EHU details 2024

In 2023 our Electricity cost was 90p/kwh!! (Let’s not disclose the daily standing charge!!!!!)

Since then we have installed some new EHU points, have a revised cost of 35p/kwh and have installed smart metering on all pitches. In addition we have reduced the power to 10Amps. We feel this is a more fair way of offering our facilities and to date guests have significantly benefited from their use. It also means as we continue to develop the site and add more hookups guests have the choice of whether to consume power or not.

As guests arrive we will advise:

what the current meter reading is.
how they can monitor their consumption.
we may ask for a £5 deposit per night to be reconciled when you check out - to date we have not had to do this - 2024 was a trial and we have learnt a lot!
we will do our best to advise guests if their consumption appears to be high. To date guests have typically been consuming approx. £1.50-£2.00/night.

Please note it is illegal to profit from the provision of power - we seek only therefore to cover the costs - any balance paid via way of deposit versus consumption when guests check-out will be returned to the guest.

We have also developed a carbon offset/credit scheme which is entirely voluntary!! We ask guests to consider their footprint and using EHU as a guide have determined that the carbon offset value on £1.67/night electric consumption is 10p! Guests offering to donate this value contributes to the planting an apple/fruit tree which in turn results in produce and CIDER! (Oh yes!!). Did you know an apple tree can consume 2 tonnes of carbon a year and produce enough oxygen in a month for a human being to breath for 2 years - it’s a no-brainer. We have already planted 7 additional trees (2024) offsetting our own carbon footprint (Our house and campsite) and actually placing us as ‘CARBON NEGATIVE’ With continued planting we will label trees by year so returning guests can witness the products of our labour and their contribution to maintaining an eco-friendly and sustainable site.

“Visit Tamar Valley is taking on climate change head-on with their exciting Sustainability Pledge and green tourism initiatives! As part of the Tamara Landscape Partnership Scheme’s “Come Visit, Stay Awhile” project, they’ve partnered with The Green Acorn Award Scheme to launch the Green Tourism Programme.

Thanks to National Lottery Heritage Funding, this program will support eight local tourism and hospitality businesses, known as ‘ambassadors,’ to lead the way in sustainability. These businesses will engage in the Green Acorn scheme to earn the Green Acorn Award, and encourage their guests to reduce the environmental impact of their visits. They’ll also share their experiences and best practices with other local businesses, inspiring a wave of sustainability across Tamar Valley tourism. By late 2025, our ambassadors will help shape a Sustainable Tourism Charter for the region—moving us all toward a greener Tamar Valley!”

We are delighted to have been selected as an Ambassador business representing ‘camping and touring businesses’ We will be looking to update our site with further news as well as on the Visit Tamar Valley Tourist site. We provided a quote for their site:

“We live in a most beautiful part of the world, rich in heritage, landscapes and beautiful countryside. As a campsite we are guilty of encouraging visitors to share the place we call home. As such we have a duty of care to balance commercial interests with ecological and environmental impact. We started this journey a few years ago and are continuously looking to improve, As such we are delighted to be offered a role as Ambassador to share our experiences and to learn from others.” Declan & Sara, The Old Rectory.

We continue to try and develop the facilities on the site, and whilst this is challenging and requires continuous investment, we have made some significant changes to our infrastructure - in keeping with our support to and as Ambassadors for Visit Tamar Valley’s sustainable tourism initiative.

In January we achieved the ‘Green Acorn’ award for innovation and implementation of sustainable measures. To that end, this year we have replaced our LPG tanks servicing our Holiday Cottage and Toilet Block with an Air Source Heat Pump and provisioned it to support our ongoing commitment to provide facilities that enable us to review how we extend our season; balancing encouraging visitors with our costs at an affordable price.

We’re proud to say we have decided to maintain our prices even though we’re still working out the costs of our services and we continue to work to develop providing our services and maintaining our credentials.

Our implementation of a voluntary Carbon Offset scheme for visitors (donating to their carbon footprint created whilst staying with us) has resulted in the planting of an additional 2 apple and 2 pear trees. One of the pear trees was donated entirely by our customers, Steve and Deborah Evans, for whom we are eternally grateful.

Between August and December 2024, when we introduced EHU Smart metering, we saw a 30% decrease in visitor consumption of electricity. The carbon offset value for this, £37, combined with additional donations, £23, enabled the purchase of the 2 apple trees. These new apple trees, followed by the pear trees, and in harmony with our existing half-mile of onsite beech hedging and 30+ apple trees have enhanced our carbon negative position! We thank all our guests for their contributions and for continuing to support this initiative.

We have also purchased a Cornishgold™ pear tree - and details of this historic tree can be found here.