Monday 9 November 2009

Alternative Lifestyle/escapism

Yurt Village, Sharpham Devon - Photographs by Harry Hilliar


The following images are ones that I took whilst reseaching for this project.
This small community hidden away in the South West consists of five yurts, a wooden shed kitchen and an outside toilet and shower block. The first impressions of this space was the beauty of the location, surrounded by gardens and a large river this space seemed to epitomise the romanticism of outdoor living.






There is one permanent dweller, the other five volunteer for three months before moving on. Free living is provided in exchange for labour which mainly consists of working on the large vegetable garden within the land. This being my first exploration into such living I was anxious about whether they would be accepting of my intrusion into their space. I received a warm welcome and was surprised by the friendly positive atmosphere. The space itself was immaculate and well kept. Through conversing with the inhabitants it became evident that they were not as self sufficient than would have liked to be and were still very much involved with the commodities of modern living.
Most used mobile phones, computers and drove to neighbouring towns to buy food and toiletries. They all seemed to adopt the view of organic self sufficient living as an ideal to strive toward. The main constrain in achieving this I was informed being financial, although able to cultivate their own vegetables and keep chickens, the need for energy, namely solar power, was regarded as a vital step towards self sustainability which they held as vitally important yet were unable to afford the equipment.The irony to this settlement however was that their encampment resided within the grounds of an old manor house, which now serving as a charity and small business granted them the space in return for the vegetables gain from their labour to be cooked in the public restaurant nearby. Although they lived in relative isolation, the means to such lifestyle were enabled by the aristocrats of the past and the arrangement with the modern business today.








Communal living stay and work for keep - then move on - there are hundreds of sites in the UK and thousands wordwide.

http://www.wwoof.org/

For those people seeking to escape from the mundane way of life and who like the romantic notion of staying in a yurt there are holiday sites they can go to. They can go and stay in Mongolian Yurts and get away from it all without actually having to work for their keep.



Click on the following link to see the authentic Mongolian Yurts and other images of this 'holiday' destination. www.yurtvillage.co.uk/

Get back to nature and stay in one of our six Mongolian Yurts





Image from website




Photography of Yurt at Poundsgate, Dartmoor - Harry Hilliar




Images from website

'It sounds cliched but we felt that we really did get away from it all"
http://www.yurtcamp.co.uk/facilities.htm


Treehouses

This tree house is virtually invisible from any public path or space and exists unknown to most. The owner lives here all year round after building the construction himself. It consists of two levels, a kitchen, and a living/sleeping space. Access is via the ladder and requires some agility and branch negotiation. There is a wood burning fire with chimney and oil lamps for light. Like the nearby yurts this dwelling is only accessible via a long walk with no access for cars. Similarly the structure can be considered temporary as there are no permanent changes to the land made by its construction.





Have your own treehouse built in your own backyard...



A tall, tall, treehouse........
With the top of the roof reaching 10 metres high, and being situated in a secret location in Hampstead, we believe this is without doubt the highest (and probably the most spectacular) treehouse in London. From the top of the treehouse you can look over West London (and even look down on the arch at Wembley stadium).
The tree house itself boasts gothic doors and windows, is fully insulated and lined, has fold up desks on the lower floor and oak bunks on the top floor. There is even a toilet and basin for over-night stays!
The roof and the exterior walls are clad with cedar, but the turret at the front of the tree house is clad in copper.

Luxury treehouse.

If you want to have a luxury treehouse built follow the following link

http://www.highlifetreehouses.co.uk/



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