We follow our own path. Where many tread typically, we step sideways off the grid and into the world of chance, holistic balance, the natural outdoors and sustainability. Years ago, when a dark and neglected patch of Herefordshire woodland came up for auction, we raised our adrenaline-fuelled hands and alcohol-filled glasses at the same time and found that our next round was to be custodians of what is now The Rookery Woods. At the time we were only looking for somewhere quiet to park our bus and plan our future, but we have since learned that plans are nothing and planning is everything.
Discovering quickly how much we didn’t know, we started by mastering a chainsaw and then borrowed some machinery before starting to clear undergrowth and let a little light into a dark and overgrown space. Back then there was no intention to build anything at all, but as one thing led to another, the years passed and first by accident and then by design the site slowly developed into what it is today – a thriving ecosystem of self-sufficient treehouses powered by the sun, sheltered by the woods and completed by our two children who arrived along the way.
We are so very proud to have carved from a neglected space such an oasis of tranquillity and beauty, and the opportunity to share it with others and provide a future for our children is a gift we feel is too good not to share. It is a space where nature thrives in abundance and a balance, a place which grows out of recognition, it seems, from year to year, and one in which we have already re-planted over 500 native saplings knowing full well that only our children – and perhaps yours – will sit in their shade. It gives us immense joy and pleasure to share our magical space with you.
