So, you’ve got a few days off and feel like a break from the everyday routine… but where to go and where to stay?
More and more people are realising there’s a huge choice of accommodation nowadays, and some of these options include eco-friendly rentals and ‘green’ bed and breakfasts.
It’s a great idea to stay in green accommodation if you want to do your bit for the planet whilst enjoying a well-earned holiday!
At Breakers B&B we have eco-friendly facilities, and offer reasonably-priced, comfortable rooms with gorgeous ocean views. Here are 17 reasons why you should stay at an ‘Eco-Bnb’ like ours (and a few tips to make your holiday even greener):
1. Your hot water / electricity is provided by solar and photo-voltaic energy.
At Breakers our electricity supplier uses only electricity generated from green energy sources. We have solar panels, heat exchanger and photovoltaic systems installed.
2. Eco-Bnbs have car charging facilities.
If you own or hire an electric vehicle and want to stay at Croyde Bay, we have an electric car ourselves and a electric hookup that any of our guests can use for free.
3. They use energy-efficient lightbulbs.
Light bulbs throughout Croyde Breaks Holiday Cottages and Breakers B&B are all energy-efficient.
4. You can bring your bicycle.
We have safe storage for bikes and you can have a great day out riding around the country lanes, or take a ride on North Devon’s stunning Tarka Bike Trail. We can recommend hire shops with cycles for all, including e-bikes which are fantastic fun.
5. You can bring your walking boots.
Breakers B&B is only 150m from the famous South West Way coastal footpath. The whole area is a walker’s paradise with footpaths in both directions only 100m from the front door. Jenny and Richard can share their local knowledge of the many routes around the Devon countryside, and guests may borrow large scale walking maps made by local enthusiast Mike Harrison.
We also encourage our guests to park their cars and walk into the village for eating and shopping…Breakers is just a few minutes stroll from local pubs, restaurants and shops. And the fabulous unspoilt Croyde beach is just a few steps away for those days when the sound of the waves beckons!
6. Eco Bnbs are sls and palm oil free.
At Breakers Croyde, our laundry cleaners are free from sls and palm oil. Also our household cleaners and washing up liquid are too, and our shower gel and handwash is vegan (with no harsh chemicals.)
7. They are eco-efficient with their laundry.
At Breakers, we air dry all our bed linen and towels. We do all our own laundry and ironing to avoid sending it to a commercial laundry which uses harsh cleaning agents, and transports loads many miles by unsustainable diesel delivery vehicles.
8. Eco B&Bs recycle everything!
We recycle virtually everything – from bottles to boxes, cans, cardboard and paper, and leftovers are chopped up for our hens or added to our compost bins. Our bin bags are also compostable or manufactured from plastic reclaimed from landfill, and we use paper bags wherever possible as well.
9. They’re easily accessible by sustainable transport.
If you want to leave your car at home, then trains and coaches are lighter on your carbon footprint. Most cities in the UK connect with our nearest town – Barnstaple. From there the No 21 Bus service will drop you at the bus stop, just 100m from Breakers. That’s very convenient!
10. They support local markets and growers.
For our B&B we buy all our groceries locally (apart from a twice-monthly trip using our all-electric van for a ‘big shop’ to nearby Barnstaple town.) Jenny cycles to Croyde village or Braunton for fresh bread, milk and basics on an everyday basis.
11. Eco B&Bs provide tasty free-range eggs from their own chickens!
Richard enjoys looking after our flock of chickens and the ladies provide delicious free-range eggs for all our guests. Nothing goes to waste and we give them food scraps, plus lettuce or cabbage leaves as a treat from the veggie plot.
12. They also grow their own tomatoes.
From July onwards our organic tomatoes make a great addition to the breakfast plate, grown and picked from our garden.
13. Eco-accommodations support plastic-free causes.
As a local business we support North Devon Plastic Free which aims to inform locals and visitors in ways we can all change our use of plastic. Their motto is “Try to find alternatives to single-use plastic in your day to day life by looking at plastics in a different way…can you re-use that bottle or container? can we buy an item made from a different sustainable material such as glass? If we have to buy plastic containers can we refill them? Is the bottle made from recycled plastic?” At Breakers we provide jugs of our lovely Devon tap water so our guests can refill their own water bottles whenever they like. And our milk is bought locally in glass bottles, fresh for your cereal and drinks.
14. Eco-B&Bs recycle their rainwater.
All around the outside of the house we have rainwater catchment, storing water in big tubs for watering summer baskets and pots.
15. They use fairtrade products.
Wherever possible we buy fairtrade products such as coffee, teas, drinking choc and biscuits etc sourced locally.
16. They are efficient as possible with insulation.
Like many properties these days Breakers B&B is double-glazed, and our roof spaces are very well insulated to maximise warmth in the winter, and keep the house cooler in summer.
17. And finally… there’s an Eco-B&B next to beautiful Croyde Beach! Of course we’re somewhat biased, but if you’re coming to Croyde anytime soon then Breakers B&B is your best choice for an eco-friendly holiday. We’re re-cycling, re-ducing, re-filling, and re-using ..but most importantly we have a huge number of re-turning visitors!
We look forward to welcoming you very soon. Choose eco…choose croydebreaks – Give us a ring today on 01271 890101
P.S. Before you go… are you interested in trying some of the products l have found useful? Here are some details to save you time searching on the internet. I have absolutely no interest in sponsoring or advertising any of the items for personal gain…l just recommend these products after using them for our B&B and holiday cottages:
A good website for many vegan cleaning products is www.naturalcollection.com which stocks ethically-made UK brands. I really like ecoleaf washing powder, washing up liquid, multipurpose cleanser, toilet cleaner.
For light loads washing on a cool wash, try the amazing ecoegg ball…it’s a no-powder-environmentally natural invention especially good for sensitive skins – search…..www.ecoegg.com
www.allbio.co.uk makes brilliant compostable rubbish bags for all sizes of bin. For guests l use refillable bottles of hand and body gel which are made in Cornwall by ethical company www.purenuffstuff.co.uk – delicious aromas, vegetable and herbal-based ..and lovely,friendly staff too!
Recycled toilet paper is generally expensive for a good quality, ethically-sourced one. There are a few out there but l am currently using Sainsbury’s own recycled soft toilet paper.
For me all cleaning and laundry products must be vegan, SLS/palm oil/paraben free made with natural ingredients wherever possible. It’s been very difficult to source true eco-friendly brands especially as most of the ‘Big Boys’ (i.e. giant manufacturers of oil and chemical-based cleaning products) have monopolised the supermarket shelves. Hopefully in the near future every supermarket will stock alternatives to petrol-based byproducts and the hundreds of derivatives from palm oil production. I have read a lot of articles regarding the dubious Roundtable of Sustainable Palm Oil (or RSPO) which many well known brands sign up to in order to continue using this super-cheap, but environmentally devastating, oil in all their goods. So l decided to avoid palm oil altogether. Most of my recommendations are manufactured in the UK which keeps fossil-fuel use and air miles down too.
Best of luck and hope my article helps you. Jenny croydebreaks.co.uk