Green Traveller in North Yorkshire

If you're a holidaymaker looking for a green and sustainable holiday destination, might I point you to Rosella Cottage in Rosedale Abbey?

Why so you might ask?

Heather in Bloom on the North York Moors Near Rosedale Abbey.

Well, for starters, Rosella Cottage has been "recycled" - not once - but twice in the previous 500 years.

How so you might wonder?

Well, the majority of the stone and other building materials which were used in constructing the homes in Rosedale Abbey, including the building materials for Rosella Cottage were recycled from the Rosedale Priory which was originally built in the twelve century - so materials which are over 800 years old.

The old Priory was abandoned and left in a state of ruin in the realm of King Henry VIII.

Rosella Cottage itself was built around 1850 using stone from the Priory and served as a mine workers cottage and village home for the next 160 years.

But by 2012, the cottage had fallen into a state of disrepair and was in a rather sad state; but the basic fabric of the cottage was sound.

So Rosella was "recycled" again and given a modern make over to create a lovely holiday home, but keeping all of its original features, including the slate roof, Yorkshire dressed-stone walls, Victorian-era fireplace and internal woodwork.

So the very long-term green credentials embodied in the use and re-use of local natural materials - with a low transport carbon footprint - makes Rosella a truelly green building.

And because of the long-term de-population of the North York Moors, as farms have shed the need for local labour, and the Rosedale ironstone mines closed in 1928, the need for a local economy based on tourism has come to the fore.

Over 5,000 people have moved away from Rosedale since 1900 - leaving the area today as a rural idyll - but with few jobs and opportunities for local youngsters.

So day trippers to Rosedale and holidaymakers who stay in Rosella Cottage and spend their "tourist dollars" in local museums, pubs, restaurants, vllage shops, galleries, and festivals are helping to sustain the remaining jobs, create more opportunities for young people, and prevent further rural de-population in this part of the World.

Not a bad outcome for simply having a nice holiday!