A Sustainable Build

We moved to Nettlebridge in 2015 to live a slower, more sustainable life. We chose Hill House as our 'forever home' due to its stunning location, amazing views, the land for our llamas and the fact that it included an abandoned farmyard, full of traditional buildings that were ripe for sympathetic development.

Over the past 8 years, the whole family has enjoyed regenerating the land and gardens and Caroline has been kept busy setting up an organic kitchen garden and establishing a small orchard.

In 2018, after much thought and careful planning, we began work to turn the coach house, with stables and a hay loft into the 2-bed cottage you see today. We did all the designs ourselves and with the help of two local, highly-skilled tradesmen, the conversion began.

The buildings were very typical of the local area (rough rubble construction), with lime mortar and obviously, not a damp proof course or any insulation in sight! It was very important to us that we retained the character of the building, and very important to the authorities, that the end result met with current Building Regulations!

We reused and repaired wherever possible - the exterior lime mortar was painstakingly redone, old flagstones we unearthed were reused as window ledges, the hearth in the snug and the steps from the hallway to the kitchen/family room.  One of the hayloft doors now hangs on the front of the under stairs cupboard and much to our huge relief, the original oak beam in the hallway passed all fire and strength tests and was allowed to remain!     

A new damp proof course was created with some breathable membranes and several inches of recycled, crushed glass. Caroline was quite excited to see this, but once delivered, the crushed glass had the appearance of BBQ briquettes! 

 The doors and windows were made by a local craftsman from timber; the limestone setts that make the hallway floor, were lifted from the stable, cleaned and painstakingly re-laid! 

Insulation was obtained through the application of five layers of an eco-cork/lime plaster mix and the house, having been decorated in breathable, eco paints is now a really cosy characterful home, with all the benefits of a modern conversion.

Even the garden became a sustainable triumph!

 We reused the stones that had been removed to make way for the windows, to build the low stone wall which marks the garden's boundary. 

When a farmer from the other side of the valley learned that we were breaking up the concrete in our yard - he offered to swap it with us, for a load of topsoil from his farm! Turns out he was putting up a new cattle shed and needed lots of hardcore. Unbelievably, we removed 60 tonnes of concrete and swapped it for 40 tonnes of topsoil! The perfect trade! The garden is still maturing, but we have planted it up with a variety of plants loved by bees and insects and the amount and variety of wildlife we spot there now, is a triumph in itself.

We love sharing our Coach House with our guests and are mindful to limit the impact our mini tourist hotspot has on the local environment! We use eco-friendly cleaning products, leave locally sourced produce for your welcome pack and have refillable hand soaps to limit our use of single use plastics.  The local company that we use to collect the rubbish and recycling is an environmentally responsible one, with low-emission vehicles and a zero-landfill policy.


However, all of these sustainability pledges, so important to our ethos, are very much embedded in the way we run our holiday let. 

 This ensures you can book with us, safe in the knowledge that your holiday will have minimal impact on the environment, but without impacting upon the way you enjoy your stay at the Old Coach House.

The most important thing for us, as far as our guests are concerned, is that you all have a relaxing and enjoyable holiday here in Nettlebridge and we hope you leave us with the feeling that you'd love to return again one day.