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Be more eco-friendly in 2020 with these Devon businesses

15th December 2019

Categories: Visitor News

If you’re anything like us, you’ll have already started considering your resolutions for the coming year and if you’ve set yourself the goal of becoming more eco-friendly then you might want to think about coming to Devon next year for your holidays.

The tourism sector in Devon have been working on becoming as eco friendly as possible over the past few years, more and more businesses are offering alternatives, including paper straws, solar panels for their energy and cutting down their food miles by growing much of their own food.

As the climate change debate is set to continue into 2020, we thought we’d give you the lowdown on some of the options available to you right here in Devon. From places to stay to things to do, there are loads of green tourism opportunities in the county, so let’s start off by telling you about some of the places you can stay.

Contrary to popular belief, choosing an eco friendly place to stay doesn’t mean having to rough it or spend your holiday not using showers or cooking food. In fact, you can stay pretty much anywhere! There are hotels that are growing their own food and using renewable energy, holiday parks that have cut down on their plastic use and glamping sites for those that want to experience camping with a difference that give you the chance to forage and lower your carbon footprint even more!

Image: Best Western Tiverton Hotel.

For somewhere located in the heart of Devon with easy public transport access to a wide range of places, including Exeter where you’ll find two main line train stations – making it even easier to have a green holiday! – try the Best Western Tiverton Hotel. Based in the town of Tiverton, which is full of interesting things to do, this hotel is a Silver Award Winner at the Green Tourism Awards, plus it is close to the Tiverton Canal where you can find several fun attractions and immerse yourself in the sort of landscape that being eco friendly can help preserve!

Also awarded silver for their efforts in Green Tourism is The Duke of Cornwall Hotel in Plymouth. This highly rated hotel is a firm favourite among holiday makers, those travelling for business and just about everyone in between. The hotel is set in Plymouth allowing you to easily use the rail network and take advantage of the regular bus service. If you want to look at green things to do in the city, make sure to spend a few hours at the National Marine Aquarium where you can find out more about their conservation efforts. You could also spend some time at Plymouth Gin where you can take tours of this famous gin distillery and find out the secrets behind those great flavours – most of the gin is made using local ingredients and is produced onsite, so buying a bottle or two from there will help cut down your food miles!

Image: Bovisand Beachside Holiday Park.

Not far from Plymouth is Bovisand Beachside Holiday Park, who are the recipients of both a Green Tourism Silver Award but also the David Bellamy Conservation Award. The holiday park offers spectacular views of the coast and is situated in a tranquil valley giving you both coast and countryside to explore. If you’re staying in the area and want to experience some adventure without disturbing the natural landscape around you, head to Clip n Climb Plymouth and spend a few hours on the various climbing walls. It’s the same level of difficulty as taking on actual cliffs, but without the threat to disturbing wildlife – plus with their wide range of activities, there is something for every ability level.

Image: Clip n Climb

Another hotel that prides itself on its green agenda is the Langstone Cliff Hotel in Dawlish. Dawlish is a lovely, charming town in the English Riviera that is home to some of the only black swans in the UK. The hotel has several features and makes an ideal wedding venue as well as being a comfortable place to stay. Dawlish is accessible by train with a mainline station which also links you to the neighbouring towns of Torquay and Newton Abbot, so you can easily travel about using the public transport rather than your car while you’re here. You can even pick up ferries from the town and travel along the coast, Stuart Line Cruises are one company that offers a variety of trips and pleasure cruises, including some that are aimed at helping you see what wildlife lives in the region.

While we’re talking about Dawlish, the town is also home to Welcome Family Holiday Park which markets itself as being eco friendly. The park is a great choice for anyone looking for a base for their family seaside holiday and being just a few minutes from the Blue Flag beach at Dawlish Warren, combined with the onsite facilities, the whole family will love their stay here.

Image: Higher Wiscombe.

For a self-catering option, look at Higher Wiscombe on the Jurassic Coast, located just outside of Sidmouth, the cottages here have been awarded Gold for their commitment to being eco-friendly as well as a whole host of other accolades. As the cottages are self-catering you can really challenge yourself to be as eco friendly as possible by shopping sustainably and going plastic free – think you can do it? Let us know! You can get in touch with us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

If you’re looking to do a spot of camping and really feel like you’ve gone back to nature, have a look at the campsite run by Roadford Lake. Not only is the lake itself a hugely popular tourist attractions with plenty of activities and games to keep the whole family amused, but the onsite camping provision allows you to really take your pick when it comes to what kind of holiday you want to have. Whether you’re looking for a grass pitch, a hard standing one, an electric one or one without, you can pick what is best for you. Plus, they have a range of glamping accommodation options too!

Image: Roadford Lake.

You can find more places to stay that are eco friendly here. Like we said though, that’s not all, there are several attractions that are green too! We’ve already mentioned a few of them, like the National Marine Aquarium and Roadford Lake, others include the National Trust properties at Knightshayes and Saltram. These homes, like most of the properties managed by the National Trust use a lot of their own home grown produce in the cafes and work hard to maintain the grounds in an environmentally friendly way.

Another attraction in the region that only uses locally sourced food and prides itself on being green is Pennywell Farm near Buckfastleigh. The site, which is a huge favourite among children, picked up a Gold Award in last year’s Green Tourism Awards – so you know they’re really committed to making sure that everyone has a great, green time while visiting!

Here are loads more options for you if you’re planning to visit Devon for an eco friendly holiday – be sure to take a look here for more things to do during your stay and let us know if you’ve been on an eco friendly holiday recently!