News and media
Eco Tourism
31st October, 2008 – Travel Bulletin
Fun ahoy for the holidays!
October 2008 – Daily Mail
Natural Retreats Competition
October 2008 - In Style
Eco Chic
October 2008 - Crown Magazine
So near, so good
October 2008 – Junior Travel
The Great Outdoors
October 2008 – To Go Magazine
Special Award: Star Green Initiative – Natural Retreats
Travel Bulletin - 3rd October 2008
Eco Tourism
31st October, 2008 – Travel Bulletin
Going green is not about compromise
By Ewan Kearney, director, Natural Retreats
As the winner of Travel Bulletin’s Star Green Initiative Award, Natural Retreats understands the complex demands of delivering sensitive and sustainable tourism.
When selling eco-friendly packages, agents should remember that going green shouldn’t be about compromise. Customers don’t want mud huts without electricity, and why should they when they can enjoy sustainable timber residences with solar glazing, powered from a renewable energy source? This way, they don’t have to give up the flat-screen TV or the dishwasher.
Considerable growth in the market for sustainable tourism proves that people are keen to take a proactive role in adapting their habits at a local level to sustain their own lifestyle and that of the planet. Eco-conscious travel means guilt-free fun and operators who can deliver eco-friendly holidays are finding that this is an increasingly important selling point as customers seek a new kind of holiday experience.
This trend towards eco-aware holidays, coupled with the renewed interest in the British countryside – as illustrated by television programmes such as Coast and Nature of Britain – has presented a great opportunity for eco-operators in the domestic market. The current uncertainty over air travel and the weakening of the pound against the euro will only serve to further swell the trend towards UK holidays over the coming year.
Operators are finding increasingly innovative ways to combine eco-conscious choices with guest-friendly initiatives. For example, we offer guests the opportunity to offset their carbon emissions in a scheme which results in native trees being planted on the sites. Similarly, guests are offered free logs from the company’s own managed sources to provide fuel for the woodburners. These sorts of schemes are a perfect example of how careful and considerate planning can make eco-friendly work for both operators and guests.
Our philosophy is to offer environmentally-sustainable luxurious holidays in the heart of the British countryside. Currently operational in the Yorkshire Dales, we plan to have 14 sites by 2011, in or around all of the UK’s national parks.
The luxurious residences offer the contemporary style and high quality that today’s experiences traveller has come to expect, while ensuring a positive impact on the environment.
Residences are made of sustainable timber with solar glazing, the energy provided is from a renewable source, the water for drinking and shower facilities comes from a natural spring and sympathetic landscaping ensures that the development sits in harmony with its surroundings.
In addition, we encourage sustainable tourism by using locally sourced materials wherever possible – from offering guests hampers of local produce to providing furniture crafted by local tradesmen. Unlike other holiday parks, we are not a self-contained resort – guests are encouraged to get to know the local area, giving them an authentic taste of local life while supporting the local economy.
Fun ahoy for the holidays!
October 2008 – Daily Mail
Ghost hunting, pumpkin carving, sailing and duelling with dastardly pirates. There are plenty of great days out to keep the children happy – and they needn’t break the bank…
…Stay in a deluxe eco-house
Natural Retreats combine environmentally friendly holidays with top-notch luxury accommodation. Set in the middle of 54 acres of unspoilt countryside near Richmond, in the Yorkshire Dales, each residence is built using green technology and local materials to increase sustainability. The lodges are open-plan with three bedrooms, log burning fires and wide screen TVs. Two nights, for six people, costs £450 from 22 October for the residences, including logs, linen and towels and a welcome organic hamper.
Natural Retreats Competition
October 2008 - Crown Magazine
Crown Magazine is giving you the opportunity to win a 2 night stay for up to 6 people at Natural Retreats Yorkshire Dales, with a complimentary hamper full of goodies!
To enter, simply email your name to info@hastingshotels.com (list ‘Natural Retreats competition’ in the subject line). This offer is subject to availability and entries must be received by 31st December 2008.
Natural Retreats provides environmentally sound and luxurious holidays within the UK. Natural Retreats is a young, stylish and ‘green’ organisation, which launched their first site, Natural Retreats – Yorkshire Dales in late 2006.
This beautiful site overlooks the Swale Valley west of Richmond in the Dales and enjoys sensational views over the rolling meadows, woodland and farmland which contain a variety of wildlife and are ideal for walking and exploring. Their bid is to raise awareness of the bountiful beauty of the UK and the glorious luxury of nature.
Unlike many options in the luxury travel industry, Natural Retreats is carbon footprint approved, and holidaying there is a sure way to relax guilt-free! The residences are carefully built to be as sensitive to the environment as possible. Some examples are as follows:
- Timber framed residences made from sustainable woodland.
- Insulation for walls made from recyclable paper and other recycled materials including glass.
- Natural water from a local spring is used or drinking and showers.
- Solar: glazing, water heating system, assisted passive ventilation.
- Ecover used for cleaning and bathroom products, organic paint on walls.
- Recyclable waste disposable bins for paper, bottles, tins and plastics.
- Floor is raised leaving a “living habitat” underneath.
- 100% renewable electricity sourced from Good Energy; energy saving light bulbs.
- A percentage of the annual profits are set aside to support local community sustainable and eco-friendly schemes.
Eco Chic
October 2008 - In Style
Forget hemp and hardship – at these top resorts, stylish Earth-girls can save the planet and still have a heavenly holiday.
…Green up North
Natural Retreats, North Yorkshire
The green part: enough features to have given this group of glam-eco self-catering “residences” zero carbon status. Sedum roofs, local spring water for showers and drinking, solar panels for heat and insulation, low-energy lighting and dual-rate boilers are just the eco basics. A hamper of organic goodies (bread, wine, milk, cheese, jam etc) is provided for each guest so you have something to eat the moment you arrive. A Natural Retreats is planned in or near each of the UK’s national parks – the Lake District and Snowdonia are in the pipeline.
The glamour part: there’s nothing remotely homespun here. The 19 residences in Swaledale, a mile from the pretty market town of Richmond, look like the sort of places that Wallpaper* might use for a fashion shoot: there are flat-screen TVs, sharp angles and beyond-slick kitchens everywhere. The specially commissioned furniture looks sleek and super-modern but was made in Yorkshire. The sheepskin cushions are as fluffy as it gets.
What to wear: cashmere, tweeds and cableknit wools from Toast, pringle and Burberry, so you look cosy yet glam lounging by the logs-from-a-sustainable-source real fire.
Who goes: it’s early days for this particular travel idea, but since the look is a bit Post Ranch transplanted to the UK, expect the clientele to be as handsome as the interior design.
Don’t miss: going for a stiff walk – to Richmond and back is ideal – because you can treat yourself to a real fire afterwards.
Getting there: residences start at £325 for a two-night minimum stay, including hamper on arrival, logs and linen.
So near, so good
October 2008 - Junior Travel
Discover the Famous Five Locations in your neck of the woods with grand hotels, fairytale castles, rural retreats, urban resorts and coastal destinations…
…Rural
For a truly stylish back-to-nature experience visit Natural Retreats. Dotted around the UK’s National Parks, our favourite is in the Yorkshire Dales which has just opened nine new residences, all fabulous for letting children enjoy the simple pleasures of the countryside.
Conceived by Matt Spence, the luxurious self-catering residences can accommodate up to six people and blend in with the local environment. “I wanted to challenge the way people saw and experienced the countryside,” explains Matt. “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 a way that had never been seen in the UK before.”
The buildings have extensive glass-wall frontages which allow views of the surrounding meadows directly into the open-plan living room. There are solid wood floors throughout and state-of-the-art kitchens and bathrooms.
The Great Outdoors
October 2008 - To Go Magazine
Borrowdale
Could I bring to reader’s attention a threat to the other Borrowdale – the little visited one just west of the Howgills and M6 which Wainwright called “the most beautiful valley in Westmorland outside the Lake District.” No public road, just a track/bridleway, runs through the valley and it’s a bit of a timewarp with a couple of farms and miles of unspoilt space.
It was threatened by the Whinash windfarm, thankfully that got thrown out, but now there’s a proposal for a large holiday complex in the valley itself. A firm called Natural Retreats (cute name) bought Low Borrowdale Farm last year and wants to convert this into three holiday cottages (no real problem)… alongside which would be built two dozen holiday lodges. Tree planting and green roofs are proposed, but this development will bring any number of vehicles, deliveries and subsequent changes up the unspoilt dale. It’s too big a development in a valley where you can still have the day completely to yourself. Ironically Friends of the Lake District own the next-door farm, eigg head
Special Award: Star Green Initiative – Natural Retreats
Travel Bulletin - 3rd October 2008
Natural Retreats says it was “absolutely delighted” to have been awarded this prestigious accolade and very excited by the additional awareness that it may deliver. Director of operations Finn Dunlop, who collected the award, said “We would like to thank all those at Travel Bulletin and the judges for recognising the hard work that we are putting in to bringing something new to the UK tourism industry.
“Natural Retreats – Yorkshire Dales is our first site offering luxurious and contemporary self-catering holiday residences. The site overlooks Swaledale, enjoying sensational views over rolling meadows, woodland and farmland. Surrounded by a huge variety of wildlife, the area is ideal for walking and exploring. Our bid is to raise awareness of the bountiful beauty of the UK and of the glorious luxury of nature.
“Our intention is to establish sites either inside or just outside all 14 of the UK’s national parks, bringing luxury and sustainable accommodation to some of the most beautiful parts of the country. We have recently received planning permission for a new site in the North York Moors and are looking to do the same in Snowdonia and the Lake District in the near future.
“Unlike many options in the luxury travel industry, Natural Retreats has a neutral carbon footprint. A fundamental element of the concept is the fact that these residences are underpinned by sustainable principles and have been created to be environmentally sound, using a number of green build techniques including recycled insulation and sedum roofing among many others. Additionally, we proactively encourage guests to rely on what the local towns and villages have to offer, and we are committed to supporting sustainability within the local community.”