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Featured place: Aislabeck, Yorkshire

Submitted by richard on 3 February, 2007 - 11:29.

At New Year, I tipped Aislabeck as a green place for the future. Now that all eight of the eco-cottages have been completed, I took the train up to Yorkshire to take a closer look. They're a mile from the market town of Richmond, tucked beneath a wooded hillside. Bunnies were running around the rolling fields either side of a winding path that leads to five of the single-storey cottages, lined up beside a pond. I stayed in Cowslip Cottage, one of three that are in a more secluded spot further up the hill overlooking the Swale Valley...





Photo © Richard Hammond.

According to the blurb, Aislabeck combines "sustainability with contemporary style", which means that while there's an organic hamper on arrival, there's also a huge flat screen TV, leather sofa and an ultra-modern kitchen-living area.

The eco-design of the cottages is impressive though. All have a sloped, living plant roof and are south-facing so that lots of natural light pours in through the floor-to-ceiling double-glazed windows. There's also a wood burner, and the drinking water from a natural spring reminds you what fresh water should taste like. A path leads from the cottages to a network of trails that link up with the coast to coast road and into the wide open fields of the Yorkshire Dales.

· A cottage costs from £520 per week (sleeps 6). www.naturalretreats.com, 07966 944664.

This article, by Richard Hammond, was first published in the Guardian.

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