A sustainable AND affordable family holiday
It might not be forefront of your holiday agenda when looking for your next short break in Cornwall, but there are many benefits to a sustainable getaway at Higher Culloden Farm that can help both improve the cost of your holiday and your feel-good factor.
Let’s take a look at how we are making your north Cornwall family glamping holiday more sustainable:
- All five pods are off-grid. This means your holiday isn’t victim to fluctuations and increases in energy prices and we can price competitively.
- It doesn’t mean you have to sit in the dark when the sun goes down though. Each has two magnetic and dimmable touch-operated lights which can easily be moved. You can even use them outside too. They are fully recharged between stays.
- Pods are double-glazed and well-insulated, meaning they stay cosy when it’s cold outside.
- By bringing your own bedding and towels, you are saving a huge amount of energy on laundering linen and towels, which in turn makes your stay cheaper!
- The block uses motion-activated low energy lights so they are not left on longer than needed.
- The showers and sinks use push-button taps to ensure water isn’t wasted.
- We use Ecotricity as our electricity supplier across the farm and our home including the bathroom and kitchen block. This is 100% renewable energy, coming largely from local turbines across the moors and out at sea.
- Rather than natural gas, our combi boilers use low-carbon LPG to heat water to a hot but comfortable set temperature. The benefit of combis is that they only heat what is being used rather than large tanks.
- The toilet roll used is 100% recycled from sustainable sources and made here in the UK by Serious Tissues (check them out compared with other mail-order TP companies).
- We process our own grey waste in our water treatment plant. As such, we are careful in our choice of cleaning products, using Ecover.
- We provide recycling for paper/card, plastic, glass, tins and campfire ash (which is added to our compost area).
- Labelling the black bins for ‘landfill’ has actually seen a noticeable reduction in the amount of waste going into them!
- We are proud supporters of Cornwall Wildlife Trust. Thanks to our partnership with them and through Tevi, we were able to carry out a habitat management plan in 2022. This piece of work guides us in how best to manage our land sustainably and for the benefit of biodiversity over the next 10-20 years. There are many species you can spot here, particularly a huge number of invertebrates, and we want to ensure they flourish for generations to come.
- When booking your holiday here, you can make a donation to Cornwall Wildlife Trust to help them continue their work preserving wildlife across the Duchy and out at sea.
- We do not use any pesticides or herbicides on site. It makes for harder work and more weeds like nettles, but in turn they feed thousands of butterflies and other insects. We’re even creating a butterfly bank near the car park.
- We have written and follow an Environmental Sustainability Policy, much of which is shown here. If you’re interested to know more, just ask.
- North Cornwall is well-placed geographically to feel like you’re going away, but not too far away that you’re spending the whole day in the car. For example, we are just 2hrs 15mins from Bristol, whereas Porthcurno is 3hrs 45 mins ! And just over an hour from Exeter, whereas Sennon Cove is 2hrs 30mins. It makes a big difference when planning your getaway and fuel costs.
- If you use an electric car, there are several charging options nearby in town, including rapid charging at our friends’ B&B, Chandler’s Lodge.
- All our guests to date have been UK-based. So we are not contributing to increased air travel. Woohoo!
- What’s more, if you arrive by taxi/train, bike or bus, let us know when booking and we’ll take 10% off the cost of your stay!
- We try not to use single-use plastic on site. Bring your own soap and shower products to save on wasteful guest soaps. We reuse bottles for washing liquid and refill Ecover bottles.
- Plant-based scrubbing pads are available.
- We source sustainable British firewood from a local company in Wadebridge.
- The charcoal we sell on site is Cornish, made using traditional methods and harvested from sustainably managed local woodlands.
- We harvest rainwater from the alpaca shelter to water the polytunnel.
- The two barrels next to the campfire corner collect rainwater from the canopies and act as additional fire safety precautions.
- Since 2020 we have planted over 1500 trees on-site, with the help of the local community and the Woodland Trust. This includes a coppice area which will provide us with useful wood products for years to come.
- We use Ecosia as our search engine. Try it and watch your forest grow!
Finally, Higher Culloden Farm is our family home. It literally sustains us, providing much of our food throughout the year. It is also home to many wildlife species, some of which you might catch a glimpse of – a deer, hedgehog, hare or badger. So we want to ensure we keep it sustainable for the future which is why we want to help you enjoy a sustainable holiday too. Book your short break with us knowing it won’t cost the earth and make memories that will last a lifetime.
