Peak District self catering cottages, England

Planet

Farm Environment
We are located on a former organic dairy farm in the heart of the Peak District National Park, we have initiated many local sustainable projects and believe passionately in the strength of our local community. We try to live by organic principles; buying local food, using local services, We have a Peak District Environmental Quality Mark and a Gold Award from the Green Tourism Business Scheme. We are very proud to have been awarded a silver Ethical, Responsible and Sustainable Tourism award in the Enjoy Staffordshire Awards 2019, a gold Accessible and Inclusive Tourism award and a ROSE of England award in 2022 for Recognition of Service Excellence.

Our Wildlife
We nurture our great crested newts. We have hares on the farm. We feed birds
and have a huge charm of goldfinches that over winter with us, we also have linnets, fieldfares, winchats, owls, pied wagtails, wrens, wheat ears, skylarks and many more. We are business members of Staffordshire Wildlife Trust. Overall we have planted about 1500 trees on the farm since 1984. We have plans (if the government allow) to rewild three of our fields to create a more biodiverse slice of nature in the farming landscape.

Our Environment
We look after and maintain our traditional stone listed buildings. We do most of our building work. We use eco friendly paints where possible. We have optimum insulation - some of it local sheep wool from a neighbour’s sheep and double glazed and shuttered windows. Recent building developments have used lime plaster with insulation incorporated which help maintain the character of the traditional buildings. The cottages all have energy monitors so you can see what you are using. We use only LED and low energy lighting (and wind up LED torches) and many of our outside lights are solar powered and all are on PIRs- because we want you to appreciate the real darkness and beauty of the stars.

Recycling
We and our guests separate and recycle glass, cans, paper, plastic, cooked food waste, cardboard, food packaging, tetra packs, batteries and light bulbs and we compost vegetable waste. We only print when necessary and then use recycled paper and we recycle our print cartridges. All paper goods are recycled, kitchen rolls, tissues, printer paper etc. apart from our toilet paper which is sustainable bamboo made by Who Gives A Crap.

Our kitchen compost goes into our vegetable garden and helps produce much of our own food and we give surpluses to guests. We use eco-friendly cleaning products, dishwasher powder and washing powder and we are always on the look out for new, more sustainable products. We buy everything possible in bulk.

Water
Rain water is collected, half goes into a storage tank for use, and half feeds a pond with great crested newts. In the Cottage by the Pond the toilets flush with rain water (when rainwater tank is full) and all of our toilets are dual flush. We have restored a traditional stone hay barn and use rain water for toilets there.

The Pilot Light Renewable Energy Project
In 2009 and 2011 a large investment project took place on the farm, taking out 2 old oil boilers, 5 emersion heater and several night storage radiators, replacing them with a 120kW wood pellet boiler and mini district main. We added a large array of innovative solar panels (flexible solar film instead of heavy glass). This reduced our carbon footprint from 41 tonnes to 14 tonnes. The biomass system now provides hot water and heating for all the accommodation at the farm including under floor heating for the restored Haybarn which is now a gallery for Sue Prince our resident artist, and occasional community use/workshop venue.

Food
For our self catering guests, we supply a small selection of local or organic foods and recommend you choose Sauced Here for your 'local supermarket shop' food delivery when staying or Carver Cottage Kitchen for prepared meals, catering and meal kits delivered to your cottage.

Laundry
We interviewed several laundries to find the most eco friendly one in the area. Porters of Leek wash and press all the cottage linens.

Transport
We have two electric car charging points at the farm, a 7kw charger and a Tesla charger, both do cost a little, just keep a track of how many hours you use it and let us know. If you are not bringing your car, we will try and pick you up from the nearest bus station in Ashbourne. We have safe storage for your bikes with lots of information about cycle friendly routes as well as information about lots of local attractions and walks. We also have our own self guided farm trail so you can get as passionate about our place as we are!

People

Our Village
We play an active part in our community. Sue Prince helped found the Ilam Village Art Club which went on to produce a magnificent 18m long folk art painting of the history of Ilam! You can see it on display in Ilam Church. Weekly pilates sessions happen in the Haybarn for local people (you can join in if you are here), and have hosted a wonderful folk concert in the Haybarn too.

Our Suppliers
We use local farmers/butchers The Ginger Butchers from Over Haddon to supply our delicious bacon and sausage. We buy our eggs locally too. We bake our own bread using Dove Farm Organic flour and Three Malt and Sunflower flour. We recommend a lot of wonderful places to eat in the local area, many of whom use and celebrate local food and drink.
We display the work of local artists, indeed Sue's Swedish style folk art is inspired by the landscape around the farm.

Local Charities
We support several charities, Friends of the Peak District, Derby Museum and the local First Responders and, our guests can choose if they would like to help us donate.

Global Charities
We support Practical Action, (practical solutions to poverty in the developing world) and again our guests can chose to contribute.

Our Networks
We work very closely with brilliant networks of similarly responsible businesses to offer the real Peak District experiences.

Our Employees
We employ local people and work hard to be flexible to accommodate their family commitments.