Reflecting on our impact and doing our bit

Living near the sea and close to the elements makes us aware of our impact on the planet and how we can compassionately live in this beautiful part of the country by doing the least harm. Below is how we attempt to live more sustainably and how we minimise the impact of tourism on our natural and social environments. By staying with us you are contributing to responsible tourism.

Covid-19 has meant that we have had to take some additional precautions for your safety, unfortunately these are not always inline with our eco policy but they are a temporary measure and, where we can, we will always choose the eco option.

We still have a way to go on our journey but here’s our story so far….

Eco Heating

The Beech Hut is heated by the log burner which is fuelled using local logs. Most of our logs come from trees in this ancient wooded valley that have naturally come to the end of their lives. We have also planted over 350 mixed trees in a neighbouring field to reduce our carbon footprint and provide fuel. Burning well-seasoned logs is a carbon neutral form of space heating.

The Loft has central heating and hot water which is powered by an eco air source heat pump. This is the most sustainable form of heating for our cottage and B&B. Our electricity is provided by a green renewable company.

Reducing single use plastic

We now have fabulous zero waste facilities locally. Many of our cleaning products etc. are re-filled here. We have managed to substantially cut down on the plastics we use.

We have purchased glass milk bottles which we heat sterilise and whenever possible we re-fill these at the greengrocers. The milk is Cornish and has travelled less than 30 miles. Alternatively, we are always happy to provide plant milk as an alternative as we drink this ourselves.

We are replacing plastic bin liners with compostable alternatives where this is practicable and sensible. All of our holiday-let waste is sorted for recycling. There are recycling facilities in the accommodation.

Avoiding cruelty

We are surrounded by beautiful wildlife including tawny owls that hunt in the garden and breed each year. It makes us acutely aware of the need to protect animals from cruelty. Wherever possible our cleaning products carry the cruelty-free bunny and/or vegan kite marks, this includes toilet cleaner, bathroom cleaner, dishwasher tablets, washing up liquid, laundry liquid, fabric conditioner and high quality shower gel from Faith in Nature. We have also moved over to cruelty free shampoo and conditioner in the B&B too.

Of course we are still using and refilling old containers so things may look much the same on the surface.

All of our tea and coffee is Fairtrade.

Sensitivity to local housing challenges

Cornwall is like many places in the UK where housing is an issue for local people. We don’t own a second home - this is our home and has been the home of our family for many years before us. The Beech Hut was crafted and built in the garden by the hand of my husband Rob and the Loft was my daughter’s bedroom and a study before it was refurbished after she left home and got married. We would not feel comfortable letting out accommodation that would deplete the local housing stock and you can feel happy staying here knowing that you are in accommodation specifically designed for our guests on our home property.

Pay a fair living wage

We are very fortunate in having some help at times with cleaning, gardening, laundry etc. We charge a fair price to you our guests in order that we can pay a fair price to our helpers. We always pay well above the minimum wage and have never denied a reasonable request for a pay increase. In this small community our helpers are also our friends and they do an incredible job, we are very lucky to work with such great people - Jennifer, Liz, Ewen, Dave, Dwaine and the others who help along the way - we couldn’t do it without them.

Vegetarian, vegan, dairy free and gluten-free hampers and breakfasts

There’s a much wider range of diets that people follow today and we are happy to provide breakfast hampers in the Loft and a welcome hamper in the Beech Hut that complies with the above choices. We just need at least 48 hours notice please.

Bread is baked fresh at home for all of our guests on arrival and is 100% plant-based. We can provide gluten-free bread purchased in town if requested or I am sometimes able to home-bake a gluten-free loaf but we need to advise you that our kitchen is not gluten free.