Eco working holidays
The website www.ecofriendlytourist.com learns about holidays with a difference in Yorkshire

The North York Moors National Park Authority wants to persuade people to swap their overseas trip for a holiday in the UK. Staying in the eco-friendly YHA hostel in Lockton (which features in the ecofriendlytourist.com guide to UK places to stay) people booking on the Authority’s eco-working holiday will get to soak up the fantastic scenery of the North York Moors while making a valuable and lasting difference to the local countryside. The North York Moors is one of 14 National Parks which are home to some of the most spectacular landscapes in Britain.

Working alongside the Authority’s Rangers, participants will be carrying out improvement work to footpaths in and around the picturesque moorland village of Goathland, right in the heart of the National Park. It won’t be all work and no play however, with plenty of evening activities and wildlife watches planned as well as a full free day to explore the area. Participants are encouraged to travel to York by train where they will be picked up in a low emission, bio-diesel minibus and food for the week will be locally sourced.

Sally Smith, the National Park Authority’s Events and Exhibitions Co-ordinator, said:

“More and more people are looking to holiday in the UK and here in the North York Moors we have some truly breathtaking scenery including the largest expanse of heather moorland in England. Our eco-working holiday is an enjoyable and incredibly rewarding experience which offers the chance to learn some different skills, meet new friends and most importantly, have fun at the same time as making a positive contribution to preserving the Moors for future generations to enjoy.”

This is the fourth year that the National Park Authority has run the eco-working holiday. The seven-night holiday runs from 18 to 25 July 2008 and is open to everyone aged 18 and over who is reasonably fit and active. It costs £195 per person, which includes transport to and from York railway station, accommodation and food.

Accommodation is at the YHA’s youth hostel in Lockton which has been booked solely for the eco-holiday group. The hostel boasts 26 eco-features including a water harvesting system, compost toilet and solar panels and was the first eco-friendly hostel in England and Wales when it opened in March 2005.

To find out more, contact Sally Smith on 01439 770657 or email s.smith@northyorkmoors-npa.gov.uk

ENDS

Notes for Editors

For further information on the North York Moors National Park, visit www.moors.uk.net  

Further information about ecofriendlytourist.com and its guide to eco-friendly places to stay in the UK are available at www.ecofriendlytourist.com  

Or contact: webmaster@ecofriendlytourist.com

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