Sustainability at The Hudnalls Hideout Treehouse

Sustainability – caring for our special location

The Wye Valley is regarded as one of the finest lowland landscapes in Britain and is a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). It’s a truly special place and we would be most grateful if you would do what you can to be a responsible visitor and help keep it that way.

Here are some tips on how you can do your bit to help during your stay…

#SupportLocal

Where you can please use local products and services. They give you a flavour of the area and help support our communities. We are fortunate to have some great producers of food and drink in the Wye Valley & Forest of Dean.

Do visit The Pantry in St Briavels for local fresh produce, delicious cakes, Cowshill meat and Cinderhill Farm sausage rolls, Chase Farm whole milk and ice cream. Or pop into our nearest town of Coleford and browse the fantastic goodies available at Forest Deli.

For gin fans, why not visit Silver Circle Distillery and try some of their superb Wye Valley Gin? Or if beer is your tipple a trip to Hillside Brewery is a must! 

We have worked hard to identify great local producers and support those as close as possible to our location, rather than big suppliers that you may find in your supermarket at home. 

Follow The Countryside Code

Please respect the local community and other people using the outdoors. Remember your actions can affect people’s lives and livelihoods. If you’re unsure familiarise yourself with the code here.

Exploring by Car

We encourage you during your stay to leave the car parked and explore on foot locally as there is a wonderful network of footpaths straight from the treehouse door. There is an OS Explorer Map for your use. We can get food and drink hampers delivered from our local suppliers, so you don’t need to head out for supplies.

If you are driving the narrow country lanes in our area, please keep a sharp lookout for horses and walkers. If you meet walkers coming towards you then please stop and allow them to pass safely. If they are walking in the same direction you are travelling then slow down and allow them to move off the road onto a safe verge. 

If you do spot a horse and rider:

  • Slow right down and be ready to stop
  • Give them a wide berth – at least a car’s width – and pass slowly
  • Avoid any actions likely to spook the horse such as splashing them with puddles, sounding your horn or revving your engine
  • Watch out for signals from the rider to slow down or stop
  • Don’t expect all riders to raise their hand in thanks when you drive considerately – if it’s not possible to take a hand off the reins and maintain control, most will smile or nod their thanks instead
  • Accelerate gently once you’ve passed the horse

If you’re driving in the Forest of Dean please be aware you may come across sheep in the road, This is perfectly normal! Foresters have the right to graze their sheep on the grass verges. Lastly, the area is home to large numbers of deer and wild boar so expect to come across these as well, particularly at night. 

Save Precious Resources

Utilities are included during your stay but please think about the environment and turn off lights when not being used – keeping light levels to a minimum will help our resident bats and insects to flourish. Only use the water you need – why not share a shower or bath – it’s big enough for 2! The water here is safe to drink so there is no need to buy plastic bottles of drinking water. We provide a chilled bottle of tap water in the fridge for your convenience.

We are not on mains drains but have a septic tank which breaks down waste in an environmentally sensitive way so we need to be careful what goes down the sink and the toilet. We use environmentally-friendly cleaning products and ask that you refrain from putting anything other than number 1’s and 2’s with our eco bamboo toilet paper down the loo! Please place everything else in the bin provided.

On behalf of ALL the residents, in the Wye Valley and Forest of Dean, a great big thank you!

 

Our Sustainability & Green Initiatives

We feel lucky to live in such a special location and we have strived to be as sustainable and eco-friendly as possible by:

* Using solar energy generated on site to assist in powering our guest electricity usage and using a green rated energy supplier;

* Installing a bioethanol fireplace to reduce burning of wood by guests and use coppiced wood from our own woodland for guest firepit use;

* Insulated the treehouse to the highest standards and installed zoned heating and lighting to minimise energy usage;

* Encouraging guests to recycle and compost food waste with clear instructions of what can be recycled and making it as easy as possible;

* Using environmentally-friendly chemicals for cleaning and guests use;

* Supply guests with Who Gives a Crap toilet paper – made from more eco-friendly bamboo and the company donates 50% of its profits to supply toilet facilities in developing countries;

* Providing guest food hampers from within a 15 mile radius and always sourcing local first and eco-friendly, whenever possible;

* Implementing biodiversity initiatives in the woodland including bat, bird and dormouse boxes and planting new native trees;

* Supporting our local Parish Grasslands Project through active membership and ensuring we effectively manage our onsite wild flower meadow to encourage a broader range of pollinators, insects and butterflies;

* Providing our guests with information on the local wildlife and habitat and making available a track camera for guests use;

* Applying for Green Tourism accreditation and improving our green initiatives wherever possible in our business. To find out more about Green Tourism, please click on the logo below for more info.

Green Tourism logo
Explore | Ancient Woodland from the Treehouse