When Arctic Cabins Owners Club member Jane Bickle posted on Facebook, “It’s toastie in the hut tonight” and shared an amazing photograph of a glowing fire basket - it got us wondering if your BBQ Hut could be the answer to rising energy bills.
Arctic Cabins BBQ owners have shared some ‘Hutterly’ amazing hacks for navigating the cost of living crisis. Read on for Patrick’s community-minded initiative and Lauren’s plan to keep her family’s energy bills down, but first a quick bit of BBQ cabin history.
BBQ Hut Origins – From A Life- Saving Shelter To Helping Cut Down Energy Costs
When you consider that our BBQ cabins are based on Grillkota, BBQ huts in Finnish Lapland where temperatures during the peak visitor season average between -16 °C to 3 °C (3 °F -37 °F), and can occasionally drop to -30 °C (-22 °F) and colder still with wind chill – it makes sense that the Arctic Cabin BBQ Hut is the perfect escape from the coldest UK weather and the rising energy bills.
Out in the forests of Finnish Lapland, often seemingly in the middle of nowhere, you’ll come across these apparently random BBQ huts in a clearing. They just sit there, free for anyone to use. With deep snow on the ground, the outdoor huts keep the cold out and the warmth in.
Many of them have stood for over a hundred years, some even a hundred and fifty, local elders can actually point to tall trees in the forest that are newer than the grill huts!! The tradition of these Finnish huts goes back even further than that though, in Arctic Lapland, nomadic herdsmen would have lived in them, covering them in reindeer hides for shelter from the elements. Still today, many hikers in Finland who get caught in a snow blizzard owe their lives to finding a random hut in a clearing.
There’s more to the Grillkota BBQ huts than survival though – they’re all about community!!
Often families, total strangers to begin with, use a forest BBQ hut together, habitually even sharing each other’s food! Imagine! Conversation flowing, Grillimakkara (barbecued sausages) sizzling on the grill, literally in the middle of nowhere, right in the heart of a forest. How magical.
I’d love to think that, for Arctic Cabins BBQ Hut Owners, these could be the memories made during the energy price hikes and whatever the UK winter has in store.
It’s not just families, just like in those Finnish forests, the doors of UK BBQ huts are being thrown open for wider communities!
Arctic Cabins Grill Houses – A Warm Escape For The Family
A BBQ hut owner who is totally channelling the spirit of those Finnish families is Patrick.
Since the 17m² BBQ Cabin was installed in Patrick’s garden, it has become a magnet for friends and families alike.
“We have used the cabin as the centrepiece for parties, including numerous birthdays and a wedding and my wife holds her regular cheese and wine, natter and nibbles soirees in there,” Patrick told us.
No wonder, the 17m² Grill House comfortably seats 25 people (The 17m² seats 35 plus by the way!)
It’s not just entertaining though, “I don’t need an excuse to fire up the coals and cook dinner on the grill and not just in the summer. It’s such a cosy room that we spend many a winter evening playing cards and drinking port after a barbecued steak or chicken dinner. Maybe it’s a man thing but I cook better on the grill in the cabin than I do in the kitchen.”
Those evenings, warmed by the coals as they burn down to glowing embers, inspired Patrick to invite local village elders to join the family for a fabulous meal and an evening of good company, great stories and most importantly - no need to put the heating on at home.
“It’s funny,” says Patrick, “we have offered something similar to old folks of the village in the harsher winters before, but before we bought the cabin. So, we’d have been inviting them into our home. Take-up was low. I think people are very proud, especially from a certain generation, and they might have seen it as charity coming into someone else’s house. The offer of coming to the BBQ Cabin on the other hand has garnered a lot more interest. Instead of accepting charity, there’s a sense that they’re accepting an invitation to a community event. It’s lovely.”
“The main thing for us was that we can keep an eye on our elderly neighbours, but that generation can’t half spin a yarn, their tales about their life and the area back in the day are wonderful, so it almost feels like they’re doing me a kindness.”
So, there you are! A lifeline for the vulnerable and a communal space for a neighbourhood to get together.
The authentic spirit of the Finnish Grillkota, is alive and well in Patrick’s garden.
“Heat The Person Not The Whole House”
“As a teenager, I remember my Dad telling me to put on another jumper when it got cold, the heating was allowed on just before the Christmas decorations came down from the loft – so mid-December,” remembers BBQ cabin owner Lauren.
“I’ve got a lot of my Dad in me, but my own kids will tell you that I don’t delay putting the central heating on. Put another layer on – heat the person, not the whole house – that’s not my mantra. I do have a secret weapon though.”
Lauren’s secret weapon is her 7m² Arctic Cabins BBQ Hut!
For Lauren, her husband Dan and their two kids, their 7m² hut was the perfect size (the smallest of our huts still comfortably sits 10 people) and since it was installed it’s become the family’s happy place.
The unique ‘sloping walled’ Arctic Cabin design really comes into its own in the 7m outdoor hut, the cabin is far more spacious on the inside than you would expect. This cabin is big enough for family get-togethers, sleepovers and is perfect for romantic evenings too – the perfect escape just steps from your home.
Lauren’s cabin has been the venue for summer BBQs, cosy winter nights and even Christmas dinner and this year Lauren is planning even more family time in the cabin in a bid to stave off the worst of the rises in living costs.
“Thinking about it, we’d have our tea barbecued out in the cabin, then play board games and come inside and get ready for bed. The heating would come on at 4 pm and heat an empty house for hours! It was lovely and warm when we came in but what a waste. My Dad wouldn’t have approved!”
“This year we’re planning to have the heating in the house come on later, probably just take the edge off in the kids’ bedrooms. We can have our tea in the cabin, the grill keeps the place warm longer after we’ve finished eating, the kids even do their homework on the table!” – The table is fitted around the central BBQ grill.
The 7m² cabin has 3 double-glazed windows (secure, opening windows) and a double-glazed, secure door (fitted with a Yale lock), the walls are thicker than many cabins on the market – all of this means that you are insulated against the elements outside- warm as toast!
The Arctic Cabins Difference
At Arctic Cabins, we design, manufacture and install our Arctic Cabins all over the UK, with our own skilled team of employees - a 'turn-key' project from start to finish. We are so confident that we offer a no-quibble 10-year manufacturer's guarantee giving you complete peace of mind.
With different sizes of Arctic Cabins BBQ huts available (from 7m² to 25m²), we can help you create a perfect, cosy, intimate and fun environment for your family and friends to enjoy.
Come and see our Arctic Cabins BBQ hut grill quality for yourself. Our show site in Nottingham is just a few minutes from J25 of the M1, you'll find us at many national home and garden shows and events throughout the year and you can call to find out more on 0115 932 8888.
