The name says it all. Tarn Sike is not a retreat built despite its surroundings — it is built because of them. Private woodland, a quiet lake, a small river that carries cold clear water from Sunbiggin Tarn 'a Site of Special Scientific Interest', and a sky undimmed by light pollution. This is the setting. The pods are simply a way of being inside it overnight.
The Lake
At the edge of the woodland sits our private lake — calm, dark and yours to enjoy. In the early morning, mist sits low over the water as the light finds its way through the trees. By mid-morning, you might spot a kingfisher moving fast along the surface, or a heron standing motionless at the shallows. In the evening, the reflections on still water will stop you in your tracks on the way back from a walk.
The lake draws wildlife in quietly and without announcement. Canada geese drop in regularly, picking their way along the banks with a calm authority. Wild ducks are a constant presence — on the water, along the margins, occasionally making their way through the trees as if they own the place, which in many ways they do. And in spring, if you are lucky with your timing, swans arrive.
The Woodland
The pods sit within private mixed woodland — sheltering, quiet and full of life. The trees provide shade, privacy between pods, and a canopy that changes with every season. Spring brings birdsong and new growth. In summer the light falls through the leaves in patterns that shift all day. Autumn turns the woodland warm and golden. Winter strips it back to something spare and still.
There are no formal paths or guided trails — the woodland is simply there to walk through at your own pace. It is not large, but it is genuinely peaceful, and the transition from woodland to open fell to the east happens almost without you noticing.
Red Squirrels
We are fortunate to have red squirrels living in the woodland. This part of Cumbria is one of the last strongholds of the red squirrel in England, and to have them present on our land is something we feel a real responsibility to protect. They are more often glimpsed than seen clearly — a flash of russet moving through the canopy, or the sudden stillness of one watching you from a branch before it decides you are not worth the concern. Early morning and late afternoon are the best times. Whether you see one or not, knowing they are there changes how you walk through the trees.
Tarn Sike River
Running through the land is the small river that gives the retreat its name. Tarn Sike — a small watercourse that carries water from Cow Dub, a smaller lake connected to Sunbiggin Tarn. The river is quiet but constant, and its presence and is home to fish, toads, frogs and the native and protected white clawed crayfish.
The river is also a reminder of what lies just outside the gate. Sunbiggin Tarn, from which this water ultimately comes, is one of England's most important freshwater wetland habitats — a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a Special Area of Conservation, supporting rare orchids, breeding wading birds and plant communities found almost nowhere else in the country. We take that seriously in how we run the retreat.
Wildlife
This is a working, living landscape and wildlife is simply part of daily life here. Curlew call from the moor above the tree line — a sound that is becoming rarer across England, and one that is always worth stopping to listen to. Kingfishers move quickly along the river and lake edges.
In the woodland itself, you are more likely to hear than see — the constant chorus of smaller birds, the occasional drumming of a woodpecker, the rustle of something in the leaf litter. The red squirrels, Canada geese, swans and ducks sit alongside all of this as part of a landscape that has not been managed into tidiness. The light at dawn and dusk brings the most activity, and both are worth being awake for.
Evenings and Night
The Yorkshire Dales is part of the Yorkshire Dales Dark Sky Discovery Site, and on a clear night the sky above Tarn Sike is genuinely extraordinary. Away from any significant town on a clear night the stars are easy to see.
In the evening, with the fire in the firepit burning down and the bath filled, the woodland around you goes quiet in stages. The birdsong fades. The river continues. The owls, eventually, take over. There is nothing to do but be here.
Tarn Sike Woodland Retreat sits in private woodland alongside a lake and a small river in the hamlet of Raisbeck, Cumbria — just 10 minutes from Junction 38 of the M6.