Cameron's Cottage
In partnership with the RSPB in the New Forest
Cameron's Cottage is a non-profit venture in memory of Cameron to make nature more accessible to young people.
Cameron’s Cottage is nestled in the heart of RSPB Franchises Lodge nature reserve in the New Forest and sleeps up to nineteen people. It has been renovated to create a sustainable place where groups of young people can experience and learn about the natural world.
Booking Cameron's Cottage
For more information about booking Cameron's Cottage including pricing and availability please email the RSPB: cameronscottage@rspb.org.uk
The Cottage can accommodate up to 19 people, including leaders in 5 bedrooms. Additional discounts are available for groups who meet certain financial requirements.
Activities include:
- nature: bioblitz, bat detecting moth trapping, wildlife walk
- team building: slacklining, blind fold trail, team all maze, wild art
- survival skills: outdoor cooking, kelly kettles, shelter building, pioneering, navigation
Latest news:
Cameron's Cottage hosts first groups of young people
06 July 2021
What an altogether awesome week it has been! An incredibly momentous occasion to be hosting the first groups of young people at Cameron’s Cottage to experience just a few of the outdoor activities that will be on offer.
The RSPB hosted three separate small groups to test out some of the outdoor activities at Franchises Lodge nature reserve. The first group, Employ My Ability, is a charity that helps students with learning disabilities develop vital skills. They learnt about habitat management and helped clear the invasive non-native rhododendrons.
The second group Black To Nature led by Birdgirl took part in a bio blitz activity organized by Russell Wynn and Marcus Ward from Wild New Forest with each group identifying over 110 different species in just 1 hour!
And the third group of University students and volunteers carried out deer population and impact surveys in the New Forest.
These are just some of the endless possibilities around Cameron’s Cottage. For now, groups could not stay due to COVID restrictions and the Cottage is not 100% ready but it was very special indeed to be part of the day.
The event was expertly organised by Anneka at RSPB England. We are so grateful to our amazing supporters for making this possible. Thank you.
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Swift bricks installed
30 April 2021
What a glorious day to be in the New Forest. Cameron’s Cottage was basking in sunshine, amongst a hive of activity. It was wonderful to see such amazing progress and see so many people working on site.
The Outreach Centre, with a spectacular 360 degree view of woodlands, creates a feeling of open space and being totally immersed in nature. All the solar panels have now been fitted on the roof of the Outreach Centre as well as the Cottage and electricity is now being entirely provided by renewables.
One highlight was seeing the Swift bricks being installed. A total of 6 Swift homes will be added to Cameron’s Cottage and we are hoping for Swifts as well as a variety of other birds to make their nests in them.
Inside, work has progressed and all the glass panels have been installed, stairs are in and bedrooms have been painted.
We are so grateful to the Garfield Weston Foundation for their wonderful grant of £40,000 that we were awarded last week. This grant will enable us to kit out the Cottage and install all the necessary fixture and fittings. A huge thank you to all the Trustees at the Garfield Weston Foundation for their tremendous support and generosity.
Due to open in the autumn, our young visitors will be able to enjoy a wealth of nature-based activities, whilst living off-the-grid for days at a time. Cameron’s Cottage is a unique nature outreach centre located in the idyllic RSPB Franchises Lodge woodland reserve.
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A total of six swift bricks were installed
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Front of the cottage
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Spectacular 360 degree view from Outreach Centre
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The stairs are in
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Solar panels fitted to the Outreach building
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Swift bricks being installed
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The cottage and the Outreach Centre
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Work continues on the wooden extension
Project on track for a summer opening
30 March 2021
It was wonderful to see such progress at Cameron’s Cottage last week. Now more than ever, this residential nature outreach centre will be a place where young people can connect with nature, understand wildlife, boost their wellbeing, learn new skills and socialise in an outdoor environment. Cameron’s Cottage, in the heart of the RSPB nature reserve, is surrounded by pristine ancient woodland and open heathland where young people can experience this unique natural heritage and immerse themselves in outdoor learning experiences.
Inside the Cottage, the stairs have been fitted and all three bedrooms on the top floor are looking good and all the original windows have been refurbished and refitted. Below, all the other rooms are taking shape and the Cottage has been insulated throughout. The new extension has been clad and will be used for the showers plus a large dorm room which will sleep up to 8. This area is spacious and has been insulated and installation of ducting for the ventilation systems are being installed in the walls and ceilings.
This new extension is beautifully clad with wood all from the reserve which compliments the old brick building. Next to it is the Nature Outreach Centre which is nearing completion and all the solar panels have been fixed on the roof. Inside the Nature Outreach Centre is a small Field Study Centre which will be used for research projects by University Students and other young RSPB volunteers.
All renewable equipment has been installed inside a security caged outhouse and has been tested and is working which is fantastic. See the flow chart below to show how energy will be created to heat Cameron’s Cottage as well as supply hot water. All this has been expertly done by SA Energy Ltd.
We are hoping that the weather continues to improve so that building work can carry on without any hitches. So far our builders, AV Development, have done a remarkable job continuing all the work. Our aim is to complete the project by this summer.
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The Nature Outreach Centre
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View from the back of cottage
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Solar panels on Nature Outreach building
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Portico at the rear of the cottage
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Front of cottage with the wooden extension left
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Cottage nestled in the woods
Work continues into Spring
09 March 2021
The solar panels have been installed and the new staircase is in place. Ancient Anglo Saxon burial mounds have also been discovered in the Reserve.
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Approach to the cottage
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Solar panels are in
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Lake on the reserve
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Cottage stairs
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Inside cottage March 2021
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Building continues into March
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Cottage March 2021
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Clearing the Anglo Saxon burial mounds on the reserve
Building work continues at speed
05 February 2021
Wow, what progress. I was blown away with how much work has been done and what a hive of activity was on site. In a time when so much can sadly not happen, it was so wonderful to see this incredible progress. The construction company AV Developments have done an awesome job inspite of everything.
The place has taken on a new dimension and you can get such a real sense of what it will be like when groups of young people come and stay. The RSPB have the most beautiful reserve in the New Forest and we are just thrilled to partner with them on this exciting project.
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Front view of Cameron's Cottage
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Solar panel supports
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Cameron's Cottage with extension and Field Study Centre
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Field study centre
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Room with a view, from the field study centre
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Interior of Cameron's Cottage
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Interior of Cameron's Cottage
Open Days
We would love you to come and visit Cameron’s Cottage and see for yourself. If you are a school, college, university or an organisation who is thinking of taking a group of young people for a day or overnight stay, please email date you can join us to: cameronscottage@rspb.org.uk
Cameron's Legacy
To celebrate the official opening week at Cameron’s Cottage, we are very proud to share this video which shows the result of many years of collaboration between the Trust and the RSPB.
2 Minute Introduction to Cameron's Cottage:
solar powered and low-impact
Cameron’s Cottage offers an immersive outdoor experience for 15 – 25 year olds in a stunning woodland packed full of wildlife, including many rarities.
Whether it’s getting creative through outdoor cooking and wild art, tackling the grittier side of nature with survival skills and conducting research or learning conservation skills, those coming to stay at Cameron’s Cottage will have the experience of a lifetime.
Franchises Lodge is a haven for wildlife, from birds of prey to unusual fungi, orchids and loads more. In this idyllic setting, young people can come together to take part in activities ranging from shelter building to conservation skills, plus much, much more.
The newly refurhbished Cameron's Cottage will be a wonderful base fromm which to be immersed in nature
The fully-equipped kitchen
The living area where many stories will be shared
Bunk room with a view - nature is right on your doorsteps
Outdoor Classroom
Next to Cameron’s Cottage there is an open-sided wooden outdoor classroom which can be booked for day visits from schools. These day trips will include nature activities provided and led by RSPB.
The outdoor classroom will bring the guests closer to nature
"Cameron’s Cottage is completely off-grid with heating and electricity provided by solar power, so it really is the ultimate nature experience"
Sustainability
We are proud of the fact that Cameron’s Cottage is off-grid, relies on solar power and is wildlife friendly. All the timber used to renovate the Cottage has come from the site. The douglas fir trees needed to be thinned by a third to allow light to reach the ground and to increase biodiversity. Solar panels are located on the study centre and extension roof producing 10KW power per hour with battery storage.Groups can monitor their power use and adapt according to the amount being generated or stored. This is a fantastic learning resource for how we need to think carefully and consider the impacts of how we use resources. A firepit and equipment has been provided to encourage outdoor living.
The water is heated by solar heating in the warmer months but switches to solar power for the winter. Inside, all appliances have been planned to have a low energy use. There are wood burners inside the kitchen and study centre to provide additional heat but can also be used to cook indoors and has an additional hob. A heat source pump supports the low carbon heating arrangement by drawing heat from the outside air and transferring to the underfloor heating system to warm the building.
Outside, wildlife friendly features have been built into the design including swift bricks, house martin cups, greater horseshoe bat entrance and bat entrances included in the roof slates. There is an old well which supplies water to outside taps to wash boots, whilst inside the water does come from a mains supply. The property has its own sewage treatment plant to treat sewage safely and with no negative impact on the environment. This is fenced in the garden and will eventually be hidden by a native hedge that will provide a nectar source for butterflies, moths and bees to support the ecosystem.
To find out more about how sustainable and environmentally friendly this Cottage is, please have a listen to Joe Moorhouse, the Architect who worked on the whole renovation project. He explains the care and attention taken to make sure this off-grid Cottage is low-impact as well as being a home for lots of wildlife all around.
The video from Moorhouse Architecture shows the work that went into transforming the derelict cottage
Generous Support
Thank you to Garfield Weston and the National Lottery Heritage fund for their generous support.
Cameron's Cottage
Read all about how we came to be partnering with the RSPB to create this wonderful retreat and learning centre deep in the New Forest.
Videos
2 Minute Introduction to Cameron's Cottage:
solar powered and low-impact
The video from Moorhouse Architecture shows the work that went into transforming the derelict cottage
