Member Article

Duffields open two more luxury log cabins at Sun Hill

Leading northern trainer Ann Duffield and her legendary jockey husband George have opened two more state-of-the-art luxury log cabins at their Sun Hill stables in Constable Burton, near Leyburn.

The two new lodges are called Melody (one bedroom) and Ninetta which has two large bedroom suites with lounge areas and sofa beds and can sleep up to 8.

The Duffields’ £1.6 million log cabin development, which was launched in 2013, was subsequently named as one of the finest in the north of England by Hoseasons Holidays and is widely considered to be the most luxurious and spectacular lodge park in the Yorkshire Dales.

Ann Duffield commented: “We were thrilled by this award. We have worked tremendously hard to make our log cabins luxurious and welcoming and to get this prestigious accolade made us very proud. It also gave us confidence to build more cabins and expand our operation which is great for the area with local pubs, shops and attractions reporting increased revenue from our guests.

She explained: “Since our first four log cabins opened in October 2013, they have proved immensely popular and their high occupancy rate has both delighted and astounded us. “We then added Lillie Lodge and William Lodge (named after Just Lille, winner of 18 races and group performer Willie the Whipper) while Melody and Ninetta lodges opened this month to cope with the consistent demand and underlining our belief these are the finest cabins of their kind in the north of England.

“The bookings have been pouring in this year. What is especially gratifying is that a significant proportion of these are repeats. We have taken re-bookings for Christmas and New Year this year, and 2019 is already getting booked up, for example,” she explained. “We knew that our location was very special and that the lodges were beautifully designed and furnished, but, nonetheless, we are thrilled with the positive feedback we have received on the independent REEVOO website, where we are scoring very highly indeed”.

The development at Sun Hill has cost in excess of £1.6 million and has been supported by a 35 per cent grant from the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).

It is estimated the latest log cabins will provide an additional £500,000 taking our input into the local community to at least one million pounds annually for Wensleydale and wider North Yorkshire economy where local pubs and restaurants are already seeing the benefits of this extra business.

Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, said: “It’s great to hear this new development has proved so popular. It shows the strength and popularity of Yorkshire tourism and long may it continue.”

The two new cabins, which boast superb views over the stunning Wensleydale landscape, are situated next door to the Sun Hill gallops. They have been designed and built to the highest specification and have hot tubs and saunas.

Ann Duffield explained: “It was important for us to diversify and we already had two very popular holiday cottages so it made sense to expand that business. We are blessed with an amazing location at Sun Hill and we thought we would make the most of it. The top field, next to the gallops, was not being used, and ideally located to enjoy the spectacular views and to see horses in training, so we wanted to develop it in a sensitive and creative way’’.

“We are extremely grateful to DEFRA for their grant, which has enabled us to turn an ambitious dream into a reality,” she added.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Robert Beaumont .