At Bivouac we offer our guests a unique holiday experience - luxurious rustic shacks, romantic yurts or a cosy bunk bed in our camping barn. We always welcome walkers and day trippers to share our breathtaking views, tuck into our delicious cafe food and visit our converted farmhouse shop. At the heart of Bivouac is our team, making it a place that people want to visit again and again. We are currently recruiting for a couple of vacancies, please see below for more info!

Passionate about food?

The gorgeous Bivouac cafe is looking for a jolly good cook or two to join our lovely team. With a new menu about to launch, a fresh wave of Biv charm and enthusiasm, could this be the right place for your creativity to be released?

Call Zannah or email her for more details.
Email: susannah@thebivouac.co.uk
Tel: 01765 53 50 33

Fancy joining our bank team?

We are also recruiting dedicated, friendly people for our Change Over Team (bank positions available). We would love to hear from you if you think you have what it takes to join us!

We are looking for staff to join our House & Change Over team which is responsible for the refreshment and preparation of our accommodation and site for the arrival of new guests.
We have a number of bank positions available. You will need to be hard working, enthusiastic, able to work in a team and be available to work primarily on Mondays and Fridays.
Experience is desirable, but not essential as full training will be given.

Please contact heather@thebivouac.co.uk or call 01765 535020 to apply.

Thank you!

We went for a great day out at Hackfall on a Woodland Printmaking Course

Bee and Sanna went on a wonderful woodland printmaking course. We are both involved in craft activities with children at The Bivouac and this course was truly inspiring.
We went on a snowy walk around Hackfall, learning from Woodland Trust’s Paul Mosley about how to enhance children’s experience of nature. One particularly interesting thing we learnt from Paul is how to make a Journey Stick: take a stick along with you on your walk and attach treasures you find from your walk to the stick (using rubber bands or wool). This is to remind you of the trees and sights you have past and to map your journey.
We also learnt a variety of print making techniques from Hester Cox: monoprinting; plasticine printing; foam printing; sun printing; relief collagraph.  We especially enjoyed making old-style photographs on the beach by using sun paper, sunshine and river water.
Bee and I are now buzzing with creative ideas and ready to share all this lovely outdoorsy artiness with children in the Bivouac Cafe, the druids woods and in storytelling sessions on Thursdays.

Read more about what you can do at Hackfall on their website with loads of up and coming events there is sure to be something for you! http://www.hackfall.org.uk/

It was gorgeous up on the hill for our boxing day stroll.

We had a great turn out for the walk up and around Druids, good to see some familiar faces as regular café customers, Christmas shack guests & first timers up to Bivouac all got in the mix. There was no need for all the new Christmas scarfs, gloves and hats…so mild (12 degrees!).
Sam led the walk to find the hidden chocolate coins and hedgehogs, not sure who got the most coins, but competition was strong! Everybody had worked up an appetite & after the walk everybody headed for the café where the kitchen had produced some amazing pies for the occasion as well as a seasonal vegetable soup with the obligatory sprouts yum, yum!!
We are now looking forward to an afternoon of board games on Thursday & Friday in the café
See you soon

The fires were roaring, the Crooner was crooning, and the marshmallows were toasting (good work Sam!) as good Christmassy fun was had by all at the Bivouac Christmas Craft Weekend.

Brenda’s pom-pom’s and Bee’s pottery decorations drew crowds of young and old alike, whilst Druids Tipple on draught flowed plentifully from the courtyard. 
Tim’s special Christmas Event menu was enjoyed by the many visitors, the Sausage Casserole and the Vegetable Chili being particularly praised, and festive gingerbread men and mince pies kept any customers (and café staff!) smiling.
Tiny tots and some not-so-tiny members of the species listened intently as ‘Dangerous’ Brian Gregg spun tales of wonder and magic down in the family room. Children snuggled down into enormous bean bags and were served with the traditional Nativity story, alongside English folk yarns and tales from Africa.   
Up on the mezzanine fingers became wonderfully messy with Zannah, our talented artisan bread maker, and her rustic edible treats, and the Biv was overrun by superheroes, fairies and other fantastical creatures as Erin daubed faces with paint and glitter, the proceeds of which went to Florrie’s Play Park.
There was also….
festive hot toddies, roast chestnuts, traditional candle making, Christmas cake, giant chelsea buns, fish and chips, and much, much more! check out the pics and reserve space in your 2013 calendar for next year’s truly magical Christmas event!

The baby change/disabled toilet is having a new look for 2013.

Jon Cambuel, an incredibly talented local artist from Masham is creating a truly beautiful piece of art on the walls of the baby change/disabled toilet.  He’s created a design, pencilled in intricate detail his vision on the walls and he’s now beginning to add touches of colour. 

It really is a must see, so next time you are passing by make sure you call in for a look even if you don’t require the ‘facilities’.  From the barn owl to the field mouse there is so much to look at and spot peering out from the walls.  Watch this space to see Jon’s progress of the artwork. 

Do these beautiful winter days bring out the creativity in you?

Next time you are with us here at the bivouac, why not bring your camera and try and capture something special, enter our great new competition and be in with a chance to win a midweek stay in one of our amazing yurts.

Spend a frosty morning in the woodland waiting for that perfect shot, or why not involve the children and get them to hunt out natural treasures.

Discover the abundant wildlife we have here at the bivouac, or why not try your hand at making the stunning views your own?

For a chance to win a fabulous prize of a mid-week off peak Meadow Yurt break please send your entries to:

hello@thebivouac.co.uk

Just a few simple rules…..

Photographs must be taken on our site here at the Bivouac (including woodlands and Druids temple)

Closing date for entries is 30th April 2013.

You happy for us to use your entry in our promotional material

Do you love our homemade cakes and want to take one home with you?
Just let one of our cafe hosts know which cake you love, when you want it and our very talented chef Tim, will do the rest!

Tim is currently making these cakes to order:

Carrot & Walnut
Chocolate Truffle Torte
Banana Cake
Fruit cake
Parkin
Lemon Drizzle

From £15 a cake.

So if you’re having a party, marking a special occasion or you just want to indulge, make sure you remember to order your Homemade Bivouac cake.
Cakes made to order are subject to availability, minimum of 5 days notice is usually required so we can source all the yummy ingredients!

You can also order by calling 01765 53 50 20 or email: cafe@thebivouac.co.uk

The mornings are turning crisp, the leaves are beginning to fall and we’re all looking for our favourite woollies, winter is certainly on it’s way! This gets us thinking about the festive season and the big question hanging over Christmas of what to get everyone!

So we thought we’d give you a helping hand with our Biv Wish List!

1. A beautiful toiletries hamper filled with Bivouac hand lotion, handwash and towel all wrapped up and filled with scented flowers and popcorn! Gorgeous. From £20.

2. A Bivouac Bread making course with the family. Courses can be booked in advance for groups, just contact reception. From £15pp

3. Essential Body Maintenance Massage – 60 minutes of pure pleasure, leaving you relaxed and rejuvenated.  Massages from £45.

4. An alfresco hot tub – enjoy being lovely and warm whilst watching the world go by - well the fields and spectacular views! £60 per day.

5. The Bivouac Gift Voucher – available in £10, £25 & £50 which can be redeemed against accommodation, used in the café, towards and event or activity or spent in the shop! Always useful for the one that has everything!

6. We’ve even got socks – some are thermal and some hand knitted From £4.95.

We hope this gets the festive juices flowing – oh and just to let you know we will be offering a gift wrapping service too!

We’re planning a pretty special Christmas at Bivouac.

From making beautiful Christmas crafts on 9th December to special festive events on Friday 14th , Saturday 15th and Sunday 16th December, Christmas at Bivouac will great fun!

We’ll be serving delicious food and drinks, making arts and crafts with the kids, telling festive stories, face painting, warming around the fires, toasting marshmallows and roasting chestnuts – we have even got a Christmas wishing tree.

On Boxing Day, we’re taking a leisurely walk around the woodland, spotting the hedgehog trail and looking for the golden money! Then back to the café for a nice warm fire and festive snacks.

To round off your Bivouac Christmas you can join us for an afternoon of board games from 2pm on 27th/28th, you can bring one of yours or play one of ours.  Choose a table and enjoy the warm fire.

Please see http://www.thebivouac.co.uk/seasonal/christmas for more details.

Bivouac has scooped more awards! Sam and Beth Hardwick, owners of Bivouac attended the Ripon Civic Society Awards last night and received four awards throughout the evening.

They received recognition throughout the business, receiving awards for Best Restoration Project, Sustainability, Best New Building and Best Project 2012 and Winner of the Helen Whitehead Salver. The Bivouac is founded on the firmest environmental principles, with an unwavering commitment to sustainable tourism.

Bivouac at Druids Temple opened in April this year after a hard winter of building. Several teams came together to create a wonderful place for locals and holiday makers to enjoy. Six woodland shacks, sleeping up to seven, off grid yet very comfortable. Built by Rudi Meseg (www.roundwoodcraft.co.uk) with his team of craftsmen. Eight meadow yurts, sleeping up to five, with luxuries most tents don’t have.  The couple also converted five derelict barns with local building firm ‘M&A Developments’ into a bunk house, a massage room, a wonderful cafe and facilities for the guests.    It is these buildings and structures that has seen them win these awards this week.

Beth Hardwick, owner of Bivouac said: “We are extremely grateful to receive these awards and recognition. We must share these with a fantastic team who worked ever so hard throughout a tough winter as well as thank Swinton Estate for taking such a risk on us.  Each area of Bivouac has been carefully designed to care about community, environment, locality and future. We hope in time everyone will come to know and love this special place”

[ENDS]
Press: Emilie McDermott Emilie@thebivouac.co.uk  - 01765 53 50 20

Notes for Editor :  The image shows Beth and Sam receiving Best Project 2012 and Winner of the Helen Whitehead Salver
Bivouac is open all year round and now taking bookings for Christmas and new year.
Bivouac have plenty of events throughout the winter months, please see the website for details.