Norwich bed and breakfast in Norfolk, England
How this holiday makes a difference
Environment
Environmental Statement
We are committed to reducing our impact on the environment and try to run Catton Old Hall in such a way that we carefully monitor and limit our use of energy, water consumption for washing and cleaning, reduce waste, recycle wherever possible and source products locally.
To this end we have adopted the following practices:
We use a steam cleaner to sanitize all bathrooms, soft furnishings and upholstery, cleaning to 120 degrees to deep clean killing bacteria and also dust mites thereby requiring minimal use of cleaning products containing harmful chemicals
Introduced a Breakfast Menu Order Form to minimize food waste (3.6 tonnes of food is thrown away each year in England and Wales)
An on-going programme to replace the bulbs in all lighting fixtures with low energy types
Thermostatic radiator valves are fitted on all radiators
Notices in each bathroom encourage guests to think about how often they require fresh towels
Line drying as much linen and towelling as possible—the average home dryer‘s carbon footprint equates to approximately 2kg of CO2 per load. We have a commercial dryer.
‘A’ rated electrical appliances replace older versions where possible
A high efficiency gas boiler has been installed
Support local economy by using locally sourced quality and seasonal produce wherever possible to reduce food miles
Support local egg producer and return egg trays for re-use and Support local producers of milk and recycling of plastic milk bottles
By using local supplier of and making our own jams/preserves, glass jars are re-used
We use refillable toiletries from the Spa Therapy range by Gilchrist & Soames ‘which contain no parabens, phthalates, petrol-derived ingredients, mineral oil, urea, DEA, TEA or propylene glycol. They do contain food-grade, naturally derived USP glycerin, natural conditioning agents from honey and the brassica plant; and soybean and cottonseed oil, instead of petrochemicals.’ Gilchrist & Soames are also ‘committed to cruelty-free development and vow to never test our products on animals’
We recycle all recyclable materials where possible: bottles, cans, plastic and paper are recycled (using the village collection point and the local council’s doorstep collection)
We limit the amount and reuse paper as much as we can and use email in preference to snailmail
We grow as many flowers for the breakfast tables ourselves from the garden and when in season we grow our own parsley, tomatoes, strawberries, raspberries, currants, blueberries and other fruit in the garden
Green waste is composted
We try to make the most efficient use of water being on a water meter. Water is collected in the house and from partly-consumed complimentary bottles of mineral water and rainwater collected in water butts is used for tubs and greenhouse watering
Encourage guests to ‘use local public transport for visiting the city centre thereby reducing use of their car
The property is no-smoking throughout
Encourage wildlife in the garden with a variety of butterfly and bee friendly planting
We encourage guests to help by:
Not leaving lights on when leaving rooms or the house
Switching off TVs and not leaving on standby mode (standby consumes up to 2/3rds of electricity compared to on mode)
Adjusting radiator valves to suit (and not having them on a high setting whilst leaving the windows open at the same time) - additional blankets may be found in the wardrobes
Using breakfast order forms to minimize food waste
Leaving newspapers, glass & plastic bottles to the side of the main rubbish bin so we can recycle them
Supporting our laundry policy and re-using towels
Supporting local businesses
Community
Support local economy by using locally sourced quality and seasonal produce wherever possible to reduce food miles. Support local egg producer and by using local supplier of and making our own jams/preserves, glass jars are re-used. Encourage guests to use local public transport for visiting the city and to support local businesses by buying local, eating out in the area in locally owned pubs and restaurants both in the city and in the village and surrounding villages but also in the Broads. We encourage guests to visit local visitor attractions, pointing out the long history of the area with specific attractions of the city such as the Norman castle, the Cathedral, the medieval Dragon Hall giving them reasons to spend longer in the area and to return in the future to discover more of the city and its environs such as National Trust properties, e.g. Blickling Hall. We also recommend to guests visits to nature reserves such as Pensthorpe of Springwatch fame and also less well known reserves for birdwatching and for wildlife or even taking a boat trip to see the seals at Blakeney. We have a full range of leaflets on things to see and do to whet the appetite of guests.
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