Our green credentials
We are fortunate to live in rural Herefordshire and have done our utmost to make as little impact as practicable. In fact, our plan is to leave it better than we found it. Here’s what we’re doing to make that happen.
Local natural building materials
When we moved here, the house was in a poor state of repair and the barns on the point of dereliction. Our architect and excellent builders used local and recycled materials whenever practicable during the renovation of the holiday cottages. The stone is local, either from derelict buildings or from local farmers fields. The beech floors are re-cycled having started out life as a school gymnasium; the oak and other stone are locally sourced. A fair proportion of the oak used in the cottages has been reclaimed.
Heating and lighting
The heating is located in an adjacent building to reduce noise in the cottages. There is underfloor heating thoughout the holiday cottages. It distributes the heat evenly and reduces ‘hot spots’. Each cottage has its own controls for each zone so you can heat or cool the rooms to suit your personal requirements. The cottages are well insulated with double-glazing in hardwood frames and each cottage has a mechanical heat recovery system, which refreshes the air. Hot water is pumped round the sinks and showers reducing water usage. We also mainly use efficient LED lights. Plus there is a mechanical heat recovery system to ensure a constant supply of fresh air.
Laundry
A shared laundry facility is available and free to use. It has a commercial washer and separate drier. These are very quick and use less power than conventional machines. Washing powder is also supplied with our compliments.
Waste disposal
Bins are provided in the cottages for waste disposal, including recycling.
Rewilding and the adjacent fields
There are over 12 acres of ancient field systems surrounding Thatch Close Cottages. Believed to date to at least Saxon Times there are re-laid hedges, one of which is reputed to be over 1,000 years old. Metal detectors have certainly found a variety of interesting objects over the years!
There are numerous ancient trees here, a true haven for wildlife. Ancient enclosures, mature trees and hedges along with unploughed pastures have provided a stable environment for the support of wildlife. We’re lucky to share our space with foxes, badgers, owls, birds of prey, amphibians and a range of plants. Hedge cutting is minimized to encourage bird life, which has culminated in The Herefordshire Nature Trust’s Gold Award.
You’ll find a collection of reference books in your holiday cottage. They’ll help you identify insects, birds, butterflies and moths, and flora if you want to turn nature detective whilst you’re here. Over the years guests have identified honey buzzards and different flycatchers within our 12 acres. What will you see?
In addition, we have planted over 40 specimen trees and rejuvenated the surrounding gardens. The pastures are cut late in the year to encourage invertebrates and those who feed on them. Our ancient pond contains newts, toads and frogs.
There’s also a small orchard, where you are welcome to sample the produce. We have reduced mowing the fields to encourage wildlife – your dogs will love all the different scents to chase! Planting is accompanied with the addition of local barn manure or copra from the local growers.