A smooth white bubble of style on the edge of rugged Bodmin Moor. The perfect antidote to hectic city life...

This remarkable living space is a smooth white bubble of style on the edge of rugged Bodmin Moor. While the design is cool and modern, Ekopod is the perfect rural antidote to hectic city life. The dome, with its private kitchen and bathroom, sits above the vicarage and looks out over the hills. You could spend your whole stay simply lying on the sun loungers on the terrace, curled up on the giant bean bag or just staying in bed. There's plenty for the outdoors types too, with great walking on the moors (bring your wellies - the area around the pod can get muddy), Cornwall's two highest peaks to climb and even surfing at Widemouth bay. Whatever you do at Ekopod, you'll be doing it in sumptuous but sustainable style.

• Esentials
• Getting there
• Eating & Drinking
• Things to do
• Booking terms
• Meet your hosts

The essentials

The important stuff

• Check in time is 4-6pm, please call Simon if you think you’re going to be late
• There is no mains power in the pod

Kids & Pets

Cooking

• Gas stove in kitchen tent
• Cool box
• All pots, pans, utensils
• Cobb outdoor cooking system (optional extra)

Washing

• The bath is powered by a wood-burner and may take a few minutes to heat
• There is the optional extra of a portable pump shower

Heating, lighting & bedding

• All provided, even towels

Entertainment

• Selection of board games and cards

Getting there

The Old Vicarage, St. Clether, Launceston, Cornwall PL15 8QJ

By car

Come out of Launceston on the A30, fork right onto the A395 and then turn left, signposted St Clether.

By train

Bodmin Parkway is the nearest station, taxis are available at a price of roughly £60 both ways.

Eating & drinking

At Ekopod

Gourmet homemade ready meals are available to purchase for lunch or dinner which can be warmed up on a pod woodburner or in the honesty shop with the microwave provided, there is also the delicious local Dunstaple Farm ice cream for sale.
There are two farmshops within a 20 minute car journey either Hill Top Farmshop at Slaughterbridge (a good stop off on the way to local beach Trebarwith Strand) or Lifton Farm shop which is a 20 minute car journey just off the A30 towards the nearest town of Launceston and has strawberry picking in season.

Pubs & restaurants

The Rising Sun, Altarnun. A scenic 45-minute walk through the valley over a stream and bridge, or a 10-minute drive. Local ales and traditional pub atmosphere in this 16th Century moorland inn.

Jamaica Inn, Bolventor (8 miles). Famously haunted, with a museum commemorating its literary appearances and its smuggling history. A most fascinating, but friendly place, to have a meal.

Things to do

Outdoor & active

You can walk the coastal path as far as you like (it's quite a long loop) but a pleasant section is the 2 miles from Tregardock to the beach café at Trebarwith.

There's also the Camel Trail, a 17 mile traffic-free cycle and walking path based on the route of the old railway.

The surrounding area offers not only some incredible scenery, with over 360 miles of Dartmoor to explore, but plenty of activities. You could climb Roughtor and Brown Willy, the highest peaks in Cornwall and the whole area is criss-crossed by walking and cycling trails.

Just one of the many sights is Golitha Falls, a long series of cascades located a short walk along the river Fowey through ancient oak and beech woodland. If you start from the carpark on the east side of Sibblyback lake, it's a 7 or 8 mile hike.

If you fancy learning to surf, Widemouth beach is a popular spot with plenty of places to hire gear or get lessons.

Places to visit

Tintagel castle, supposedly (along with a few hundred other places) the site of Arthur's Camelot, is just north from you.

Padstow is just half an hour up the coast and aside from being a beautiful port town, it's home to Rick Stein's restaurant, fishmonger and cookery school.

Of course, if you're in the area and you're staying at Ekopod, you can't miss the chance to visit The Eden Project. Cornwall's iconic complex of biodomes is much more than a botanical garden, with activities and educational things to see and do, making a full day trip almost a necessity rather than a possibility.

Festivals & events

Get involved in Padstow Obby Oss Day on the 1st of May, a celebration of the Celtic festival of Beltane, spring rite for Bel the Sun God.

There are a number of great arts festivals in Cornwall. The Run to the Sun music festival is in late May and features top DJs, bands and a couple of comedians, plus the 'VW campers only' area and the silent disco now running over all three nights.

The Port Eliot festival is a joyous melée of literature and music in late July and St Ives September Festival, from early to mid September is a gathering of musicians and the artists of all kinds and street entertainers.

Cornwall Open Studios is a rare chance to see inside artist's studios and watch them at work. It runs from the late May to early June all over Cornwall.

Naturally, there is a great deal going on on the water near Bodrifty. There's the traditional craft in the biannual Sea Salts Sails festival in Mousehole in early July and Henri Lloyd Falmouth week and the Fowey Royal Regatta, both in August, which form a fortnight-long seafaring carnival.

Meet your hosts

Ekopod came about because its creator Simon Cathcart found the contrast between city life in London and his native Cornwall striking. He set about creating a place where you could find the ultimate in solitude but also comfort, a place where people could really get away from the confinement and crowds of city life. His design background is in evidence everywhere: the living space itself is a structural echo of the nearby Eden project. He personally designed the bespoke tents that house the kitchen and the bathroom and has carefully crafted the Ekopod's distinctive look.

There was also the chance to bring something vibrant and new into the area without having a significant impact on its rightly protected wildlife and heritage, an opportunity thankfully not lost on the planners and the tourist board.

Environmental policy

With almost half the Ekopod being a window, it is an extremely effiicient structure to heat and light during its seasonal operation. It was made locally too, by Albion Canvas in Devon. Solar power and efficient wood-burners are employed wherever possible and the furnishings are locally sourced as well as being gorgeous. Simon has now added The Curve, a second pod, though has no plans to expand further keeping the site very low-impact.

Wildlife

Whales and dolphins can often be seen on many sections of the Cornish coast. There are wildlife boat tours from Fowey or you could make some speculative whale watching part of a visit to Tintagel, a beautiful historic site.

Closer to the Ekopod itself, Bodmin is a massive wetland with a rich variety of wildlife, especially birds. There are impressive flocks of Golden Plover and the moors, now that they are less frequently used for cattle, are a rare refuge for Stonechat. There is also, of course, the legendary Beast of Bodmin. Despite the almost complete absence of any evidence at all, except a skull that had come from a leopardskin rug, the story of a large, wild, cat-like creature prowling the moors lives on.

Photography of Ekopod by Kirstin Prisk