The Grass Roof Hub

Our venue is a purpose built accommodation block, built in 2010. It houses a number of rooms for both community and private use. We have 5 bedrooms that house 33 beds between them plus three private bathrooms. The bedrooms are within a lockable accommodation block that has its own access and carpark. Each bedroom also has a vanity unit and storage. Access to the atrium, grounds and kitchen are included in your stay. We are a social enterprise and so by staying with us your payment for the bedrooms goes straight to our community projects. We can add many extras to your stay including music studio hire, recording time in the studio, event space, outdoor activities and art workshops. We also house a hair and beauty salon on site. Our whole site is accessible and we have all the amenities you would expect of a modern building including underfloor heating, hot showers, bedding and towels on request, plenty of space for chatting and eating and a well equipped modern kitchen for cooking. Our atrium and grounds are open to the public between 9:00am and 9:00pm Monday to Thursday, until 6:30pm on Fridays and 9:00am until 3:00pm on Saturdays. The building is yours outside of those times although access is restricted. There is ample parking and plenty of space in our grounds, which include a lake, outdoor gym, BBQ and Pizza Ovens, a Fire Pit and Picnic benches plus nature area and community garden at the bottom of our land. You can access the full grounds which include a fire pit, pizza ovens and bbq, outdoor gym, lake and pond, community garden and outdoor stage areas. Indoors you have access to the main atrium, the kitchen outside of café open hours, the accommodation corridor with all toilets and showers. There is a large Carpark. We do not live on site but live very close by and so can arrange to meet you on arrival and show you around. We can organise to provide meals and activities. We do not tend to socialise with our guests but we do enjoy hearing where you have come from and why you chose Barnard Castle as your destination. We are very happy to discuss planned itineraries with you and advise on places to visit. Barnard Castle is a small market town traditional to Northern England. We are home to the Bowes Museum who regularly host international acclaimed exhibitions and the Witham Hall, who have a varied programme of arts, comedy and music performances. We are nearby to Raby Castle and High Force. We are just over 30 minutes drive from Durham City and can advise on the best places to eat, park and shop in the city. We are approximately an hour from Newcastle and York, both of which are accessible via the main train line at Darlington station. We have a fab variety of shops in Barnard Castle that are unique to the area including Oswell's, Ruby and D, Alium Interiors, Niche Living and The Bowes Museum Shop. We are nearby to two great farm shops - Cross Lanes and Mainsgill. We are also close to Eggleston Hall Gardens. Raby Castle Tea Rooms and The Rose and Crown at Mickleton. We are lucky enough to have a private swimming pool just under 10 minutes drive away, which also features a bookable sauna and tennis courts. We would highly recommend a visit to the Auckland Project and Kynren whilst in the area, particularly during the Summer months. There are plenty of Spas local to use too such as the Garage Spa, Manor House and Headlam Hall, all of which have something different to offer for all budgets. We are 30 minutes from either Durham or Darlington Railway Stations - both of which are on the East Coast mainline between Edinburgh and London. We are 5 minutes from the A66 transpennine highway and 20 minutes from the A1. We do receive a public bus service however the buses do not run late into the evening and so we recommend only planning to use them during the daytime. We have a number of local taxi companies that can collect you from the Hub front door. Durham Tees Valley airport is approximately 45 minutes and Newcastle Airport is just over 60 minutes drive. We live in a rural area and so please be aware that roads are not straight and you may get stuck behind farm traffic. We travel at a slower pace. There are plenty of walks local to us and we would recommend you check out Ordnance Survey map OL31 where you will find a number of lovely walks from our grounds, suitable for all abilities.