Wheatland Farm’s Awards | Do your bit | Environmental Policies
Have a truly green Devon holiday
Your holiday lets us farm the land around the eco lodges for wildlife
And that’s Wheatland Farm’s primary aim, alongside offering you quality eco friendly green holidays in Devon. These twin goals guide all our business decisions.
Wheatland Farm has won many awards for sustainable tourism. We run the whole farm for wildlife, and one third of it, Popehouse Moor, is a Site of Special Scientific Interest for its culm grassland habitats and rare plants and animals. We use traditional management techniques here in consultation with Natural England and the Devon Wildlife Trust. We take great care over the environmental impact of both the business and our own lifestyles.
By holidaying in the eco lodges you help make this countryside management financially viable – Thank you!
Wheatland Farm’s partnerships for greener holidays
Wheatland Farm has joined the #GetNaturePositive campaign (and we feature as a case study for the tourism section of the Nature Handbook).
Wheatland Farm is a North Devon Biosphere Reserve business partner
What’s so good about a green holiday in Devon?
A green holiday at Wheatland Farm is good for you, good for the wonderful Devon countryside you came to see, good for local economies, and good for the long term too.
Wheatland Farm is for everyone and every shade of green, from not really interested (don’t worry, your holiday will be comfortable and normal, but you’ll still be making a difference) to committed campaigner (we hope we’ll meet your high standards and that you’ll share your experiences with us). Our aim is pragmatic greening that’s relevant to your home too.
Award winning green Devon holidays
In January 2021 the North Devon Biosphere Reserve gave Wheatland Farm a Pledge for Nature Award. We’ve twice won the top sustainable tourism award in England: Visit England’s Gold Award for Sustainable Tourism (in 2012 and again in 2015). But this section isn’t about polishing Wheatland Farm’s awards, it’s about our environmental philosophy, how we ensure you get a truly green and low carbon holiday, and how your consumer choices make a real difference for good in Devon.
Better Devon holiday accommodation for you
Being green means the eco lodges are extremely well insulated, making them cosy even in winter. All the eco lodges and the cottage have solar hot water (with immersions for top ups). Balebarn Eco Lodge and Otter Cottage have a wood-burning stove and we use our own well-managed wood. Balebarn and Beech Lodge have efficient conventional hot tubs (optional extras) and Honeysuckle Lodge has a bookable outside bath (an eco hot tub) sunk in to the deck (and a conventional shower, of course). In fact, all Wheatland Farm’s appliances are chosen for efficiency. All the power is renewable – always. Fridges are A+ minimum, and all hobs are induction. And our upcycling ethos brings bags of style to your accommodation.
A wildlife rich Devon holiday for you
You’re free to explore Wheatland Farm’s 21 acres of nature reserve. Since there’s very little heavy machinery, there are not many farm hazards – so that means fewer no go areas on your holiday. And did you know you can borrow bikes, borrow boats, borrow wellies, borrow fishing rods and take a free guided nature walk at Wheatland Farm’s eco lodges? We believe that by choosing an eco friendly holiday here you’ve already ‘bought into’ the project — so you get to share all the good bits. Wheatland farm is more than a place to stay, it’s a place to be.
Clean green power for your eco lodge holiday
We generate our own renewable electricity with an 11kW Gaia wind turbine (standing proud in a field) and solar PV panels (on Balebarn Eco Lodge). When the wind isn’t blowing our electricity is still green – from a 100 percent renewables tarrif. Our farmhouse has a biomass boiler that uses logs from the farm (as do the wood burners in Otter Cottage and Balebarn Eco Lodge).
Electric car charging at your accommodation
Exploring Devon in an electric car? Recharge at Wheatland Farm’s electric car charging point to get a truly low carbon holiday, powered by the wind. Don’t forget your cables!
Wheatland Farm has an untethered PodPoint – and you pay via the app. But we recommend you also bring your 32 amp commando cable or a cable for a standard plug 13 amp plug, just in case. When we put our original electric car charging point in, back in 2017, it was the latest technology. Now it’s already old fashioned, but we’ll be keeping it as a back up for the PodPoint connection.
Wildlife from your holiday lodge window
Barn owls, swallows, butterflies, wildflowers, goldfinches, stoats, hedgehogs, foxes, badgers… depending on the season and your patience there’s always something to see at Wheatland Farm.
Your green holiday won’t let Devon go to waste
We can recycle almost anything at Wheatland Farm’s eco lodges, and your help means we divert over 80% of ‘waste’ into recycling. Actually, we could probably claim Wheatland Farm is ‘zero to landfill’, as residual waste goes for energy reclamation. But we’ve always had some reservations about such grand sweeping claims.
Food waste, plastic, tetrapak, glass, paper, card, batteries, electricals…just because you’re on holiday doesn’t mean a return to stinking black refuse bags. People expect better these days, and we’re delighted to be able to provide it.
We know Devon, so you can holiday like a local
As well as developing things to do on Wheatland Farm we’ve gathered info on things to do nearby, places to eat, adventures and treats etc. Whether you’re entertaining a family or indulging in chill out time, we’ve got ideas and local Devon knowledge to share. And when you stay local, you get treated like a local, as well as helping sustain the Devon countryside you came to visit.
Have a car free Devon holiday
Most people arrive at Wheatland Farm’s eco lodges by car — but you don’t have to. You can have a completely car free green holiday in Devon if you want to! We can collect you from the nearby station or bus stop, lend you bikes, and generally help you out if you’re not driving (we admire your efforts!). It’s not for everyone, so to help you decide we’ve pulled together the car free Devon holiday pros and cons.
Read on for our policies, or about our sustainability decisions on our blog pages.