Going Green...

Recycling: One of the problems of running a hotel in the country is that the local council is not currently geared up to collect commercial recycling from rural locations. So we have had to take it into our own hands. We use around 80 plastic milk containers a week which we take to the nearest drop off point. We also sort our glass, cardboard and feed our pigs green waste – raw vegetables –from the kitchen.

Long term solutions: We are talking to recycling agents about the possibility of putting giant containers in the barn so that we can store larger amounts which can then be collected - cost effectively - by the recycling companies.

Energy: We are hoping to be able to change to hydro-electric power. Two micro-hydro-electrics would produce enough energy to make the hotel self-sufficient. We have completed the first feasibility study to produce own power for heating, lighting and hot water.

Hotel: We ask guests to put the towels in the bath if they want them changed daily and are currently looking into changing our toiletries from individual plastic containers to wall-mounted refillable products. Our latest brochures are also printed on recycled paper and we are researching recycled stationery.

Restaurant: We are trying to cut down on food miles growing most of our own vegetables in the garden, using eggs from our hens for breakfast and venison, pork and beef from the estate - as well as Scottish milled flour in the bakery. What we can’t grow or produce ourselves, we try to source from a radius of no more than 30 miles.