Time slows when you’re face to face with wildlife. You may have been drawn to the country from the fast pace and oftentimes overwhelming closeness of the city, or maybe you’re just branching out into somewhat familiar ground, popping over from a neighbouring county. Whatever your reason for making for their haunts – the woods, parklands and rolling hills – the wildlife and abundance of natural wonder you’ll find here is the answer.
Northridge Hall and Cottage | Leeds
HOUSE OF THE MONTH
You’re in a prime location for wildlife at Northridge Hall. Yorkshire is up there with some of the ideal locations to see a vibrant variety of wildlife. It won’t be long before you strike up a friendship with the many resident pheasants, which wander the grounds here around the clock. If you’re after some peace and quiet, retire to the gardens and read or just relax in the company of a multitude of (well-hidden) songbirds.
LOCAL WILDLIFE FEATURES: Brown hare, otter, noctule bat, red squirrel, dormouse, hedgehog, badger, merlin, lapwing, Peregrine falcon, grouse, buzzard, curlew, sky lark, cuckoo, woodpecker, kingfisher.
HOUSE FEATURES: Two 7-seater hot tubs, games area, play area, walled garden, close to York and Leeds. Sleeps 24. Dogs welcome.
Hallin Fell House | Lake District
Sheep nibbling at the lush grass that stretches up and away above Hallin Fell House will be your first introduction to a rich store of wildlife. The Lakes are teeming with it and what better house for a base than this one? Postcard-perfect (it was used in our official photo book, after all), head out into the nature of the North and who knows what you’ll spot around the corner?
LOCAL WILDLIFE FEATURES: Red deer, red squirrel, Peregrine falcon, Arctic Char fish, Natterjack Toad, barn owl, and Britain’s only nesting pairs of Golden Eagles and Ospreys.
HOUSE FEATURES: 4-oven AGA, acres of grounds to explore, set in the Lake District National Park. Sleeps 14-18. Dogs welcome.
The Cartshed | Suffolk
You don’t have to travel far to find some of the best that nature has to offer here. On the Wilderness estate the wildlife plays a big part in what’s so special about this corner of the country. Truly, whichever property you choose here, you’re in for a treat.
LOCAL WILDLIFE FEATURES: Red deer, fallow deer, barn owl, tawny owl, emperor dragonfly, great bittern, azure damselfly, kingfisher, bank vole, brown hare, bohemian waxwing, collared dove, buzzard, nightingale, pheasant, pipistrelle bat, grass snake, swan, peregrine falcon, red kite, sand martin.
HOUSE FEATURES: Shared pool and hot tub, 200 private acres. Sleeps 8. Dogs welcome.
