Sustainability

 

At Willows Pitlochry we place a strong emphasis on sustainability and we try to ensure that our business has the least possible impact on the environment.  Please take a few minutes to read below to see what we do to help the environment and what you can do during your stay.

Our Commitment

We are members of Green Tourism UK (awaiting accreditation) and actively work to becoming more sustainable.  Murray is a CPD certified Green Champion.  Each month we donate to the Forth Hedgehog hospital, Trees for Life, RSPB and the Scottish Wildlife Trust. 

Wildlife

We actively encourage wildlife in our garden.  We have a mix of tall trees, medium sized shrubs and low growing plants this creates a diverse habitat for our birds. Our evergreens provide year-round shelter for birds and protect them from the harsh weather conditions.  We have a number of  bird baths, nesting boxes, bird and squirrel feeders throughout the grounds.  We have a hedgehog house in our rear garden and our resident hedgehog can sometimes be seen and heard scuffling around.  Watch out for the bats that live in our trees!  We have re wilded an area of our back garden and allow this grow long in the summer months. We have bug hotels, wild flowers, and a couple of dead trees provide a natural habitat for native pollinators, insects and birds.   

Water

We have dual flush toilets and all our taps and showers are fitted with aerators to conserve water.  We use a local laundry service and our guest towels are washed on an eco setting and air dried whenever possible.  We have a water meter to help us monitor and manage our water consumption.  We have multiple water butts (1600 litres) around the garden to harvest the rainwater which we use to water our plants and flowers in the garden.

Reduce energy consumption

All our indoor lighting is provided by LEDs and external lighting is a combination of LEDs and solar A++.  To reduce heat loss the B&B and self catering units are double glazed throughout.  The apartment is rated C energy efficiency and the cottage D.   Rather than having three separate boilers we run one large condensing boiler and operate a community heating system that supplies our heat and hot water throughout.  All our white appliances have a high energy rating  A++.  Our flues are swept regularly and the wood for the stoves in the dining room and guest lounge is sourced locally.  Trees that have blown over are collected and dried in our garage ready to use the following year.  We supplement our wood supply with eco logs/briquettes sourced locally.

Reduce waste

We recycle and compost as much of our waste as possible and use the compost in our garden.   Reducing food waste is important to us so we ask guests to pre order their breakfast the evening before to minimise wastage.

Produce and food

Where possible we source all our food locally.  We grow as much of our own fruit and veg as possible.  In the summer months we use the vegetables, soft fruits and berries in our breakfasts.  

 

What you can do

 

Conserve energy and water

Boil only the amount of water you need.  Please turn off taps when you have finished.  Please switch off room lights, the TV and your electrical devices when leaving your room.    

Recycle

We kindly encourage guests to recycle by separating their waste and using the recycling station located in the upstairs hallway

 

 

Our future plans

We hope to be installing solar panels on our roof in 2024, this will provide us with electricity and reduce usage from the grid.

We also plan to add an EV charging point for our guests to use.