Living in a national park it is even more important that we do everything we can to be a business who supports and promotes green tourism. We have been members of the Green Tourism Business Scheme since 2005, and continue to stay up-to-date with their latest guidance and advice for businesses like ours.
Here are some of the things we do to make your holiday at Avielochan a little greener.
HEATING
All of our cottages have woodburning stoves and a generous starter pack of sustainably-sourced local wood is provided for guests.
We have a mixture of electric and oil heating, all thermostat controlled, and our boilers are serviced regularly. Hill View Cottage also benefits from solar PV panels.
This year, we added exterior wall insulation to Hill View Cotage and we are constantly improving the insulation of our buildings.
HOT WATER
Our hot water is heated slightly differently in each of our properties. The Croft uses an oil-fueled system, while Lochside and Hill View benefit from electric heating. In addition to this, Hill View’s water is also heated by PV panels and a woodburning stove.
ENERGY
We are committed to reducing energy consumption and monitor all use of energy and fuels.
We do not currently have electric vehicle charge points but hope to in the future. Charging points for the public are available of Boat of Garten Community Hall or Aviemore Village Car Park.
More locations can be found at ChargePlace Scotland.
FURNITURE
You will not find much shop-bought, fast fashion, interior décor in our cottages but you will find a lot of unique and much-loved bits and pieces. Ronald loves creating new shelves, stools and tables… whenever something breaks, he fixes it.
CLEANING PRODUCTS
Where possible, we choose eco-friendly products from Dew and the Scottish Fine Soap Company. We buy in bulk from a wholesaler and refill containers to cut down on packaging.
LIGHTING
Low energy or LED bulbs are fitted throughout our cottages but this doesn’t mean you can’t save even more energy by remembering to switch them off when not needed.
LOVING LOCAL
We are SO lucky to live in this wonderful part of our world. We personally shop local as much as possible and would recommend our guests to do the same. Check out our blog for some of the local gems for food, drink and things to do.
WASTE
Many items, such as our loo roll and hand soap, are bought in bulk to cut down on packaging waste. We ask guests to please read the information about what can and cannot be recycled in our local authority area and to make use of the correct bins when separating waste.
TRAVEL
Get on your bike! There are SO many amazing bike and walking trails in the area, so why not try a car-free day on your holidays? We provide storage for bikes at our cottages. Or maybe you could grab a bus! Although we are in a rural location there is a bus service passing our road end.
LOVE THE LAND
We care deeply about our local environment, please please leave us as you find us and make sure you do not leave litter whilst you are out and about – if there are no bins available, pocket your litter and take it back with you and put it in the bin!
FEED THE BIRDS
We love wildlife and hope you enjoy seeing what you can spot out the window whilst you enjoy your morning coffee. We have made a effort to plant hedges and shrubs that welcome wildlife and have provided all the cottages will feeding stations and food for small birds and, if you are lucky, red squirrels.
