Last updated 11:37, Monday, 10 November 2008

Tourists in west Cumbria have just been given the chance to live like the nomadic tribes of central Asia.

A yurt

But Reiver understands that anyone booking a farm holiday in a traditional yurt near Egremont will not have to bring their own camel.

So what exactly is a yurt? It sounds to Reiver like something to do with one of those “good bacteria” yoghurts on the telly.

It is actually a circular wooden frame with a felt cover and it has been home to millions of people throughout Asia for thousands of years.

Lake District National Park planners last week approved an application for a yurt on a farm at Gosforth.

It’s a new take on a B&B break. This is a luxury holiday yurt where, on starry nights, you can lie back and survey the sky through the open crown.

Of course, insisting that tourists leave their cars before completing the journey to their yurt would fulfil all sorts of criteria for sustainable holidays.

If we really want to reduce our carbon footprints one way would certainly be to replace them with camel footprints.