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New sustainable and luxurious holiday destination at 'Bivouac Swinton'

6th January 2012 Print

The launch date for Bivouac Swinton, a new accommodation venue with café facilities in the Yorkshire Dales, has been announced today, with completion of the build project scheduled for April 2012.

Bivouac Swinton is a new sustainable and ethical project with parking, café and accommodation facilities for people who like being close to nature, with the added touch of luxury! The site is on the Swinton Estate in the Yorkshire Dales, five miles from Masham, and situated on the moor edge beside the Druid’s Temple (constructed as a folly in the 1800’s) and woodland.

Facilities at Bivouac Swinton include accommodation ranging from a camping barn with shower facilities (sleeping twelve) to luxury yurts (each sleeping up to five) and hand built woodland shacks (each sleeping up to seven). The woodland shacks are unique to the Bivouac, having been designed specifically for the site and built using Sweet Chestnut round timber frames and larch cladding sourced from the Swinton Estate. This is a type of durable and ecological construction that came to prominence in 2003 with the construction of a round timber house on Channel 4’s “Grand Designs”, and the designer of the Bivouac shacks is one of the members of the original team. Rates start at £18 per person per night. Whilst the experience is essentially rustic, creature comforts and luxuries such as quality linen, heating and a hot tub are all part of the package. There is also a dedicated commitment to sustainable tourism and measures include a carbon neutral woodchip boiler (which uses timber thinnings from the Swinton Estate forestry), solar lighting and a grey water system. There is a café and shop available to residents and day visitors.

Activities on offer on the surrounding Swinton Estate (which is in the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) are extensive – ranging from walking and mountain biking to climbing, riding and fishing. The Bivouac also arranges activities during the year such as Forest School and Foraging Days which take place in the woodland and moorland on site, along with regular evening events in the cafe. Further afield the rich heritage of Yorkshire offers abbeys, castles and stately homes such as Fountains Abbey, Newby Hall and Bolton Castle, all within a short drive. The nearby market town of Masham is particularly well known for its annual Sheep Fair and two breweries, The Black Sheep and Theakstons.

Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, said: “The Bivouac will be a unique experience in the UK and will instantly become one of THE places to stay in the county raising the bar again for Yorkshire’s award-winning accommodation providers. It’s appeal will be universal from walkers and climbers keen on a unique break on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales to families and weekenders wanting to sample a night under the stars with a difference and I for one cannot wait for it to open.”

For more information on booking your stay at Bivouac Swinton, visit thebivouac.co.uk.