Straw Bale Cabin Full Review
Posted: 04 December 2007 by Laura Burgess
The big bad wolf would struggle with this one. Although it's a cabin built with straw, it's also structurally robust beneath its eco-friendly lime rendering and super insulated walls. Even on a chilly October weekend, we didn't go near the heating and the cabin stayed cosy and warm inside.
The building is a true labour of love for project manager and designer Carol Atkinson and her willing army of volunteers. There's a science to straw bale building, which has led her to study eco-friendly building design and monitoring the humidity inside the cabin. The interior was a real surprise, kitted out with beautifully reclaimed furniture, organic cotton sheets and bright and airy walls.
We thought perhaps there was a catch as sometimes the greenest places lack a bit of style and finesse. But this one had it all. Everything, and we mean everything had been thought of, both for the comfort of the guests and the care it took for the environment. One of our favourite features was the honesty shop. It's basically a cupboard full of dry foods (and bottles of real ale) that are available for purchase. If you arrive by public transport, the honesty shop is a life saver and we ended up making a fair few purchases -- we couldn't resist Grandma Jennie's strawberry jam and of course, the local ale and cider.
The cabin also houses a composting toilet in the bathroom which mercifully didn't smell and ensured that water usage is minimised. The energy is a mix of grid, solar hot water panels, a micro wind turbine and solar photovoltaic panel. It gets complicated at times with the different voltages for different appliances, but ensures that the energy is renewable as far as possible.
Various oddments from the working farm are reused for the cabin, like the hanging rails in the wardrobe which were once part of the milking parlour. The footpath also uses a number of paving stones from the farm and reclaimed railway sleepers from nearby. The area around the cabin is surprisingly pretty given that most visitors bypass this area in favour of the North Yorkshire Moors.
There are bicycles to use freely, helping us get out and about to explore. Although there's not much chance of coming across wandering wolves, we had a strange encounter with a herd of cows that failed to pick up on our vegetarianism and proceeded to chase us through a field. Watch out.
Essentials: Rooms cost from £245 a week or £150 a weekend (three nights) for two people sharing. Rates vary throughout the year. Collection can be arranged from Howden Station. Village Farm, Brind, East Yorkshire, DN14 7LA, England.
Quality
Value
Ethics
Green
