February 2020

GLAMPSITES
CARRO STUDIO
a site visit last year I learned that
there was an Iron Age fort on the
land, just uphill from the proposed
glamping location. It turned out
to be a fabulous example with
ditches and ramparts clearly
defined, I was suitably taken by
surprise. Equally surprising was
that nobody had considered this
could be the key to a great story
for the glamping development,
especially as we were in Wales with
its strong Celtic heritage. Naturally
my thoughts turned to roundhouse
style structures, and as the site was
sloped this developed into a semisubterranean
design. The project
concept took further shape as I
considered layering contemporary
Celtic over tradition and could
actually ‘see’ the finished structures
overlooking the sweeping Welsh
hills - echoes of the past blending
seamlessly with contemporary
design.
I appreciate that not every site
has a rather handy iron age hillfort,
but the UK is blessed with a rich
cultural rural heritage and there is
usually some feature to work with,
if not on the land itself, at least
near enough. Which leads us nicely
onto…
› Previous use of the property or
land: This is one of my favourites
because of its inherent authenticity.
Historical uses can require a little
investigative work especially if
you’re new to the place or area, but
information can be gleaned from
deeds, online and local records,
historical societies and sometimes
even old books about the area.
Best of all, I like talking to people
whose family have lived in the area
a long time, very often they can
impart little gems that were never
committed to paper. Sometimes
though, it’s right there under our
nose and we just need a fresh pair
of eyes to see it.
One such time was about seven
years ago, I was walking a site with
LEFT South
Casey Inn,
County Durham
RIGHT Loose
Reins, Dorset
the landowner whose plan was
to add some rather plain huts. I
commented on the plentiful hazel
which had obviously been coppiced
many years ago and was told that
‘back in the day’ it was harvested
to make lobster pots for the local
fishermen – bingo! I immediately
envisioned a rustic weaver’s cabin
nestled in the copse with a deep
porch, a couple of rocking chairs
and throws, bundles of cut hazel
leaning against the wall with a
couple of woven lobster pots (one
half-finished of course) and some
tools of the trade hanging on the
wall. As we were in Cornwall, in my
mind the rustic theme continued
inside with crafted furniture, a log
stove, local textiles, Cornish pottery
and punched tinware to round out
the experience. This one unit would
generate the same revenue as two
of the proposed plain huts and be
more future proof. All that from
coppiced hazel – see how easy it
can be?
› Owner vocation or on-site
business: These stories are inspired
by the owners or an existing
business operating from the site
and are often also connected to
the property or land. They’re easy
to create because they’re part and
parcel of what’s going on at the time
and are usually very much fuelled by
the owner’s enthusiasm.
Loose Reins is a great example
of this, with its equestrian themed
accommodations and styling, you
can even take your own horse
with you to complete the ranch
experience (www.loosereins.co.uk).
I am seeing a lot more enquiries
for these types of accommodation,
sometimes a whole farm is being
“THESE
STORIES ARE
INSPIRED BY
THE OWNERS
OR AN EXISTING
BUSINESS
OPERATING
FROM THE
SITE AND ARE
OFTEN ALSO
CONNECTED TO
THE PROPERTY
OR LAND”
turned into a tourism or leisure
focussed venture, where alternative
accommodation is included as a
lucrative aspect of the business
model.
› Destination-led experience:
Sometimes a property or land
in itself might not have a strong
enough hook for a story and we’ll
cast the net a little wider to find
something locally that we can tap
into. There might already be a
big tourism attraction or historic
property, maybe the region is known
for a particular craft or produce that
we can build a story around, or at
least take some design inspiration
from.
› The name of the property or
place: Another way of teasing out a
story if other routes aren’t so fruitful,
is to look back in time to how the
place arrived at its name. Depending
on which part of the country we’re
in, names are usually rooted in old
languages giving us clues about
the history, what the place was
known for, who lived there and
what they did. Sometimes these are
fantastic stories in themselves and
if there’s nothing else to hook the
story on they can provide surprising
inspiration.
TRICKSY STORIES
At the indie boutique level these
types of accommodation can be a
little tricky because their success
doesn’t necessarily rely on accepted
and understood hospitality features
like high thread count sheets.
Instead they rely on a living story
told through a carefully curated
experience, using appropriate
design, colours, furnishings
and details that run through
42 WWW.OPENAIRBUSINESS.COM