New Forest self catering cottage, England
How this holiday makes a difference
Environment
Being based in the heart of the New Forest National Park, we believe that it is important to look after our surroundings. Whilst retaining the character of our lovely old country house and the cottages, we aspire to keep abreast of modern eco-friendly technologies that help minimise our impact on the environment.
Great Wells House has recently installed photovoltaic solar panels which generate electricity and an air source heat pump which heats some of the water. We also have our own sewage system which discharges clean water at the end of the process which assists in watering the surrounding land.
We encourage our guests to help us reduce waste by utilising our own recycling bin system which places less pressure on local landfill sites. Where possible, our cleaning materials are eco friendly.
Our stable yard supplies compost which is used to keep our gardens flourishing
(great for the roses!) The gardens provide fresh flowers for the cottages during the growing season. Horse manure is always available free of charge.
Great Wells is situated in the middle of the New Forest with direct access onto the forest from the grounds. With the village of Burley and local attractions being only a short walk away, guests are encouraged to leave their cars at the cottage and make the most of local walking and cycling routes by which to explore the forest. Guests are welcome to bring their bikes and we are able to offer guests a sheltered area in which they are able to store them. With the village providing access to things such as bike hire, horse riding and horse-drawn wagon rides, we are able to assist guests in providing ideas on a variety of numerous environmentally sustainable and friendly ways in which to see the forest. Recently the New Forest Tour Bus has had its route extended to include Burley allowing our guests to see the forest without increasing the traffic on the local roads.
Community
As long-term residents of Burley, we aim to support the village and the local community in a variety of ways. We purchase local New Forest products wherever possible and encourage guests to use the local pubs, restaurants, shops and tearooms. We help to create employment giving local people opportunities to work in our business and all the ancilliary jobs essential to maintaining a large property, keeping our villages vibrant and busy.
We promote local New Forest Marque produce and farm shops to help reduce food miles and also encourage our visitors to shop locally. The Wednesday market in nearby Ringwood, it’s one of the oldest markets in the country and is another way in which we encourage guests to support the locality.
As, many of our neighbours are commoners, running their livestock - ponies, cattle and pigs on the forest, we ask our guests to take great care when on the roads, observing speed restrictions and driving to the road conditions, in the interest of avoiding accidents. We keep our guest informed of how to contact the relevant authorities should they become aware of an injured animal. Our guests are asked to keep their dogs on leads when in the vicinity of stock. As avid horse enthusiasts and animal lovers we constantly keep the local keepers and agisters aware of any problems we encounter with stock on the forest.
Landscape
Having lived in the New Forest for nearly 30 years we can assist our guests with planning their walking and cycling routes. We have an in depth knowledge of the area and like to suggest routes incorporating lunch at a pub halfway. Some of the local riding stables also offer this choice. We supply Ordnance Survey maps in our cottages plus many books and leaflets for our guests convenience. Secret badger sets, the pannage season and pony drifts, are all unknown parts of our local landscape to which we can introduce our visitors. Many of these beautiful routes start directly from the cottages such as the mill lawn brook walk which is a wildlife haven for bird enthusiasts, the rare Dartford Warbler has been seen here as well as Kingfishers and Little White Egret. The wonderful beaches and harbours along the south coast offer alternative walking country and are within a 15 minute drive. Stanpit marshes near Christchurch are a hidden gem where you may view at close quarters many species of migrating birds.
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