The Hall, Milden, Suffolk

Farmhouse B&Bs thrive on providing a "back-to-nature" experience, but often their huge buildings require such vast amounts of energy to heat that they're not the most environmentally friendly places to stay. The Hall, Milden, in Lavenham, is a large 16th-century farmhouse and a typical energy black hole, yet there's much more to this green getaway than pulling on your wellies to see a few farmyard pigs.

A huge wood burner heats the large hall, dining/living room and bedrooms, fuelled by coppiced wood from the farm's hedgerows; there's a comprehensive compost and recycling programme; and the breakfast (free-range eggs, home-grown sausages) is sourced either from the farm or local suppliers. The three period rooms share bathrooms - I stayed in the Gallery room, a very large twin bedroom with high ceilings and walls covered in antique Suffolk maps, and wide open views of the walled garden and wildflower meadows of the 500-acre estate. Owner Juliet, an ecologist, has files of suggestions for how to keep the kids occupied, including nature trails, scavenge hunts and just plain messing around in the ponds. Bikes are free of charge and there are plenty of walks. · A room costs from £60, self-catering from £250 for 4 for two-night weekend, thehall-milden.co.uk, 01787 247235. Train from Liverpool Street to Sudbury (change at Marks Tey), then a 15-minute taxi ride to Milden. This article, by Richard Hammond, was first published in the Guardian.