Tel. +44 (0)1273 600030 (UK)
We use established trails for our walks and our staff ensure that local points of cultural and environmental interests are visited and explained. We are always careful to have a minimal impact on the physical environment when we are in the outdoors and encourage our guests to do the same. Our accommodations are locally owned and have recycling facilities.
During our walking weeks we encourage our guests to support the local community by stopping in at nearby shops, restaurants and markets run by local people and producers. Our walking holidays are are all about getting to know the area but minimising impact on the countryside. We train our staff extensively to be knowledgeable about the National Park, wildlife and plant life as well as the French version of the country code. We stick to planned itineraries and well established trails.
We are committed to Responsible Travel and request feedback from our guests in order to continually improve our service and performance. We aim to use 100% locally owned and run businesses for all of our external requirements. These include all of our activity suppliers for canoe trips, bike hire, horse riding etc, our accommodations and the places that we stop for meals and shopping. All of these businesses are based in the nearby towns of Vallon and Barjac or in our own village of Vagnas.
We do this not only because it is good for the region economically but because we feel that it will give the local population a chance to represent itself to its visitors, adding to the cultural feel of the holiday. The only thing that we intend to source from the UK is our customers.
We will do our utmost to ensure that our guests are respectful of the physical environment and will provide them with appropriate means to minimise their impact. We will achieve this as our trained staff will accompany guests on almost all activities and excursions. By planning our routes, sticking to established trails and taking all of our waste away with us we can ensure that the impact of our presence is nominal. We encourage and facilitate the recycling of paper, glass and plastics.
We are aware of the impact that tourism can have on the social and physical environments that we work in. We strive to make this impact positive wherever possible and to do our part in minimising damage or waste.
In the Ardèche, many of our activities take place in or around the Ardèche National Park or in forest and farmland locations. We work hard to train and educate our staff so that they in turn can advise our clients on how to enjoy the region without having negative impact on the environment.
In addition to the physical concerns, we believe that it is vital that we work in partnership with the communities that we live in and to embrace the cultural and linguistic differences. All of our English speaking staff are given lessons and advice on French speaking and are obliged to converse and interact at every opportunity. Wherever practical, we work with local companies and suppliers to provide services for our clients. We believe that this not only improves our local relationships but it adds to our clients experience and improves understanding of the local environment for all involved.
We always try to:
- Remove all of our litter (and a little extra!) when we are in the outdoors.
- Encourage our guests to use green transport or offset emissions where possible for international travel.
- Reuse or recycle wherever possible.
- Respect wildlife and habitats by using established trails and not altering the natural environment in any way.
- Minimise consumption of artificially stored water and electricity by close monitoring and using devices such as timers to prevent waste.
- Manage our properties in order to limit energy consumed to heat or cool them.
- Make recommendations to our guests regarding how to care for the local environment.
- We try to raise awareness of local, sensitive environmental issues.
- Offer opportunities to visit local heritage sites, local historical buildings and national parks.
- Work with local businesses to provide activities, accommodation, shopping and meals.
- Visit and, where possible take part in local shows and events.
- Buy locally produced foods (we’d be crazy not to – it's great!).
- Behave responsibly and with respect for the community by encouraging considerate interaction and conduct.
- We like to take a moment to consider how our presence may be perceived by those around us and to behave accordingly.
We invite every traveller who books a holiday via us to send in a review. Because we don't run the holidays they're completely independent and unedited... remember to read between the lines though, as two people on the same holiday can have different views!
