You don’t have to travel far to find your own rural idyll, says Joe Willis

IT’S become a well-rehearsed family joke dating back to a fly-drive trip to the Costa Dorada. “Are we there yet?” asked the boy in the back as we approached Bedale.

Now, five miles down the road on any family excursion, someone will ask the question before howling with laughter without waiting for an answer.

Funny, I know.

Sure enough the youngest asked the immortal question a couple of minutes after we set off for a weekend away, and this time we were able to cut short the hilarity by telling the joker that, yes actually, we were nearly there.

Natural Retreats’ Yorkshire Dales site lies just outside Richmond, near the old racecourse. The wooden lodges are tucked away in what is almost a hidden valley full of gorse bushes, pine trees and rabbits.

Pheasants wandered onto the decking, a sparrow hawk was spotted darting between bushes and apparently there are deer hereabouts (although we didn’t see any). It’s just down the road but it feels like another country.

Our lodge was half-way up a small hill, which gave us a lovely view across the site and down towards the River Swale from the huge glass windows which run down two sides. It was one of the more secluded lodges, which suited us and our neighbours – we have three noisy boys – just fine.

Inside, it was tastefully decorated with big comfy sofas, and a wood burning stove which a child could – and did – light.

Our bedroom had an attached wetroom, which was a bit of a treat.

There was also a family bathroom and two other double bedrooms.

The kitchen was well-equipped with all mod-cons and free wi-fi. I’ve no idea how they beamed it down to us, but it was much appreciated by everyone. Perhaps that’s a damning indictment of modern family life; that we can’t spend a couple of days together without smartphone and ipods delivering us Facebook status updates and football scores – but rightly or wrongly, that’s us, and I reckon, many other families.

The lack of a tennis court or games room might be a problem for some with children, but if you can’t find something to do when you’re surrounded by woods, trees and streams, it’s a poor job.

If it’s rainy, there’s always the attractive market town of Richmond on the doorstep, with its castle, shops and mini-cinema and bistro at The Station.

But we were happy simply to retreat and relax. The lodges and site are fabulous and we dreamed of one day coming back without the children to spend a whole week in peaceful, rural tranquillity.

Three nights in a Natural Retreats’ Yorkshire Dales threebedroom lodge (sleeps six) costs from £380, with five nights from £460 and seven nights from £560.

For more details, visit naturalretreats.co.uk or call 0844- 384-3166.