A lodge with no complaints at all

11:23am Saturday 7th June 2008

FLOWERY DELL is a family-run business that prides itself on offering guests the ultimate in peace and relaxation deep in rural Yorkshire.

It runs 12 luxury pine lodges that are billed as a charming alternative to the traditional holiday cottage.

The lodges are set in a tranquil valley on the edge of a wood that has a stream running through it. This beautiful area, bordering the Yorkshire Dales National Park, is home to an abundance of flora and fauna and provides the ideal setting for those wishing to get away from it all and unwind.

Just over a mile away is the historic market town of Richmond with its towering Norman castle, cared for by English Heritage.

Flowery Dell's Scandinavian lodges are a delightful mix of ancient and modern in that they offer the traditional warmth of wood along with a range of high-specification modern appliances that will appeal to the most discerning of paying guests.

The 12 lodges provide a good mix of accommodation, enabling Flowery Dell to cater for families, with children and pets, as well as couples in search of a luxurious romantic break.

My partner, Janice, and I thoroughly enjoyed our two-night stay in Mulberry, a deluxe single-storey log cabin equipped with a 37-inch plasma digital television, DVD player and hi-fi system. Mulberry also boasts its own sauna room to complement its luxury spa bath and shower.

It was a real treat to relax in the sauna after a day's walking in the dales. It's sacrilege to rush a sauna. You must take your time, exposing your tired, aching body to a gentle routine of water and heat.

As the sauna heats up to the required temperature you take a shower. Then relax in the sauna as the heat sweats out grime and toxins from your body. Cool down in the shower and then repeat the process as many times as you like. At the end you should feel totally relaxed, deeply cleansed and rejuvenated.

As you would expect in a luxury holiday let, Mulberry has a modern kitchen with a washing machine, a microwave oven and electric cooker and a dishwasher. Outside, on a veranda, is a gas-fired barbecue for those who like dining al fresco. The double bedroom has a wall-mounted television.

Flowery Dell has its own on-site shop stocked with local produce and regional specialities, including a range of frozen gourmet ready-meals to help holidaymakers keep away from the cooker and kitchen sink, enabling them to make the most of their leisure time.

It also has a website (www.yorkshireholidaytreats.com) where guests can book, in advance, a beauty treatment while on holiday, have local food and gourmet meals waiting for them in their lodge, buy tickets to local attractions and book day passes for a nearby leisure club with gym and swimming pool.

Richmond Castle is well worth a visit. Its picturesque ruins tower above the River Swale. The English Heritage shop features an exhibition that tells the story of the castle and its changing relationship with the town. During the First World War the so-called Richmond 16 were imprisoned in the castle.

They were conscientious objectors being punished for refusing to fight or do anything that might support the war effort. Their stand against the state is an inspirational story that reverberates to the present day.

The ruins of Easby Abbey stand about a mile downstream from Richmond Castle on the banks of the River Swale. According to folklore, an ancient tunnel links the two; but rather than go underground, I suggest you take a stroll alongside the river to the ruins, beside which is a fine parish church that boasts recently-restored medieval frescoes.

Fact file

• Flowery Dell, Hudswell Lane, Richmond, North Yorkshire DL11 6BD. Tel: 01748 822406.

Email: info@flowerydell-lodges.com Website: www.flowerydell-lodges.com Advance-ordering website: www.yorkshireholidaytreats.com

Editor's choice