We arrived on a crisp, clear and freezing cold spring day
after a week of heavy rain. Driving down the long, windy driveway into
the wilderness was like coming up for air when you’ve been under water for too
long. The sight of trees and fields all around made me breathe that little bit
deeper, slow down after the frantic rush we had to get there and start to
relax.
The lovely Matt greeted us and explained the Honesty Bar
concept they have in the Woodshed, which I honestly enjoyed. You can help
yourself to a variety of Taylor’s of Harrogate speciality teas, coffees and hot
chocolate, all for a contribution you leave in a jar to cover the cost of what
you’ve used. We then set off through the camp to find our cabin in the woods,
all the while chatting happily about the story behind the North Star.
Set deep in one of the largest and most ancient woodlands in
the East Yorkshire area, which extends to over 200 acres, it provides a retreat
for the digitally toxic, the overloaded and maxed out. Set up by the talented Van Outersterps family who have a bunch of interior design and holiday retreat credentials
behind them, most notably with their sister site, Jollydays Glamping. The North
Star Club takes the best of North American woodland cabins; all
rough, rustic materials, natural beauty and remoteness, and deposits it in the heart of Yorkshire. We passed seven of the other cabins along the way and
noted how spread apart they were, which provided a wonderful feeling of
isolation. The owners plan to expand the camp over time but there is ample
space to ensure that each cabin family feels like it has its own little piece
of wilderness.
After a short walk we arrived and were given the key to
the Moon, our whimsically named cabin that we would call home for the duration
of our stay. Excited and intrigued we approached the back of the cabin to find
a beautiful, wooden veranda that wouldn’t have looked out of place in an
American movie, with two rocking chairs swaying idly in the breeze.
As
Matt led us inside and opened the double doors to reveal the bedroom suite
beyond, we were stunned by just how gorgeous it was. The large, fur covered bed
was surrounded in each corner by floor to ceiling tree trunk posts and with
soft industrial lighting and a woodburning stove in the corner, it gave the
Nordic forest fairytale cabin a magical glow. I laid down my Wolf and Maiden overnight
bag and hat, making myself at home.
Once Matt had run through some housekeeping bits and bobs he
left us to it. A moment of silence descended as we looked at each other before
we each had the same idea and jumped onto the squishy bed and heaved a massive
sigh of contentment.
Minutes passed before we decided that the day was just
too nice to waste and up we jumped to explore our new surroundings. The site
sits at the foot of the Yorkshire Wolds Way so there are miles and miles of excellent
country walks, if that is your vibe. We pulled on our wellies and trotted back
out into the cool, crisp air, setting off down the track and heading deep into the trees. We
looked for creatures great and small, camera poised for some pictures, and were
surprised when the most enormous horse trotted up behind us enjoying the bridle way that runs through the camp.
Matt had warned us that gamekeepers still operated in
the woods and when we came across some empty shells on the ground we knew we
had probably gone far enough before we encountered Elmer Fudd.
Our tummies rumbled and told us it was time for a snack so
we headed back to the Woodshed and made ourselves hot chocolate. We sat by the
communal outdoor fire pit to warm up a bit, vowing to come back later to watch
the stars. We enjoyed the silence, all but for the birds chirruping in the trees, and read magazines, chatted merrily and enjoyed the warmth from the fire.
Open all
year round, the North Star has a special cosy charm that lends itself well to
the colder months. One of our favourite things to do is to get wrapped up in
blankets and sit outdoors around a fire. Why should it be a treat reserved just
for the summer months?
With the promise of our spa style bathroom waiting for us at the Moon, we tore ourselves away from the fire and headed back to check it out.
There can’t be many more things as indulgent and relaxing as a bath together in the
afternoon when you’re on holiday, so we filled the freestanding tub to the brim with bubbles. The lovely lemongrass products scented
the air, candles lit and lights turned down as low as they would go on the
dimmer switch.
Lounging in the bath, I admired the rough cut wooden bench, copper tower rail and sunburst shower head in the screened off wet room. The North Star Club really is an
interior design lovers dream, with no end of lovely detail to oooo and ahhhh
over. The bathrooms are so spacious, which considering you can book a massage in
your cabin, means you could loll lazily from the massage table straight in to the bath, if
you were so inclined. I mentally bookmarked this for the next visit and wished
I’d known before our arrival.
Feeling relaxed and content we decided it was time for some
hearty glamping style food. The suites don’t have kitchen facilities but they
do each have barbeques for outdoor cooking, fridge/freezers, and pots, pans,
plates and cutlery, too. There’s even a
pizza oven by the Woodshed and we wished we’d known before so we could have brought
some pre-prepared dough and made some yummy thin crust pizzas.
Undeterred we
set about preparing steak (practically still mooing) for the carnivore (him) and Quorn burgers for the
herbivore (me), with sweet Romero peppers, a rough chopped salad, jacket potatoes
cooked in tin foil and a caramelised onion and goats cheese quiche. Enjoying
the fading light and view from our porch we breathed in the cold air and took
solace from the heat coming from the BBQ.
Once the food was ready, we popped the
cork on the prosecco the team had left in our fridge for us and set to work on
the rustic BBQ feast before us. We rinsed our pots and left them to one side,
as the camp staff take them to wash up for you, as there isn’t a kitchen sink in
the cabin.
Feeling full but not quite satisfied, we decided to access
that special extra tummy reserved just for sweets and desserts and hot footed
it back to the fire pit with marshmellows. The few wispy clouds pootling by
earlier in the day had now cleared and the spectacular dark night sky dazzled
us with stars.
We pulled up a tree trunk each, huddled together in a blanket against
the nippy air and thrust marshmellows into the glowing embers until gooey and
melted. We shoved them hungrily into our mouths, slightly burning our tongues
in our haste. Feeling like an uncouth, lawless cowboy and cowgirl we greedily
sipped our prosecco from tin camping mugs, while watching the hypnotic flames
dance in the breeze.
Once we’d had our fill and enjoyed the last embers of the
camp fire, we replenished our store of Taylor’s tea from the Honesty Bar and
headed back to the Moon. We topped up the log burning stove in our suite which
had been keeping it lovely and toasty for our return and hopped up onto the bed
to get comfy.
There isn’t a TV or DVD player in the room so being the prepared
scouts that we are we’d loaded a couple of films onto our iPads. As lovely as
it is to unplug and switch off from all screens for a while, there are times
when you just want to kick back with a movie. After getting into a nice state
of chill all day, our inner rebels decided that being alone in the woods, the
only sensible thing to watch was a scary film. Afterwards, the cabin lit only
by the dying flames of the woodburner and surrounded by the noises of the forest beyond, our
eyelids grew heavy and not even our over active imaginations could stop us from
settling into a peaceful and contented slumber.
Fuelled by a good night’s sleep, we awoke with the sun and
tiptoed sleepily out of bed to re-start the fire before diving back into the
warmth of the covers. Feeling snuggily and content we dozed on and off for a
while before it was time to get up. We pulled back the curtains and in shone a
beautiful bright day begging to be enjoyed.
The attractions of Beverley, York and
Hull are all within a comfortable drive of the North Star Club, and with the
Tour de Yorkshire and City of Culture 2017 imminent, it’s a great spot to be
part of it all but also just far enough away to enjoy the peace and quiet of
East Yorkshire’s stunning countryside. After a lazy morning we decided on a
walk to the local pub for lunch. The Star Inn is a traditional Yorkshire gastropub
with an excellent reputation for locally sourced, hearty, crafted food and it
certainly lives up to its hype. In fact we are regular visitors and it's one of our favourite gastropubs in the area
The carnivore (him) had Cottingham sausage and roast root
vegetable mash, braised onions & ale gravy and the herbivore (me) Root veg
bubble and squeak, steamed savoy, roast chantaneys and a runny poached egg with
tarragon hollandaise, which was delicious. We also found out that the Star Inn
delivers food to hungry glampers twice a day on site, so if you wanted to up
the ante on the luxury factor and order a breakfast hamper, BBQ pack or Yorkshireantipasti board, rather than schlep around the supermarket, you now can.
After a long walk with the sun warming our backs, we headed
back to the North Star Club and with a slightly heavy heart, checked out from
our little weekend sanctuary. The only other thing we could have wished for during our stay would be a hot tub on the deck perhaps, as it would be lovely to enjoy the beauty of the surroundings whilst having a soak, but hopefully this will come as the site develops.
Heading back down the long, gravel road that brought us in, then so full of excitement but also tightly wound after a stressful week, I looked in my rear view mirror at the Woodshed disappearing into the distance and vowed that this woudn’t be my last visit to the Moon or indeed the North Star Club, in fact, it was hopefully to be the first of many.
Heading back down the long, gravel road that brought us in, then so full of excitement but also tightly wound after a stressful week, I looked in my rear view mirror at the Woodshed disappearing into the distance and vowed that this woudn’t be my last visit to the Moon or indeed the North Star Club, in fact, it was hopefully to be the first of many.
Where is your favourite retreat when you're feeling overloaded? Do you find peace getting back to nature or immersing yourself in complete luxury?
The North Star Club is offering 20% off on breaks when two
people check in mid-week so if you fancy escaping to a woodland retreat, there’s
an even better excuse to book. I dare you to take a peek and not be wowed by the place
*our stay here was complimentary but all views are honest and my own.
No comments
I love to hear from people so please don't be a stranger and say hello!