Welcome to The Warren Forest Garden and Eco Cabins, Clive and Julie’s ecological household, garden and woodland on the beautiful Black Isle, 13km north of Inverness in the Highlands of Scotland. As well as being our home, we offer eco friendly accommodation and creative residencies. Our focus is Permaculture, gardening with nature, arts, crafts, creativity and living lightly on the planet..
The household and gardens here are being nurtured using design and techniques to create a balanced ecosystem for people, plants and animals while also adapting to the unfolding climate and ecological crisis. We have a mosaic of meadows, forest gardens, mixed woodland, wildlife ponds and bog garden, a kitchen garden growing vegetables, salads, herbs, fruit, polycultures of wild flowers for insects and pollinators, all on 2.5 acres (1 hectare). Organic and no dig methods create healthy soil and closed loop systems ensure nothing is wasted, for example composting, wormeries, mulching, reusing/upcycling materials, and wood processing for firewood and construction.
We’ve been a part of the network of Permaculture LAND (Learning Action Network Demonstration) Centre, under the name Black Isle Permaculture & Arts, since 2018. A LAND centre is a place where guests and visitors can see how the ethics, principles, nature connection and design processes which make up ‘Permaculture’ have been applied to the physical site and how we try to live more lightly on the planet here.
OUR ACCOMMODATION
We invite you to stay in one of our cosy and comfortable woodland eco cabins, which we self built as we wanted to make them unique, sustainable and somewhere that we would love to stay ourselves! Combining environmentally friendly features, artistic touches and rustic charm, the Green Tourism Gold rated cabins are ideal for eco conscious travellers who want to experience simple living! We have two self contained cabins sited in our small woodland, called Siskin and Coll Cabin. The names are derived from the place and nature around them. Siskin is a small bird which is common around the woods. Coll is Hazel in the Ogham ancient medieval tree alphabet, and in Celtic mythology Hazel is associated with wisdom, creativity and knowledge.
SISKIN CABIN
Siskin Cabin sleeps two in a double bed, and is a compact, cosy space with a woodburner, dining/seating area, cooking facilties in a small kitchenette, a bathroom with bucket shower and compost toilet, and a tranquil outdoor deck looking over the woods and fields. Siskin cabin opened in August 2020.
Coll Cabin is our slightly larger space, and was completed in March 2022. It also sleeps two in a comfortable double bed, with a bucket shower and compost toilet in the bathroom. This cabin has a larger living space and kitchen with fridge and cooker, a woodburner and also a desk/workspace area if you are looking for a relaxing and creative space.
We had a very unique stay at Clive and Julie’s. The house is beautifully designed, reminds you how to take care of your environment, and is located in a cute woodland with a very private feeling. The breakfast from local products and self produced food was lovely, as well as all Clive’s tips and tours of their forest garden. Could only recommend ! Thanks again 🙂
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Nina
18 Aug 2022
The location is absolutely a one of a kind experience. On one hand we came to recharge our batteries and rest, which was perfect at this location. The cabin is at a very quiet location and has a very idyllic look and feel to it. On the other we explored the nearby city of Inverness and other sights. Our host Clive was kind enough to leave instructions on things to do around the towns and city: walks, sights, restaurants, ... We had a wonderful time and definitely recommend this place to others.
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Annabel
15 Jul 2023
It was our first experience in the highland, but this eco-cabin brought us a very peaceful, joyful and relaxing moment while we were staying there. All the instruction was very clear, and we really love this concept of get rid of grid electricity and internet for a while. We recommended to anyone who want to experience countryside, quiet, forest, highking, cycling and get rid of the busy city, this place is amazing. Our 3 nights was amazing, we enjoy cooking our meals, drinking our favorite beer, wines, soft drink and enjoy the sound of BBC void radio. However, there were plenty of books, games, printing leaflet including maps, and other information Clive will provide you. LESS IS MORE MIES VAN DER ROHE We agreed with this statement Bisous Coeur From OL & Dorian
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Ol
20 Jul 2024
Really enjoyed our stay, Clive was an excellent host, going above and beyond. Provided an excellent base for exploring the Black Isle and beyond.
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Mark
10 Oct 2020
Clive and Julie were great hosts, they thought of everything we would need and offered us recommendations of things to do and places to go. Very cost accommodation something a bit different to the usual air bnbs, would definitely recommend for a visit!
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Andy
04 Aug 2021
Sehr herzlicher Empfang und angenehmer Aufenthalt inklusive Führung durch den Garten. Wir können nur empfehlen sich ein paar Tage Auszeit zu nehmen und in diesem grünen, wunderschönen Paradies im Sinne der Permakultur zur Ruhe zu kommen. Clive ist unfassbar freundlich und das selbst gebackene Brot war super lecker. Danke vielmals!
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Philipp
24 May 2024
Fantastic little cabin, wonderful hosts and a great weekend. If you're couple looking for a cosy spot to light a fire and enjoy some time away, this is the place. Definitely get the breakfast box!
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Kavan
18 Oct 2020
I booked the cabin to propose to my girlfriend (she said yes!). Clive and July were super hosts, balancing both attentiveness and privacy. The surrounding woodland is beautiful and they even offered us some of their locally grown veg. This is for people who enjoy the outdoors, nature and simple living. A perfect location for those who want to explore the Black Isle or visit Loch Ness. Thank you both. It will always hold a special place in our hearts.
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Callum
16 Sep 2020
We had a really nice stay here. The cabin was as described and is surrounded by Clive’s beautiful garden. It’s lovely waking up with the view of the trees right in front of you. We also really liked exploring the black isle for a day so definitely don’t skip this beautiful part of Scotland!
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Geert
20 Jun 2024
We absolutely loved our stay here- it is truly magical and Clive and Julie were wonderful. It’s all the little touches that make the stay from the flowers and mint tea to the gift for Andy’s birthday. And definitely order the hamper!! It was so tasty. What a lovely spot- we will definitely be back! 😉
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Sarah
01 Oct 2020
Nice experience for staying off-grid. Clive and Julie are nice people willing to tell everything about their permaculture experience. The cabin was lovely and it had everything we needed. Thanks for the experience and looking forward to book this again!
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Marc
03 Jul 2022
Fantastic stay! So relaxing and plenty to do near by. Clive was a perfect host and kept in touch to check we had everything we needed. Thoroughly recommend this beautiful cabin.
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Vicky
05 Jun 2021
If you are interested in learning more and getting some hands on experience, then get in touch about our occasional day volunteering opportunities. We also welcome visitors by appointment, drop us an email if you are interested in visiting or volunteering [email protected]
