national parks in search of high-end accommodation. All he found was log cabin parks, caravan parks and lots of holiday cottages.
"But there was nothing high-end that had a brand and no hotel chain," says Matt, who joined Coca Cola as a graduate trainee after spending years as a farmhand. "It was all very twee and disparate. And there are people spending £1,000 a week at caravan parks - its nuts."
With its stunning views and idyllic location, right on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park (and handy for Richmond's Norman castle and Georgian theatre), the 55-acre site was the perfect place to create what the UK's travel and leisure industry needed, he reckoned.
"We went about designing a property that we thought people would want to stay in not a static caravan, not a log cabin, but a true home, with three bedrooms, wood fires and granite countertops. We designed it ourselves and went to see the planners but they said no. Absolutely no way, because it was a Greenfield site."
Matt had always planned that the Yorkshire Dales site would be the first of 14 and, as he spoke, he was about to submit three applications to create Natural Retreats in the Lake District, Snowdonia and the North York Moors; if all goes to plan, the North Yorkshire Moors site will be open for the 2009 season. "It's a very, very quick build," he says. "From a piece of grass to finished product in six weeks."
Unlike Aislabeck the other sites will be on acquired land. But the density of development will be just as low, if not lower. For example, in the Lake District, Matt's company has bought 350 acres of land of which only seven acres will be developed. "We could be aggressive but if we were, the local community wouldn't believe in us anymore and rural communities have taken enough of a bashing in the past 20 years."
He won't say exactly where the site will be just in case a planning officer sees it and decides to punish him for being presumptive, but he believes Natural Retreats is a winning formula. The website calls it "a view with a room." "They are in rural communities where high-end tourism is desperately needed in the plan," he says. "Every single national park needs high-end tourism because it encourages people to stay in the park. At the moment, people come in as day trippers and leave because people with money won't stay in a caravan, they will drive back home."
Aside from the beauty of the surroundings and the striking interiors, one other thing strikes you about Natural Retreats. There is no on-site pub, restaurant, swimming pool or crazy golf. "One of the greenest things we do is not to have on-site amenities because we would rather people spent their money in the local community," says Matt.
"When guests arrive, we give them a hamper filled with produce from the local community and we offer a concierge service that includes filling their fridge when they arrive. In 2007 our guests spent £80,000 on groceries in the local areas but we can organise any local activity for them and we don't even take a commission. It's important for people to understand that a high-end tourist development can support its local community like this." And if that's not enough, Natural Retreats gives 10 per cent of its profit to the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, to be spent within 20 miles of Richmond. "Not on a badger project in Huddersfield," emphasises Matt.
As well as building the nine new residences, the 10 existing ones are being completely refurbished to make sure all are the same design and same standard. It doesn't sound very green to replace furniture that's less than a year old, but Matt has a solution - the furniture is going to local charities. This year's guests, while they watch their flatscreen TV, soak in the bath at the foot of their bed or brew a pot of organic Colombian in their own coffee maker, will no doubt feel uplifted by this thought.
And even the heart of Matt's mother is gladdened to see what her son has achieved on the family farm. "She has mixed emotions because the farm buildings are not there anymore but she's pleased the family has diversified into something that will support our family a lot longer."
Matt intends to make the most of the surroundings by introducing wilderness safaris. "We have as much amazing wildlife as in Africa, It's just different," he says. And he doesn't believe it is just people who normally holiday in the UK who will be drawn towards Natural Retreats. "Why go on a fly-and-flop holiday to the south of Spain when we have all this beautiful countryside here? This would blow people away if they had a look." The luxury residences have a huge open kitchen, dining and living space, off which are three en-suite bedrooms and a boot room.
"If you go to the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Hong Kong or the Four Seasons, it should be no different from our residences," says Matt. "It should be a place that everybody wants to stay and we plan to have 14 Natural Retreats in or just outside the 14 national parks by 2011."
Natural Retreats is issuing a warning to UK accommodation providers not to rest on their laurels. "We have made a conscious decision to challenge the UK tourist industry," says Matt. "They have no need to up their game because no one else has put a marker, but we will do that. Our residences and our sites will take the experience to an entirely new level.
"We only have one site so we are not quite ready yet, but in a couple of years, look out."
Natural Retreats, Yorkshire Dales
March 2008 - Junior Magazine
Go eco-friendly in the Yorkshire Dales in a Natural Retreats residence. This holiday accommodation in designed to blend into the landscape and all the buildings are made from sustainable wood and glass. Each one has three double bedrooms and an elegant, uncluttered feel, with open-plan living space and a hi-tech kitchen. Environmentally friendly features include built-in recycling bins and underfloor heating. There are no gimmicks or swimming pools - just amazing views and the wide-open outdoors. Two nights cost from £325 per residence, with five nights in summer from £880.
Designer Profile - Neil Briggs, Adaptive Space
March 2008 - Concept for Living
How did your career in design begin?
From a very early age I was fascinated with how objects functioned and why they looked the way that they did. I was also obsessed with the various ways in which they could be improved, prompting me to study design at school and a masters degree in engineering design at Loughborough University. My first job in design was working with Renault at their studio in Paris.
Who are your design heroes?
Architect Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe, Alec Issigonis, the creator of the Mini, and the designer of Concorde Sir Archibald Russell.
What does a typical working day at Adaptive Space entail?
My daily role is very much as project director to ensure that work is delivered on time meeting design brief constraints. As creative director, my brother Ian runs our design studio in Stuttgart and is also responsible for day-to-day internal operations ensuring our work is creatively the best it can be.
What has been your favourite project to work on and why?
Natural Retreats is a revolutionary new concept in luxury accommodation within the UK, Its demand for luxury, sustainable residences that embrace nature has presented us with particularly unique design challenges. Meeting those requirements within commercial constraints has been arguably the most rewarding project to date. An uber-cool, Dr No-style, high-end luxury home in Chelsea was also a personal favourite.
What inspires you?
Being in a position to offer our clients design solutions that exceed their expectations.
What is your favourite design classic or future classic?
I have a lot of favourite design classics most of which are well known and some of which are found in my apartment. The bespoke furniture designed specifically for Natural Retreats, with finishes tuned to the specific sites across National Parks within the UK, are future classics we feel.
These will be available through the Natural Retreats website so guests who have enjoyed a stay can purchase choice pieces of furniture in finishes which reflect their favourite location. The Yorkshire Dales, for example. I'd like to think that the work we are doing for Lufthansa's first class travel environment could become future classics, as indeed their designs from the 60s and 70s have become.
How would you describe your style?
Tailored to meet our client's needs whilst seeking to provoke inspirational solutions.
What products/rooms should we splurge on?
Splurge on things that make you happy and help you to get the most you can out of your home according to how you like to use it. We are all individual, so write your own rules.
What can we save money on?
Clever design solutions. Combining your own thoughts, ideas and influences - utilising the experience of specialists to achieve a successful approach to your project is the best way to save money and achieve the design goals that you have always dreamed of.
What is your favourite interiors shop?
Habitat has a great blend of the latest 'on trend' and classic designs at affordable, high street prices. Further up the price scale, Liverpool and Leeds have some great specialist shops; Ferrious in Manchester is a personal favourite.
What has been your greatest extravagance?
I have always aspired to owning a Ferrari. This achievement was my greatest extravagance.
What are your plans for the future?
To continue enjoying the work we do for our clients and marry my girlfriend Jane.
Look, it's a Brachytron pratense! (That's a hairy dragonfly, stupid)
March 9th, 2008 - The Independent
There's more to wildlife watching than safaris. Mark Rowe picks the best new tours on offer this year.
An announcement that you were embarking on a wildlife holiday used to conjure up visions of watching the Big Five roam at large, with the adventure finishing at sundown with a gin and tonic. The conventional safari is still hugely popular, but as travellers become more demanding so travel companies are required to be more imaginative. Wildlife can now be tracked to all corners of the Earth, and while some destinations are far flung, others are on your doorstep.
You don't have to go thousands of miles for startling and breathtaking wildlife experiences. The UK is home to 90 per cent of the world's population of Manx shearwaters, and the best place to watch the spectacle of a mass launch of the birds at dawn is Skomer Island off Pembrokeshire from May to June.
If you prefer watching wildlife in a more luxurious setting, consider Natural Retreats residences that will open this summer in North Yorkshire. Nine residences will be completed in July, based in woodland and ancient meadows and will offer views over the Swale Valley, a mile from the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Wildlife in the woodlands includes redstart, nuthatch and greater spotted woodpecker, while hay meadows are at their best in summer near Buckden Pike. Natural Retreats also stresses its eco-credentials by using organic paint. Two nights from £325.