The Barn
The Retreat has now closed permanently. We had a wonderful time running the space and meeting such a diverse group of people, but it is time to move on to other things. Thank you to all our guests for bringing your beautiful energy here.
In our renovations we aimed to retain as much of the feel of rustic utility and simplicity whilst incorporating contemporary design and ecological principles.
Throughout, heating and hot water is fed by solar panels and the wood burner, with a timed immersion for busy periods. It will be part of your eco friendly experience to light and stock the wood burner. In the colder months you will need to keep the wood burner at a constant low level and when you come in just stoke it up with a couple of logs, this will provide constant heat and hot water.
It is a stone building dating from 1850 renovated with wood recycled from the original barn, burnished to bring out it’s former beauty. Natural paints and stains to create a soft soothing ambiance for you to indulge in, and expanses of waxed oak and coloured, floated concrete to give a zen feel of space.
The ground floor has underfloor heating below the tinted concrete floor with inlays of pebbles and agate slices. The rooms are separated with wide blond boards of Douglas fir from our own tree.
The shower room (see photo left) has a luxurious walk in shower with a heated pebble floor and curvaceous cast concrete countertop.
The bathroom (see photo right) has a deep comfortable bath set in cast concrete with fossil and metal inlays. The walls are natural coloured marble plaster with a soft recessed light.
Details
- 4 bedrooms, 4 double beds that can be made into 8 singles
- Sofa bed in the large double bedroom for 2 extra beds.
- Two toilets on ground floor
- The first floor is a huge open space, natural light pours in from three long windows in the roof, ideal for watching the night sky.
- The lounge area has a cosy wood burner around which is ample snug sofa space. There is a long, generous handmade oak table for endless conversations into the night, project planning or huge dinners.
- The kitchen area is contemporary functional units with stainless steel detailing, range style gas cooker and microwave.
- There is a pleasant breakfast seating area for coffee to be taken inside or out on the terrace.