Here is a little video showing some of the craftsmanship that went in to the build for our Woodland Shacks

At Bivouac we offer our guests a unique holiday experience - luxurious rustic shacks, romantic yurts or a cosy bunkbed in our camping barn - and welcome walkers and daytrippers to share our breathtaking views, tuck into our delicious cafe food and visit our converted farmhouse shop. We are recruiting dedicated, friendly people for a number positions. We would love to hear from you if you think you have what it takes to join us.

Cafe Staff
We need experienced cafe staff to join our expanding front of house team. We have part-time, full-time and bank positions available. You will need to be self-motivated, enthusiastic, always ready with a warm welcome and available to work some weekends and evenings.

Change-over Staff
Our shacks and yurts need to be changed-over for new guests every Monday and Friday between 9.15am-2.45pm. We are looking for experienced house-keepers, either available on call or for regular weekly shifts. You will be fast and efficient, proud of your high standards, passionate about hospitality and ready to go the extra mile to make Bivouac a really special experience for our guests.

For more details about either role or to apply, contact Beth Hardwick by emailing beth@thebivouac.co.uk or calling 01765 535 020.

Come and grab a coffee in Bivouac’s cafe this Monday!  Opening April 2nd…

Bivouac is opening! April 2nd sees our first guests arriving for the kick start of our new business.  Alongside our accommodation, comprising of 6 bespoke woodland shacks, 8 luxury yurts and a modern bunk barn which sleeps 12 - we are also opening our brand new cafe/restaurant set in a refurbished barn.  We have lovingly put it all together, caring about the detail and feel of the space.  The cafe has been designed with recycled, reclaimed and refurbished items.

The main cafe area looks out on to the courtyard (which is a suntrap!) and out the other side there are amazing views of the Yorkshire hills with outside seating and a fire pit for those cold evenings.  Upstairs is an adults only mezzanine level with a cosy wood burning stove, perfect for snuggling up with a good book, or enjoying a coffee with friends.  Downstairs is our family room, child friendly, with room to play, an ideal place for bringing your small ones to - which leads on to another outside area with yet again, stunning views!

Maybe I am biased, but I for one cannot wait to frequent our cafe, sampling some of the great food I have been tempted with on the menu!

The cafe opens at 2pm this Monday…and will be open all week.  Come and check us out!

So with 10 days to go until our grand opening, things are steaming along on site.  In the last week, it has really been transformed, with all the finishing touches going in to place.

Fencing in the courtyard, paintings on the barns, the reception desk, the cafe counter, the kitchen and the gardens are all bringing together the finishing touches to the site.

It’s amazing how far we have come, from all those many months ago when the build began last summer.  The weather has been uncannily kind to us so far this year, meaning we have had very little hold ups to the schedule.  Amidst this marvellous weather, it has been easy to remind ourselves the beauty of this place when the sun shines upon it.

We’ve all been mucking in and getting involved in all areas of the build to get it ready for our first guests in just over a weeks’ time.  Take a look at a glimpse of what the courtyard area between the shop and cafe currently looks like…we can’t wait for you to see it for real!

Win a beautiful photographic print…

David has been around and about taking photographs of our site the old fashioned way… Film, not a memory card in sight.

We have three of David’s prints to give away. To be in with a chance of winning one of the three 10” x 8” prints, you need to answer the following question:

What is the name of the man who built the Druids Temple folly?

Clue…The answer can be found by having a nosy around our website.

Please submit your answer, along with your full name to hello@thebivouac.co.uk 

The three winners will be announced on Friday 23rd March. Your information will not be used for any other purposes than the competition entry. Only one submission per person.

For the last 7 days we have had 60 volunteers come along and totally transform the Bivouac site battling through snow, wind and rain and a few rainbows…we can’t thank them enough…

We would like to say a massive THANK YOU to all the volunteers who have been up to help us at Bivouac in the last 7 days. 

Together we achieved amazing things - to name a few…a great fence up in the woodland (built in the snow and very wet rain!), erected all the bunk beds, made shoe racks, painted and decorated the shacks, painted furniture, designed and made a hot tub area, kitted out the yurts, painted a wonderful tree mural in the cafe, painted the toilet block, painted the utility and staff area, tiled the showers in the shower block, organised storage areas and created some great wood stores (and lots more).

We couldn’t have done it without everyones’ help!  We are so grateful for the time and effort everyone gave us over the last 7 days.

We look forward to welcoming you through the doors of Bivouac next month!

Imagine having the luxury of a hot tub, with the adventure of heating it up naturally and the beautiful view of the Yorkshire Dales…by day or starlight…

Ever since the first idea that Bivouac was becoming a reality, we have always wanted to make sure that we provide a ‘rustic chic’ experience, including the luxuries that come along with that, including the hot tub!

Bivouac was born in New Zealand, when Sam and Beth were on their honeymoon, staying in a sheep shearers shack.  4 years on and the idea has evolved, and is now just 4 weeks from opening, with bookings coming in thick and fast.  It’s really very exciting, scary and all part of a massive adventure that we are on, and that we have now joined Sam and Beth in…

The hot tub that we have chosen to use is the ‘Kiwi Tub’, and was road tested by some Bivouac-ers during their travels in New Zealand.

It uses tap water or clean spring water and can fit up to six people. It’s very comfortable.

There is a company in Devon that has just started selling the Kiwi Tubs, which is where we got ours from, check it our for more info: www.kiwitubuk.com

Our hot tub is available for hire for any of our guests on site…just get in touch if you would like to book it!

Here at Bivouac we are passionate about creating items out of natural materials, recycling unused items and up-cycling previously loved items, giving them a new lease of life…

We love all things luxurious and rustic, sustainable and thoughtful.

At Bivouac, we love using our local materials to make furniture and a variety of items for around the site.  Our offering here in North Yorkshire creates a unique experience for our guests, with each one of our shacks and yurts having their own character and personality.  We have amongst our team some really experienced and creative joiners, making bespoke individual hand crafted items for all areas on site.

Tony, a local joiner, has been working with us for a few months now doing things ranging from restoring pieces of furniture to hand crafting some unique pieces to go in our barns and shacks.  When Tony is not working for us, he works at ‘Jenny Ruth’, a local productive workshop where adults with learning disabilities gain skills, confidence and happiness through joinery and various other skills.

Martin and his dog Cassie have recently joined our team here on site.  Martin is a bespoke joiner who makes some beautiful hand crafted pieces of furniture.  He is crafting beds, ladders, window sills and other unique items around the site, using materials he has sourced locally.  Our beds in the yurts have been specifically designed for the environment and space we have here at Bivouac

Come and visit us from April onwards and see some of the wonderful hand crafted items they have made!

Learn some new skills and meet some new people at our Tree Bog building workshop this Easter!

TREE BOG BUILDING WORKSHOP
7th & 8th April 2012, 9am - 4.30pm at Bivouac High Knowle, Knowle Lane, Ilton, Masham, North Yorkshire HG4 4JZ

Have you ever wondered about what to do with human waste?
Ever wondered about an alternative to using your flushing loo?
Want to know about composting toilets?

If so, come along to our Tree Bog building weekend!

You will:

- Learn the theory of composting toilets - how they work, different types, why we need them etc.
- Learn specifically about the Tree Bog (a type of outdoor, above ground composting toilet that is simple, cheap and effective).
- Join in practical sessions to build a Tree Bog in the woodland.
- Meet lots of new people.
- Get involved in team working.
- Stay in a newly converted modern bunk barn for 2 nights.
- Have 2 evening meals in our rustic cafe.

The cost of the Tree Bog workshop weekend is £95, which includes your accommodation on Friday 6th and Saturday the 7th in our bunk barn, 2 evening meals, as well as the exciting experience of learning and getting involved in building a Tree Bog in the woodland!

For more info and to book your place on the workshop email Hazel@thebivouac.co.uk or call 01765 535020

Our first yurt arrived last monday…..

I spent the afternoon helping Kevin from ‘The Really Interesting Tent Company Limited’. I thought I would Share some of the pictures with you!