Lovely, secluded rewilding eco-lodge. Superb views

A delightful Scandinavian style cabin in a beautiful wood with abundant wildlife. Wonderful high-spec retreat overlooking wildflower meadows in magnificent countryside, 1/2 a mile from nearest neighbours. Enjoy a well-appointed kitchen/diner, three large comfy bedrooms, log-fired sitting-room, fantastic walks, good pubs, outside BBQ - and perfect tranquillity. Lots of open space for children to play and build dens. This off grid, luxurious lodge is very special and the price covers 6 people. The space This self-sufficient Norwegian style eco-log cabin is beautifully crafted and delightfully situated on the edge of a secluded 5 acre wood, which forms part of a working small-holding, with views across the Mendip hills towards Bridgwater Bay. This truly is a secret hide-away in the hills - a perfect get-away. It is ideal for families with children, or groups of adults, who want to enjoy being "away from it all" in the countryside, and experience an eco-environment, where heating, electricity and water all depend on solar energy to keep them working (although there is a back-up petrol generator if all else fails!) Because of the secluded environment, and the woodland surroundings, it is possible for children to have a "Swallows and Amazons" kind of experience - where they can play freely, and make the most of the outdoor opportunities for building dens, riding bikes, exploring the wood, collecting wood for fires, and sleeping outside if parents are happy with this (we have tents available). At some times of the year it is even possible to feed lambs and sheep. There are three large bedrooms (one with a double bed and single bed, and two with double beds and enough space beside each bed to add an extra single mattress for children), a large open-plan sitting room with kitchen and dining space as part of the room, and a wood burning stove in one corner. The bathroom contains toilet, shower and washbasin. There is an entrance hall for coats and shoes. It can sleep 6/7 adults comfortably, and up to 8 or 9 people if the group includes children who are happy to "bunk up" together - either with their parents (there is space beside each double bed to fit a single mattress on the floor), or in the larger bed room with the single and double bed, where there is also space for an additional floor mattress, so four children could sleep in here. Fresh bed linen and towels are provided for all guests, and all beds will be made-up for your arrival. With its quality solar panels producing electricity and hot water, eco flushing system using rain-water capture, and a wood-burner heating the radiators (logs are provided for the woodburner), this cabin has a symbiotic relationship with mother nature. Because the cabin is part of a working farm, and used by the owners during periods of intense activity on the farm (e.g,.at lambing time), it is only available for a limited number of weeks during the year. For many guests, the flock of sheep is part of the attraction. We usually have one or two ewes that were fed from the bottle as lambs, so they can still enjoy this experience as a treat if guests have any spare milk they want to share! Hence the references to "Rosemary" (the sheep) in some of the reviews. In the early morning and evening the small lake attracts animals and birds, and you are likely to see deer, rabbits, foxes and even badgers, as well as squirrels. The birdsong is magnificent and the newly planted wildflower meadows are a haven for butterflies. The woods and fields are part of an exciting rewilding programme supported by Mendip National Landscapes (previously Mendip Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty). It offers an excellent educational environment for anyone interested in the countryside. Guest access The eco-lodge is 1/2 mile from the A38 and accessed by a rough track from the main road. The cabin is part of a working small-holding that has several fields with wildflower meadows, a flock of sheep, a small orchard , and 5 acres of wood. You will have sole use of the lodge and surrounding woodland and fields. Since the nearest other house is half a mile a way, you should be very secluded during your stay. The Mendip Activity centre is a ten minute walk away, so you can access all sorts of outdoor activities for the young at heart. The cabin is situated next to a small lake with goldfish, newts and aquatic plants as part of a nature reserve. The pond attracts a lot of wildlife (such as deer in the morning to drink, magnificent dragon flies during the day and bats at night). The fire pit can be used to create an outside BBQ and there are loads of fallen branches in the woodland that can be gathered to make the fire. The quoted price covers up to 6 people, which seems the ideal number of adults for the lodge. It is possible to accommodate 2 or 3 more children/adults on futons beds/mattresses, if people are happy to "bunk up" together, and there is an additional per person charge in this case. Other things to note This is an eco -lodge which means it relies on mother nature to supply electricity and hot water. On a sunny day there is plenty of electricity and hot water and, even when it's cloudy or raining, some electricity continues to be generated during daylight hours. However, if it is not a particularly sunny day, then the solar-powered batteries may not be able to get a full charge, so you will need to watch the monitor which tells you how much electricity is left. We will explain all this to you when you arrive! After dark, no solar electricity is generated of course, so you are reliant on the electricity that is stored in the batteries, which is enough to keep the lights and water pumps going at night, but means you have to be very careful not to use things that consume a lot of electricity, like toasters, hair dryers, kettles, etc. As a back-up we do have a small petrol powered generator, which is there as a last resort. If the battery drops below a critical level (less than one quarter of charge), the generator needs to be started. The woodburner provides a cosy focus to the sitting area, as well as heating the hot water store very effectively (sufficient logs will be available for your stay). This is especially good news in the early spring/autumn when the solar energy doesn't add much to the water temperature. The hot water store feeds the radiators in all rooms, as well as providing hot water for showers and washing up. We don't charge an additional cleaning fee, and just expect guests to leave the lodge pretty much as you find it. There is a Henrietta hoover that does a good job on the floors, and if you feel able to strip the beds at the end of your stay, that is additionally helpful. One of the consequences of the off-grid seclusion, is that there is no refuse collection. Organic waste can be put in the composting bins, and paper and card can be used for the fire or BBQ of course, but we ask guests to help with removal of the usual things that can be recycled (like glass, plastic, metal foil, cans, etc). We appreciate that not everyone will have the space in their cars to do this, and there will also be black bin bags with non-recyclable waste, so we can share this between us, and take some rubbish back to our own house near Bristol.