ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY

"Brought into the right relationship with the wilderness, man would see that his appropriation of the Earth's resources beyond his personal needs would only bring imbalance and begat ultimate loss and poverty by all."

John Muir 1838-1914

Our aim is to provide our guests with a holiday which has as little impact as possible on the environment and the wild life of Exmoor National Park. We are very fortunate to be able to live in such a wonderful area and to be able to share this with our visitors. Our greatest asset is our location as we are set on the side of Porlock Hill with views as far as the Brecon Beacons in Wales and the hills of Exmoor across Porlock Vale.

We believe, quite passionately, in trying to look after our little piece of the environment and where possible reducing our operating cost by careful use of resources. In giving our guests the most informative and ecofriendly holiday that we can. We are comitted to the following and hope that you will help us in this.

WASTE

We have a small recycling centre and also provide bags and buckets etc. within the properties for our Guests to use.

  • Recycle glass,paper/cardboard, tins, plastic, tetrapacs; green kitchen waste for compost; printer ink cartrides.
  • Reduce use of paper by increasing use of email and telephone and less snail mail; using recycled paper products.

ENERGY

Unfortunately we are all electric and so we have to rely on our guests to be careful with their use. We have installed meters to enable us to track the usage and set a "normal use" value for future reference. Energy efficient light bulbs are being installed where appropriate and all windows have been double glazed. The washing machine is only used for full loads and the laundry is always air dried and only tumbled as a last resort! Grade A electrical equipment is purchased when replacements are needed.

WATER

  • Showers are fitted in all bathrooms and enough china etc. is provided to enable the dishwasher to be full before being turned on. We also ask that laundry is only done when there is a full load for the washing machine.
  • Water butts are used to collect water for the planters around the house; Garden plants and lawn are not watered unless they are newly planted.

PURCHASES

  • Welcome pack of produce, locally produced where possible and available in the village, is provided to our guests. We hope to encourage them to use the local shops supporting the local businesses and use less petrol.
  • Eco/Bio cleaning materials are provided for each kitchen and bathroom
  • Local labour is always used where possible.

TRANSPORT

  • NO CAR IS NEEDED TO ENJOY A HOLIDAY AS ALL SHOPS AND RESTAURANTS ARE WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE.
  • PARKING - space for two cars per booking
  • BUS - timetables and information provided
  • TRAIN - can be met at Taunton or Bridgwater

LOCAL INFORMATION

We have detailed folders which cover information on the following subjects:-

  • LOCAL SERVICES AND AMENITIES - telephone numbers , timetables, list of Videos & DVDs which can be borrowed.
  • RESTAURANTS -sample menus where we have been able to obtain them.
  • LOCAL ATTRACTIONS - leaflets on museums, gardens, National Trust properties, churches, animal farms and other local outings.
  • WALKS - maps and details of lots of walks which can be done from the door or a bus ride away.
  • CYCLING - hire information and details of rides. We have a locked store and a wash down area for the storage of bikes.
  • FLORA, FAUNA AND BIRDS - educational picture questionnaires about the birds on the bird table and the flowering plants to be found in the garden.
We would welcome suggestions as to how we can improve our environmental policy and protect the environment and increase the enjoyment of your stay.