|
|
|
|
|
|
Our yurt is round, of course, about 16 feet in diameter and 9 feet high in the middle, made of about 150 willow rods and a lot of canvas. There's a transparent piece at the top to let the sunshine, or moonlight, in. The floor is rather solid timber. This part is a local Lincolnshire adaptation, not suited to easy transport by camel across the steppe, but then we have neither camel nor steppe. There is a woodstove, which gets the place very warm in no time. Electricity is supplied but the candle lanterns are more fun. Surrounded by trees, flowers and vegetables, the yurt is set in our six acre garden. Outside the door is the yurt's own lawn with picnic table, and round the back is an open air bathroom. The large iron bath, set in earth, is heated by a wood fire below. You can soak for as long as you like with the water remaining hot.
|
|
Sleeping in the yurt is a curious experience; like camping in some ways, you feel close to the outside, able to hear the night noises of owls and badgers and other wildlife, yet you are warm and comfortable with a big bed and plenty of room to dance about.
And when you get up, there's a great breakfast waiting for you in the house included in the price of your stay. You can also use the bathroom facilities in the house.
Later this summer (2007) our solar-powered luxury washroom should be ready, specially built for yurt dwellers, but at the moment it's still a bit of building site while I grapple with the plumbing.
Rates are £27.50 per person per night (£30 for a single person and there's room for a child or two on a mattress for £15 each).
Some yurt links:
The must-see films by Byambasuren Davaa, Story of the Weeping Camel, and the follow up, The Cave of the Yellow Dog.
Springtime in the Gobi Desert, South Mongolia. A family of nomadic shepherds assists the births of their camel herd. One of the camels has an excruciatingly difficult delivery but, with help from the family, out comes a rare white colt. Despite the efforts of the shepherds, the mother rejects the newborn, refusing it her milk and her motherly love. When any hope for the little one seems to have vanished, the nomads send their two young boys on a journey through the desert, to a backwater town in search of a musician who is their only hope for saving the colt's life.
The Spirit Intent Quality Yurts (we know, they made the cover for ours).
Woodland Yurts and Paul Kings book, without which we would have found building our yurt a lot trickier.
The Really Interesting Tent Company
Sustainable Build a little light reading.
The Authentic Mongolian Yurt Company the real thing, in South Wales.
Yurtworks they certainly do.
The Yurt Shop from Hastings
Panoramic Journeys If you want to see the real thing in its native environment Karina and James Moreton are the folk to talk to.
Red Kit Yurts, build them, buy them or hire them.
The Land is Ours and particularly Chapter 7 for campaigning for low impact living.
©Biff Vernon 2006
