Away from the hustle and bustle of daily life and relax in the midst of nature. That sounds good! This month, Nature House gave us the chance to spend a weekend away in a cabins in nature. The name says it all; a house/cottage in nature. From tree house to bungalow and from extremely primitive to luxury, there is something for everyone.
Escape the hustle and bustle in a Nature House
If you live in the city then you quickly get used to all the noise, cars and so on and sometimes forget how nice ‘peace and quiet’ can be. I can regularly be found in the forest close by to relax for a moment but two hours later you are back in the bustle and the time to really unwind is actually too short. So a nature house sounded like an ideal solution!
Since we are real outdoor enthusiasts, we went looking for a house in a wooded and hilly area but not too far away. Soon we arrived at the Belgian Ardennes and found nature house “Da Vinci” in La Roche-en-Ardenne. Located at a 3-hour drive from Utrecht (The Netherlands), this is a great destination for a weekend away.
Nature House “Da Vinci” in La Roche-en-Ardenne
The cottage is situated on a hill just outside the center of La Roche with beautiful views of the river Ourthe and the surrounding hills. With direct neighbors only on one side you are really away from everything. It is wonderfully quiet there, the only thing you hear is an occasional car that drives over the road at the bottom of the hill or the donkey of one of the nearby houses.
The cottage is fully equipped; a modern kitchen, gas radiators, a wood-burning stove and a good shower. The highlight of the cottage is the large terrace with a wide view. Wake up, make a cup of coffee and enjoy the sunrise on the terrace…
From the house you can easily walk to the river Ourthe or get on a mountain bike and start one of the many challenging mountain bike routes in the area. In the summer season you can also choose to rent a kayak and kayak over part of the river.
What to do in La Roche-en-Ardenne?
La Roche breathes nature! Sitting still is not an option here … Nature requires it to be discovered. Choose from one of the many walking routes or just drive somewhere and walk into the woods. We did the latter when we had just two hours left before it got dark. And what a surprise! We followed a stream of water and passed huge beaver buildings and a beautiful piece of coniferous forest.
A number of activities and sights at a glance:
- Mountain biking
- Hiking
- Kayaking
- Natural park of the Two Ourthes
- Castle of La Roche
- Nisramont reservoir
- Wildlife park of La Roche
- Caves of Han (about 40 minutes drive)
