Green Tourism
Attadale has become a greener business, which is why we have registered the Attadale Holiday Cottages with Green Tourism. Green Tourism is a sustainable tourism certification programme that has over 2000 members and is the largest such programme in the world. We are happy to say that we have been awarded Bronze Status.
In the context of this programme, we have started developing a Green Policy. The current version of our Green Policy can be found below.
Perhaps you might like to travel and explore the Highlands during your stay at the Attadale Holiday Cottages? There are some other businesses in the Green Tourism programme within a 50-mile radius, as the crow flies. As of August 2016 these were - amongst others - the following Visitor Attractions and Inns/Restaurants:
· National Nature Reserve Beinn Eighe
· Sealife Glass Bottom Boat Gairloch
· National Trust for Scotland sites: Balmacara Estate and Lochalsh Woodland Walks, Inverewe Garden, Torridon and Kintail and Morvich
· The Three Chimneys and The House Over-By
These, as well as other local attractions, can also be found in the Visitor Information section of our website.
Additionally, if you would like to drop into a visitor information centre, there are 11 offices of VisitScotland in the Highlands that are also in the Green Tourism programme. You can find these VisitScotland VIC in Portree, Ullapool, Lochinver, Durness, Drumnadrochit, Fort William, Strontian, Inverness, Aviemore, Daviot Wood, and North Kessock.
Perhaps, during your stay here, you may like to assist us in becoming a more sustainable business? There are several things you could do in order to help us, such as recycling or supporting local businesses. You can find a more detailed list on how to make your stay more sustainable in our Responsible Visitor Charter below. Thank you!
Green Policy
Here at Attadale Holiday Cottages we are trying to make our business more environmentally friendly and sustainable. Even though this is a small enterprise, we firmly believe it is possible for us to do so. Certain aspects of a more sustainable business are already present, some are being adopted at the moment and yet others are in the planning stage.
Energy
We are currently having converters installed into our lights – so that when the currently used lightbulbs are “finished”, we can start using LED-lights.
Water
No chlorine treatment: The drinking water is treated with a UV-filter instead of chlorine.
Eco-friendly cleaning products: We are in the process of changing our cleaning material to more environmentally friendly products. By doing this, less harmful substances enter the water.
Supporting the Use of Public Transport
We would like to encourage people to travel to Attadale Holiday Cottages by train. We offer a lift to any guests arriving at or departing from Attadale train station, as it is still over a mile to the Holiday Cottages.
Local Attractions: Things to Do & See in the Area
We will gladly provide guests with information on places where they can go locally to eat & drink, as well as other places to visit in the area. This supports local businesses. Going to local places also means that the distances travelled by car are shorter, which is also good for the environment.
As the Cottages are towards the end of the Attadale glen and there is not a lot of public transport around Attadale in general, visitors will probably still need a car to reach most places. A possible exception are our very own Attadale Gardens, to which we offer free entry for guests in the Cottages.
Outdoor Activities Right on Your Door Step
There are also some outdoor activities that are nice to do within Attadale Estate and the Cottages are in an ideal position to enjoy them! Visitors can go hill walking, mountain-biking or fishing. Observing the local wildlife can also be very rewarding, with red deer often coming down to the Cottages in the evening, and birds (e.g. buzzards), that may be seen soaring above. Additionally, our guests are welcome to borrow some of our bicycles during their stay here.
Feedback
We much appreciate feedback and suggestions – be this on our efforts to become sustainable or on our visitors’ experiences in the Attadale Holiday Cottages in general. Please see the contact section of our website for details on how get in touch with us.
Towards a Sustainable Visit
We very much hope that you will enjoy your stay at the Attadale Holiday Cottages!
As a business that is trying to become more environmentally friendly and sustainable, we very much appreciate any assistance on your part! Should you be interested and wish to help us: We have compiled a few suggestions below, a list of things you could do.
Thank you!
Save Energy
Examples include turning the hot water boiler off during the day and switching off lightbulbs when they are not needed.
Save Water
This is also in the interest of all other guests in the cottages. Usually you will have enough water, as it comes down from the hills and is not used by many people. However, in longer dry periods in summer it can help to take shorter showers and not to let the water running while you are not using it!
Recycling
We would like to invite you to take all recyclables to the appropriate bins and containers when you leave. You can find more details concerning recycling on the “Helpful Information” leaflet in the welcome folder we provide for our guests.
Arriving by Public Transport
We would like to encourage people to travel to Attadale Holiday Cottages by train, even though it is quite remote, because Attadale has its own train station. We will gladly offer a lift to any guests arriving at or departing from there, as it is still over a mile to the Holiday Cottages.
Leaving the car behind for a day
Why not go for a walk to the Attadale Gardens? Entry is free for visitors from the Holiday Cottages! You can also go hill walking, mountain-biking or fishing. If you fancy a day trip by train instead, Attadale train station is along the beautiful Inverness-Kyle line. Especially the scenery on the journey from Attadale to Kyle, a mere 35-40 minutes, is wonderful! Along the way you will also find the charming village of Plockton.
Supporting local businesses
By going to eat & drink locally, as well as visiting places in the area, you support local businesses. For this we are always very grateful! It also means that you need to travel less to get there, which is good for the environment as well.
More information on things to see & do locally can be found in the welcome folder we provide for our guests. Some restaurants and visitor attractions in the area are also listed in the Visitor Information and Green Tourism sections of our website.