Isle of Wight luxury self catering lodge, England
How this holiday makes a difference
Environment
We encourage our guests to note sightings of wildlife and birds in our journal.
We provide bird feeders, a water bowl and nesting boxes of all types including two for owls.
We leave fallen wood and leaves in some areas to provide a habitat for insects and we also leave uncut paddock areas for hunting birds and owls.
Our ponds provide a perfect setting for dragonflies and other water-bourne insects.
We have plantings of hazel, Scots and Corsican pine which Red Squirrels love and a feeder is placed near to Valentine Lodge. However, sightings are rare (they are quick) and we also have a large number of Buzzards which nest here which are not squirrel friendly.
We compost fallen leaves, grass cuttings and kitchen waste and provide a compost bin for Valentine Lodge. The compost is used on the garden.
We provide a recycling container and details of the Island's recycling scheme and ask our guests to participate with us.
We collect rainwater from the roof of the barn into two large tanks. From these tanks we pipe water around the cultivated and kitchen garden as well as a tap for guests use outside Valentine Lodge. In addition, we use the water from our well to water. However, when replanting we try to use plants suited to the dry sandy soil to reduce the amount of water required.
We utilise fallen and managed tree from Blakes Hill for use in the large wood burner in Valentine Lodge and the one in our house.
Blakes Hill, the house, has a history back to the 1590's although this is just a small part of the house today with much as later additions. We took care when adding the latest addition to use local stone where we could including some dug from the garden. Valentine Lodge which was built in the 1980's remains much the same externally however, we endeavour to minimise the building as it sits within the landscape of trees and paddocks.
We are ideally placed for walking and cycling holidays as Valentine Lodge is close to many footpaths and bridleways. We offer assistance to guests arriving at Island Ferry Ports without a car and bus timetables and advice is available for those wishing to use the public transport system.
We actively promote the use of local shops in Brighstone and elsewhere as part of welcome. Several shops nearby stock locally grown produce some grown in fields surrounding Blakes Hill.
Community
We personally greet and welcome our guests and provide local information on where to eat, walks, where to buy local produce and what to see. Local produce is grown or reared very close to Blakes Hill and has the minimum of miles of travel to local shops for sale.
I attend Brighstone Parish Council regularly and am a member of the Parish Forum.
I have been involved with local businesses and other members in promoting Brighstone for Tourism and to support local business.. I have been part of the team which, with support from the Rural Community Council and Brighstone Parish Council, produced a leaflet called 'DISCOVER BRIGHSTONE' . More recently I have been involved with a small local group of residents supported by the West Wight Landscape Partnership initiative in producing an A5 folded leaflet and walking map which will be distributed in Spring 2012.
We successfully campaigned in support of the AONB against the proposal to put three 410foot wind turbines on the ridge of the Down in the AONB in which we live.
We attend local garden shows and food festivals throughout the year and provide this information to our guests. We are lucky to have a local beekeeper at Limerstone Farm and provide her honey at Valentine Lodge for sale.
Landscape
We offer guests lots of information about how they can enjoy the landscape whether on foot, by cycle on a horse or by car or bus.
Brighstone and the surrounding area in particular offers a wide range of opportunities to enjoy the landscape. Whether you want to wander on the beach hoping to find a dinosaur fossil or visiting historical churches or bronze age barrows, flying over the land on a hanglider or walking in the steps of our ancestors on the ancient walkways and downs there is something for everyone.
As part of our welcome we ask our guests if we can assist them with any aspect of their holiday in terms of engagement with the local area and specifically the landscape. We have had small maps made using the detailed Rights of Way map book and provide an OS map of the Island in addition to many other publications and leaflets. We always inform guests how they can access footpaths directly from Valentine Lodge with the support of our local farmer whose land surrounds Blakes Hill.
We walk and enjoy the area ourselves regularly and I feel we are able to pass on our passion for this to our guests.
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