Isle of Wight luxury beach cottage, England
How this holiday makes a difference
Environment
Fort Victoria Cottages is fully committed to protecting the local environment of the Isle of Wight. We are members of the Isle of Wight conservation partnership 'Gift to Nature'.
We encourage our guests to participate in sustainable and green activities on the Isle of Wight, by providing information on local walks and wildlife tours, cycle hire shops and other sustainable and environmentally friendly tourism providers. We also provide secure space for bicycles to be stored.
We provide detailed information to guests who wish to travel to the Isle of Wight without a car, since the ferry terminal at Lymington connects to the mainland rail network, and our cottage is a short walk away from the ferry terminal on the Island.
We provide our guests with recycling bins for household waste, and provide information to guests on additional recycling facilities on the Island.
We encourage our guests to practice energy conservation through the use of wireless electricity monitors mounted in the kitchen. We also use 100% renewable evergy tariffs through our energy supplier Southern Electric.
All our white goods are rated A for energy efficiency, and we only use low energy lightbulbs where available.
We insist on the responsible behaviour of guests with dogs, requiring dogs to be kept on a lead in certain areas, and the use of doggie bags at all times.
Community
We encourage our guests to buy their weekly food from our partners, the local organic food suppliers The Real Island Food Company (which does delivery to our cottage on the day of guest arrival), and from the local organic farm shop at Kings Manor Farm, just around the corner.
We only employ local cleaners (Fran, who lives next door to the cottage, and Lynda) and local builders, plumbers, electricians etc. Where possible, we also source all of our products from locally owned businesses.
We provide our guests with information about the best locally owned pubs and restaurants in the area. These recommendations are very much appreciated in our guestbook, and many guests are happy to make their own recommendations.
The cottages are decorated with photographs and paintings made by local artists and photographers. Some of the furnishings in the house are also made by local artists and craftspeople.
Our welcome packs include items from local producers, such as apple juice from Sharon Orchard, near Ryde, Isle of Wight oak roasted tomatoes from the Tomato Stall in Arreton, and bottles of beer from Goddards Brewery.
We are regular contributors to a charity which for obvious reasons holds a special place in the hearts of people from the Isle of Wight, the RNLI.
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