Escape To The Slow Lane
If you’ve got wild neighbours, it can make life impossible. But down on one estate, in Gloucester it’s about to make life very desirable. Probably because these neighbours aren’t the classic nylon-tracksuit-clad ASBOids of (un)popular mythology, but rather an extraordinary array of natural wildlife.
The estate in question is Lower Mill. 
It’s already carved a reputation as one of the UK’s most imaginative vacation villages: a place where distinctive, sustainable modernist architecture sits easily within a beautiful environment which harmonises human life with the rhythms of the natural world. Lower Mill now goes one step further: work has just commenced on the construction of fifteen new homes in the heart of an International nature reserve.
These homes, quietly hidden in the Cotswold countryside, will sit in the midst of the Nightingale reserve, rich in over 600 species of rare wildlife. They’re architect-designed, modernist works of art which blend traditional materials, crafted in time-honoured fashion, with contemporary style, techniques and technology. The houses are a startlingly idiosyncratic but meticulously-conceived mix of glass, steel, stone, timber and rendered walls. Their roof decks, verandas, floor-to-ceiling windows and open-planned spaces accentuate the closeness of their connection with the wildlife which lives undisturbed alongside.
Careful management of hedges and woodland over many years means that the reserve is home to more than 23 classic English songbirds.
This is one of the very few places in the country which provides a breeding habitat for the Lesser Emperor Dragonfly. And again – almost unique in this country – Nightingale Reserve is immediately adjacent to a habitat for beavers. They live amongst a whole host of other wildlife including otters, badgers, water voles, water shrew, wood mice and roe deer.
These animals are surrounded by rare fauna, including the Adder’s Tongue Fern and the Green Winged Orchid. A unique planting scheme used in the reserve will introduce 32 native plant species to the area. All around are nesting spaces, insect refuges, bird feeders and even bat boxes.
The houses at Nightingale Reserve provide fascinating insights and unrivalled access to the natural world. They blend with it, and they seek to preserve it, by being built in a sustainable fashion, by using renewable local resources, and by seamlessly integrating recycling facilities, low-energy heating systems and appliances, and high levels of insulation. And for every property built, five trees are planted nearby - trees nurtured in the estate’s own nursery.
Nearby – outside the immediate margins of the estate – there’s a spa (The Artspa) which offers a truly tranquil retreat, with a slate-lined pool, sauna, steam room, treatment rooms, a gym, relaxation areas, and an outdoor plunge-pool supplied with crystal clear, ice-cool water naturally filtered through reed beds.
There’s one final resident not to be overlooked, and the one which gives the reserve its name: this is one of the primary homes for nightingales in the whole of the county.All of this, all within an hour and a half of London. For anyone who loves beautiful contemporary design, who longs for an easy and fast escape from the cares of the city, and who cares for the environment, Nightingale Reserve might just be a location worth considering.
Certainly, a number of people have done so already. A year ahead of completion, three of the properties have sold. So, anyone who wants to enjoy this particular version of the wild life, probably needs to move fairly fast.
