Go Green Camping in Dorset
Posted on: 17th June 2024
Posted on: 17th June 2024
Ensuring that we look after our environment to be a beacon for green camping is a high priority to us all at South Lytchett. Over the last 15 years we have constantly tried to improve the green space and sustainability of our site. From maintaining the colourful flower beds to having cycles for hire. We strive to keep our green and pleasant land exactly that!
Over the last few years we have gone planting crazy! We started off by installing a herb garden and 24 oak barrels, which provide sustainable and annual planting. We also installed two huge planting walls and planted 400 metres of native hedging and 40 parkland trees. These are maintained by professional Dorset trees surgeons.
The dedicated team at South Lytchett Manor work tirelessly caring for our 25 acres of stunning grounds every day. Our efforts include regular maintenance of the pond, ensuring it remains a healthy and beautiful habitat. Our resident ducks bring joy to our guests as they go about their daily patrols. Recently, we have installed bird boxes and a bug hotel to welcome more wildlife visitors and support our natural environment. Our spacious dog walk and agility area is a favourite among our guests, and the flourishing wildflower meadow has become a sanctuary for countless bees and bugs. The sight of deer roaming in our meadows is always a heart-warming sight.
We actively promote the “reduce, reuse, recycle” principles to our guests. Our recycling is of great importance us to help protect the environment. In fact we recycle 60% of our waste! We are constantly striving to do more.
We provide recyclable bags within all our Glamping accommodation and stipulate our recycling policy on our park maps. We have also designed quirky posters to put on all of the euro bins to prompt guests to recycle responsibly.
We have invested in facilities to help visually or hearing impaired guests. We have two disabled shower rooms with radar keys and have modified family rooms to assist the partially able. Ambient doors have also been installed.
We have compiled an accessibility information pack to include days out suitable for accessibility-impaired guests. In reception we have large print sheets to assist the less able. We also have translation sheets for overseas visitors.
A microwave is provided to assist families with young children, and there is a freezer facility in order to store your own ice which is a big help to our guest who are camping without electricity.
We also situate guests in relation to their specific needs and often assist them if they experience difficulty manoeuvring their caravans.
We believe for business sustainability to succeed, it is vital to work with our local partners. With this in mind we network and cooperate with local businesses to promote and progress both our business and our partners’ businesses. Partnerships include the butcher, baker, pub, locally sourced jams, marmalades coffee beans, cakes, and More Buses. We have also recently started to create a friendship with Millies Liveability College, where students enjoyed planting our Hanging Baskets for around our shop and café.
One of our more unique features is that we have converted a red telephone box into a Book Swap library. If you cannot swap a book you can take the book for a £1.00 donation to our charity, Julia’s House Children’s Hospice. So far we have raised an incredible £11,218 for this wonderful course.
We aim to fill as much as our shop as possible with local produce. This is evident as we supply locally reared meats from Candy’s Farm at Corfe Mullen, we have a bakery in Ferndown that deliver bread and croissants in high season, and purchase jams from Made with Love from Dorset, an independent Blandford Forum based business.
We also stock Dorset Cereals, Ecover Washing Up Liquid, Ecover washing Powder and Hall and Woodhouse real ales.
It is always great for us to be recognised for the effort we invest. Over the year we have been fortunate to win a number of awards such as our Green Tourism Award and Sustainable Dorset Tourism Gold Award.
Take a look at our awards page to view all the awards we have received.