Clanville Manor Environmental Policy

We have been assessed as being at Silver Level for Green Tourism. We take care to balance guests’ expectation of a warm and high quality stay here with consideration for the impact that stay may have on the environment.

We use ‘Fairtrade’ tea and coffee, source the ingredients for our breakfasts locally wherever possible and are aware of ‘food miles’. We encourage guests in the self-catering cottages to use local shops for their supplies and recommend that all guests visit Castle Cary to support its independent shops, many of which are family run.

A series of ‘Car Free Days Out’ leaflets is available in the self-catering cottages. Visiting Clanville Manor by public transport, on foot or by bicycle is not easy, mainly because we are situated two miles from places to eat and there are no pavements along the B3153. Bus services run infrequently but we will help guests, using a dedicated website, traveline.info, to access public transport timetables.

Within the restrictions inherent in our Georgian farmhouse and old cottage we have made adaptations for the disabled traveller where possible. We have M1 accessible accommodation in our self-catering bungalow.

We use low-energy equivalent light bulbs where suitable. Outside lighting is movement controlled and lights in public areas are controlled by time switches. We switch off TVs at the mains to reduce ‘standby’ consumption.

Toilet flushing volumes have been reduced, immersion heater elements re-set, and levels of insulation in the roof spaces and in the new extension to the house increased.

To reduce heat loss through windows, all curtains are interlined because it is not appropriate to install double-glazing in the original sash windows of the farmhouse, and we draw the curtains as soon as possible at dusk especially in cold weather.

Radiators have thermostatic controls and the oil boiler is supplemented with a wood-burning boiler. We supply supplementary electric convector heater in B&B rooms but ask that the thermostatic controls are used to avoid overheating. Fans and electric blankets are available because we want guests to be comfortable.

For B&B and self-catering, glass, paper, tins, cardboard, food waste and plastic bottles are all recycled with the use of labelled bins and the Council kerbside collection. Office paper and envelopes are reused where possible and printer cartridges recycled.

Food waste is minimised by asking guests where appropriate to let us know what type of breakfast they would like. Suitable B&B and private food waste is fed to the domestic animals and chickens, or composted. We grow some of our own vegetables and use water butts to irrigate when possible. Our own hens produce most of the eggs used here.

Guests are encouraged to turn off lighting, heating, televisions and taps when not in use, substitute washing lines for tumble dryers, and always replace the insulating pool cover during the summer season. The pool is mainly heated with solar panels, supplemented by electricity to meet guest expectations of a comfortable swim. A salt-chlorinator is used for pool disinfection, which uses non-elemental chlorine that is not damaging to the environment.

The incoming water in the house passes through an efficient softener, and this has greatly reduced the need for laundry detergents and de-scaling chemicals for bathroom cleaning and kettles. We use low temperatures to launder lightly soiled items, and have ceased providing dressing gowns as standard. (They are available on request). Washing is line or ‘rack’ dried whenever possible and tumble dryer use kept to an absolute minimum. We ask guests to consider a less frequent change of towels and bed linen to save on water consumption. When electrical appliances are replaced we do so with low energy rated products.

Soap and shower gel in the B&B and washing up liquid in the self-catering cottages is provided in refillable containers. The use of cleaning agents is minimised by the use of microporous cloths.

Over the past fifteen years we have reduced the amount of fertiliser that we use on the farm by approximately 75%. We now farm extensively and encourage wildlife and birds, leaving uncut margins around the fields and along the riverbank. Hedge cutting and other farm activities are undertaken only when breeding wildlife will not be disturbed.

We welcome suggestions on how our green policy could be improved, and energy or resource consumption reduced.

Clanville Manor Environmental Policy

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