Here at Herding Hill Farm Camping & Glamping Site we take our environmental responsibility seriously since it increases our personal wellbeing. Our objective is to respect the landscape in which we are lucky enough to live and reduce our use of energy and water and our generation of waste. We are committed to helping our guests reduce the impact of their stay on the environment through the facilities and the information we provide. Our environmental policy also helps to shape our 5-star campsite status which we are very proud to have achieved.

We have an Environmental Policy Statement. 

Our Natural Landscape

We are corporate supporters of the Northumberland Wildlife Trust.

Our site has been designed to ensure that what we do compliments the beautiful Northumberland rural countryside in which we are located. Our site is a peaceful, green sanctuary for people and wildlife alike. We currently have a variety of birds on the site together with several families of hedgehogs, wild ducks and bats. Our touring pitches are separated by hedges to provide privacy and encourage wildlife.

We have a wildflower meadow dog walk providing wonderful views down the Haltwhistle valley.

Dark Sky Friendly

Our site is surrounded on all sides by farmland, used for the grazing of local sheep. We are a Dark Sky Friendly Park and take proactive steps to ensure that our actions and those of our guests do not jeopardise the beautiful dark skies for which Northumberland is so famous and the stargazing our guests come to us to enjoy. To minimise light pollution and energy use, we use low level LED or solar lighting, with motion sensors.

We have several ‘star gazing’ boxes for hire, which include binoculars, information books, blanket and hot drinks to encourage engagement with the dark skies. We also have a telescope for use around the site for those occasions when we have a particularly good night sky..

We have dark skies activities and books for children and adults for sale in the site shop. Check out our BLOG on the best spots for stargazing in Northumberland. 

We are proposing to work in partnership with The Sill National Landscape Discovery Centre, Northumberland National Park and local stargazing partners to start providing ‘star gazing’ events to promote knowledge and interest in the Dark Skies. 

Minimise Energy Usage

Our taps have automatic shut offs to minimise water usage and we use aerated shower heads and dual flush toilets. We have increased the number of serviced pitches with water hook-up points to help prevent water waste. Our well-insulated pods have black-out blinds for increased efficiency and there are low energy air hand dryers in the Amenities Block.

When planning new developments on the site we build in green credentials and ensure our accommodation is energy efficient for year-round use. The solar volaic thermal panels on the roof of the Amenities Block help heat the hot water for use in our showers and wash hand basins which reduces our gas consumption.

Our cleaning products are eco-friendly where possible, we order what we can in bulk to minimise deliveries to site and we use micro-fibre cloths and a fogger to ensure we are using as little chemicals as possible when cleaning. We are stocking ‘whogivesacrap’ toilet paper in our shop together with Eco-friendly washing up liquid and cassette toilet liquid.

We have an electric golf buggy for use around the site.

Supporting The Local Community

We are members of Haltwhistle Matters, Haltwhistle Chamber of Trade and Heart of Hadrian’s Wall Tourism Association.

Our shop sources produce from local suppliers including bread, milk, beer, meat and gin and we promote local providers on our website. We encourage our guests to order food from local food partners who offer a delivery service to site.

Our book and DVD exchange allow guests to re-use and re-cycle where possible.

We are happy to offer free stays at the site to support charities or local fundraising initiatives. We support a local charity each year (this year it is the Great North Air Ambulance) with collection boxes and 2 fundraising weekends per year where activities are provided for children and adults for donations with match funding from WCF. We also support fundraising activities for our local community with collection boxes and prizes for fundraising events. 

We operate a low noise policy after 10.30pm and do not allow radios or electronic music on the site that can be heard outside of the accommodation.   

Recycling Waste

We work with local company North West Recycling who remove everything from site. The waste then undergoes numerous processes to produce many products that can be used again in the building and manufacturing industries and to ensure that as much as 95% of our rubbish is recycled. This is higher than it would be in individual bins where guest knowledge about what is recyclable may be low and is also convenient for them as it prevents them from having to worry about what rubbish goes into which bin.

We re-use materials wherever possible from around the site. Wood from the dismantled decks is being used to re-build fences and as framework for the decking for the Wigwam cabins, to make hedgehog houses, bug hotels and bird boxes. Shredded paper is used in the rabbit and guinea pig houses.

We use biodegradable doggy bags which are located with the dog bins on the site.

The waste from our animals is used either by ourselves for compost on our flower beds or is collected by a local farmer for use on his fields.

Carbon Conscious

We allow our guests to bring one car to site only which reduces their carbon footprint. There is a Hadrian’s Wall bus, the AD122 which stops close to the site (in season) and allows guests to visit the local attractions without needing to take their car. The local train station is also within walking distance of the site. There are plenty of things to do on foot from the site and we actively promote local businesses, walks and attractions to encourage guests to stay local and reduce their fuel emissions. Check out our BLOG for some ideas around car-free camping at Herding Hill Farm.

We have extended our amenity block to provide additional indoor facilities for backpackers and cyclists and to provide camper shelter.

We will be moving to environmentally responsible disposable sanitary disposal, reducing our carbon footprint for unnecessary visits to empty bins.

Leave No Paper Trail

Our website contains comprehensive information for our guests and our online booking system, in conjunction with all information relevant to their stay, being emailed prior to their arrival. This saves on paper by minimising the need for it to be printed out. Our office paper is recycled. The majority of our marketing is digital rather than leaflet based.

Our Future

Our focus going forward is to further reduce our plastic waste. We have installed refillable hand sanitiser stations in all accommodation and replaced the plastic cups in our vending machine with paper. We intend to switch to glass milk bottles from a local dairy when we re-open in 2021. There are water points throughout the site for guests to re-fill their own bottles. We will have water butts to collect rainwater for watering our flower beds.

In 2022 we are reinstating our wildlife pond for guests to enjoy. We hope to encourage more birds and insects by ensuring this habitat remains a rich source of food even in dry weather. As part of our participation in the David Bellamy Pledge for Nature Conservation Scheme, we will increase the numbers of bird feeders and bat boxes located around the site and plant additional flowers and shrubs which are native to our local environment to encourage butterflies, bees and other wildlife. The new Castle Pod development at the bottom of the site will incorporate the existing pond area with planting of local native species and ongoing maintenance to encourage, wildflowers, shrubs and wildlife. We are proposing running ‘nature/environment’ sessions with the children during the school holidays. 

We are considering the installation of an electric charging point for vehicles and secure bike storage and have a rotating program to replace our electrical equipment such as fridges and washing machine with super-efficient appliances.

Our intention is to apply for a David Bellamy Conservation Award and a Green Tourism Award when these initiatives are completed.