I’m adding this brilliant “mini-bivvi” sized tool box to my wish list for our family…

Have a look at this! Its from the Play Merrily Toy Shop (run by a fellow home-educating Mum).

As most kids, ours could always tell the difference between real and pretend tools and always want to get involved with any D.I.Y going on at home. We decided we might as well teach them to use the real ones properly and they now regularly have time with Daddy, wielding some sort of power tool!

This tool set looks great though. Clearly real tools (with sharp edges and everything!) but in a much more manageable size for smaller hands.Should bring the health and safety risk down a bit!

I’ll be sending them up to help the shack building team.Might as well get them working.

Imagine you are staying at the bivouac for a week, you want to use the beautiful outdoors as much as possible and you want to make the most of our hot tubs and showers (that come with a surprise!) as well. What would you want or need with you on your break away in the way of toiletries?

It’s all a bit “Hush hush” right now, but we are currently working with a very local company who make beautiful, luxurious, natural bath and shower products, to design and make our own ‘bivouac’ toiletries. We hope these little surprises, found in and around your accommodation will be part of completing the “bivouac experience”.

We are designing products that will be ‘just the ticket’ after a day out walking, climbing or cycling in the Dales, things that wash away any aches and pains, and any dirt under your finger nails! But also things that look after your feet, hands and lips and, for those who want to pamper themselves, there will also be some luxurious treatments to try out!

The company we are working with are great, the philosophy behind their products fits really nicely alongside the bivouac’s ideals, respecting the environment and creating products with ethics. This, in “product form” we believe will give us even happier baths, showers and skin! More updates to come on the progress of this soon.

So, returning to the original question….. do let me know! You never know, you might even find some in your yurt!

Have a look at this. Fascinating info about how our brains love to be surprised by learning. Parents, it will make you feel a bit more relaxed about those days when, for whatever reason your children might not have your undivided attention and are wrapping themselves up in loo-roll, putting sunglasses on the cat, or bouncing around like loonies (not my kids obviously!!?).You can let them get on with it, they are probably educating themselves on the basics of pythagoras’ theorem!

You will have noticed The Sorley’s have been away for a while. This can be explained in part by the fact that I know the answer to the questions in my previous blog. Since the arrival of Evie, When I manage to get out of the house, it has taken me approx 2 hours to assemble everyone into the car before hand. Dave and I do “nights in” very well and he might be sleeping through the night, but Evie and I aren’t!

Evie is now almost 5 Months old, she has certainly already made her mark! After a lovely arrival at home, we had a bit of a yukky time in hospital whilst Evie had an operation to correct a bowel problem. A month, and a slot on the local news later (!), we got home, much happier and healthier and the fun began!! We look forward to her being part of the Bivouac journey.

So it seems that Beth and I seem to rather enjoy all this baby business, and seeing as it was just recently Beths turn to bring us Baby Elsie, I thought it was now my turn!  We will be welcoming a new Sorley into the Bivouac Team at the end of August! Baby makes 5 and probably complete chaos, but we wouldn’t have it any other way…........

Obviously all the questions about what size of car? How you are ever going to get everyone out of the house at the same time?  If David and I will ever go out again or sleep through the night ever again? And where on earth we could go on holiday? are all whizzing around my head?

Now I am not sure I know the answers to all these questions, most I think we will learn on the job (i.e the hard way). But, the holiday issue, that I think I have got sorted.Being in the privileged position to be involved in bivouac planning, Beth and I can make sure that we (and others in the same life stage!) can still go on holiday to the bivouac with young babies and children AND it will feel like a Holiday!!

We have said that we are family orientated and the proof will be in the pudding. Many  holiday companies say they are too, and yes there might be a high chair available or even a travel cot, but when you have a closer look, to use them comes with a lot of extra pennies attached.

At the Bivouac we are aiming high to turn this around, we want it to be a stress free break, not just after your arrival, before it too. We don’t want you to have to choose between paying to use something you have at home or go through the nightmare of trying to fit a travel cot, dismantled high chair etc into the car. We want it to be there waiting for you.

Just think, you might not need to bring your roof box or trailer. We will have even saved you some petrol Money and the environment- just a little bit!

Over the august bank holiday we went camping- we borrowed some friends’ 8 birth canvas frame tent a’ la “eurocamp style”...

Well, it was definitely the oldest tent on the site, which we would prefer to call “retro”. People gave us looks as we dragged it out of the car as it took up almost the entirety of it (we have an estate car), the removal allowing us to unfold our small children out of the car next, having traveled with ears in elbows and knees in chests the whole way. They also watched, as without instructions we tried to assemble the 12-15 poles. An hour later it was up, but that evening we were the ones feeling smug. It was blowing a gale and all those fancy new tents were whipping around, guide ropes hitting tents etc etc. No-one slept… apart from us! all we heard was the occasional creak. Big and clunky can be beautiful, it definitely helped us get into the spirit of camping and it was the best looking tent around, going for the new “glamping” (gamourous camping)thing we took our herb pots, floral peg bag and some bunting!!

p.s unashamed plug… as i cant normally sew for toffee I would like you to know that I made that rather attractive 5 ft length of bunting. Look at this if you want the best online tutorial of how to make it. bunting tutorial

I find this time of year exciting, lovely colour’s on the trees, conkers falling everywhere, wearing slippers again and snuggling inside, and awaiting the Autumn and Christmas Festivities that lie ahead….

This years arrival of Autumn makes me feel really excited about next years, when we will be up and running!We cant wait to host some amazing events to celebrate the Seasons. We have made sure that the accommodation that we provide can go through the best that Britain throws at us weather wise, to feel simple yet luxurious and comfortable and helping us enjoy a winter wonderland. Anyway…keep space in your diaries for Bivouac Events such as a Bivouac style Harvest Festival, Conker picking (and fighting!) Apple bobbing, Bonfire Night, Carol singing by the open fire and mulled wine, Christingle festivities,and loads more, maybe if you are lucky, a Nativity Play!
Beautiful picture bynatureluv

Recycling can be an effort sometimes, if we are honest.Surely its not just me who has to psyche myself up to wash a peanut butter jar out before recycling?Sometimes it might feel like it would be nice to take a break from “doing the right thing” but its not cool if someone makes that decision for you….

It can be extremely frustrating going on holiday and finding, no, or very limited recycling facilities. Watching the milk cartons piling up for landfill feels to me to undo all my hard work from the weeks before!That is something that the bivouac would like to change.
At The Bivouac we want to make recycling even easier than at home. ‘A recycling place for everything, so everything can go in its place’!. We would quite like to use your leftovers of cooked and raw food for compost on The Bivouac veggie patch (you can help yourselves to the veg later!) and for the chickens, and we would love to be able to take the rarely recycled plastics 5 and 6 and turn them into something else, perhaps toothbrushes something like this http://www.preserveproducts.com/products/toothbrush.html  that you can find in your accommodation and the shop. If we can make all this recycling look pretty for you too, that would be even better!

Do you think we can convince you to keep the recycling going on your holiday?Tell us how.

p.s these lovely bins are from http://www.gardentrading.co.uk

Sorry I’ve been away for a while, not sure where entirely, but I think I am back now! In my next few posts I would like to show you some things that I love and think could work really well in a bivouac style, and, tell you about some of the things that are really important to us at “the Bivouac” and that you will find when you come and stay with us…

The first thing I love is the “PlantLock”, by The Front Yard Company.
I would love it if you bring your own bikes to explore the amazing landscapes we have in North Yorkshire, and know they are safe and close by, or you could borrow a Bivvy bike to get around the site +/- the kids in tow! Picture the great European city bike swap schemes, only free and on a smaller, more rural scale! See this readers digest article for the joys of bikes! 

Your bike is bound to feel very fashionable!

My current and rather lovely bivouac job is to start planning an all singing all dancing, all playing!? woodland, Bivouac Playground. We also want to create some forest surprises too…

So I have been looking for inspiration wherever I go and watching the Children and their Friends playing outside together. We want to cater for all ages, from littley walkers, right up to us old folk who might fancy a dash around a forest assault course! We really want the Playground to be made from sustainable materials wherever possible and built in an eco-friendly way, it also has to blend in well to its surroundings (most likely green and leafy) so I think it goes without saying timber frames are the way forward. It has to be the “bees knees” so sand pits, zip lines, climbing walls and the like, all have to make an appearance.
We also want to add some treats into the forest too. Things that add to the sensory appeal of the Forest or help us understand its plants or animals a bit more. Perhaps magnifying-glass posts, to identify the “mini- beast” you find or a tree house to watch the Birds, maybe a home-made music area with reused bottle wind chimes.Or maybe something that is just for fun, like a sunken trampoline!
All this “research” has meant that I have been able to treat me and the kids to trips to our local RHS Garden, Harlow Carr in Harrogate, and many other lovely parks.This photo of a brill log wall was taken at Harlow Carr. It has been an enjoyable place to start!
So, if you know of any great parks that are worth recommending please do, and if you have any ideas that would go down a treat for our forest fun then let us know that too!