Inside unique cave house that made Grand Designs' best of the best - and you can stay there

An unusual Worcestershire home more akin to The Flintstones made it into Kevin McCloud's top buildings from the show

A cave in the Midland countryside has proved a rock-solid investment for a Grand Designs self-builder with his transformation hailed among the best in the show's history. The Rockhouse Retreat was chiselled and drilled from a basic shelter near Kidderminster to a luxury retreat listed among presenter Kevin McCloud's favourites in a special edition to mark 25 years of the hit show.

The romantic getaway, which featured on Channel 4 programme in 2015, is hidden among a woodland and is known as Britain's first 21st-century cave house retreat. The unusual address was hand sculpted more than 700 years ago from a Triassic sandstone cliff and provided shelter for centuries until it was abandoned during the 1960s.

Businessman Angelo Mastropietro spent £100,000 and eight months single-handedly remodelling the building into a modern-day living space complete with running water, underfloor heating and WiFi. It is now available for holiday stays.

In pictures: Inside Worcestershire's hidden cave house

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After a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis in 2007, Angelo’s health meant he quit his job as a recruitment boss in Australia and returned to the UK. It was then he decided he needed a fresh start and began working on this project.

Kevin loved Angelo's determination, saying: "What I found so life fulfilling about Angelo's story is that although he was very mindful about his diagnosis he was determined not to be defined from it."

The website for the home reads: "Hidden amongst the tree canopy in three acres of secluded Worcestershire woodland, it is the perfect romantic retreat to rest, relax and rejuvenate your soul whilst listening to the babbling Honey Brook and the hoot of the owls.

It continued: "The restoration of this hand sculpted wonder took thousands of man-hours and involved the excavation of over seventy tonnes of rock by hand.

"The Rockhouse Retreat has a generous bedroom with king sized bed and wood burning stove, a cosy sitting room with inglenook fireplace, dining table, fully fitted kitchen with three oven electric range, and under floor heating in the 'cave oasis' heart shaped show room.

"There is ample terrace for dining where you can either cooking on the gas BBQ or ignite your inner cave spirit with alfresco dining cooked on the firepit under a star-lit night."