Sustainable Tourism & Conservation at Wray Valley
At Wray Valley, we are dedicated to minimising our environmental impact, promoting nature conservation, and supporting local businesses and communities. Our comprehensive environmental, social, and governance policy demonstrates our commitment to sustainable tourism.
As a visitor, you can contribute to our efforts by following our Responsible Visitor Charter, ensuring a sustainable and enjoyable experience for all. Explore our ongoing sustainability initiatives below and discover the ways we strive to make Wray Valley a carbon negative and climate positive destination.
Recognition and Memberships
Wray Valley’s sustainability focus is led Michelle, a former environmental consultant with an MSc in Environmental Sustainability. Michelle’s expertise and passion for sustainability have significantly contributed to our eco-friendly practices and accomplishments. As a retired member of the Institute of Sustainability and Environmental Professionals (ISEP), Michelle’s dedication to responsible environmental stewardship remains unwavering.
Our efforts in sustainable tourism have been recognised with several prestigious awards, including:
- The Green Tourism Gold Award: This accreditation is a testament to our ongoing commitment to sustainability, environmental management, and social responsibility. Learn more about what we had to do for the Green Tourism Gold Award and its significance.
- Devon Tourism Gold Award – Ethical, Responsible, and Sustainable Business of the Year 2024: We were honored to receive this award, which acknowledges our dedication to ethical practices, environmental stewardship, and support of the local community.
- Devon Women in Business Eco-Friendly Business of the Year 2024: This recognition highlights our commitment to eco-friendly practices and serves as an inspiration for other female-led businesses in the region.
- West Country Women Awards Runner-Up: Green Business of the Year 2025: Highlighting the success of female business leaders across the south west
These awards and memberships reflect our continuous journey towards sustainability and responsible tourism. We remain committed to upholding these values and setting an example for others to follow.
Sustainable Energy
Apart from our electricity and phone line, we are “off-grid”. That means there is no mains gas, water, or sewerage here.
We are committed to a low-carbon future, and have moved away from oil-fired heating to a sophisticated, “solar-first” energy system. By combining our Solar PV and Solar Thermal generation with a high-efficiency Air-Source Heat Pump, we have created a fossil-fuel-free environment. When we do need to draw from the grid, we use a 100% renewable energy tariff, ensuring that every kilowatt used at Wray Valley is responsibly sourced.
We know that our energy consumption has the potential to have a significant environmental impact. You can see how we manage this and explore our transition to a fully sustainable heating system by clicking on the topics below.
We publish our energy consumption and generation figures on a regular basis. Click on each of the graphs below to zoom in.
Energy Usage
- The first thing we did when we moved in here was switch to LED light bulbs.
- The lights in the campsite toilets use PIR controls to switch them on and off to avoid them being left on continuously.
- The shower block is well insulated and benefits from solar gain through the large west facing window so no heating is required. A small electric heater on a timer is provided for frost protection in the winter.
- We have substantially improved the insulation of the B&B to minimise our energy consumption.
- The insulation in the loft exceeds the current building regulations.
- The B&B rooms and guest lounge have suspended wooden floors and have been fitted with underfloor heating and insulation.
- The Family Room which has three external walls has had extra insulation applied to the North and East facing walls.
- All the windows are double glazed.
- Wherever possible we dry the laundry on the line outside or within our large sun room.
We anticipate that our overall electricity consumption will increase as we reduce our dependence on oil for water and space heating but this will come from renewable sources, with as much as possible being generated ourselves.
Photovoltaics (Solar Panels)
We have had solar panels since we started, but in February 2024 we added a further 16 panels, bringing our total up to 10.5 kW alongside a 5 kW battery. The entire system is controllable from an app on our phones, allowing us to store energy during the day to use when it is needed most.
This increased capacity is vital for our move away from oil; it provides the green electricity needed to run our air-source heat pump and helps charge our Mixergy hot water tank. By storing surplus energy in our battery, we can keep the guest areas warm and the water hot well after the sun has gone down, making the most of every bit of sunshine we capture.
Mains Electricity
We remain connected to the grid but have chosen a 100% renewable energy tariff. To make the most of this, we top up our 5 kW battery with green energy overnight; this ensures the heat pump can prep the hot water for the morning rush before the sun is up. Please help us maintain our sustainability goals by switching off lights and appliances when they are not in use.
Air-Source Heat Pump
We have officially retired our old oil-fired boiler. In its place, we have installed a high-efficiency air-source heat pump to handle our heating and to act as the primary energy source for our hot water.
The heat pump works in perfect harmony with our solar set-up; it is far more efficient than the old boiler and ensures the house and water are warm for the start of your day, even when the sun isn’t shining. Following the major project in January 2024 to replace radiators with underfloor heating and improved insulation, the system now provides a steady, constant warmth throughout the guest areas..
You may notice the thermostat settings are generally lower than traditional systems, as underfloor heating is far more effective at keeping the guest areas comfortable. To maintain this efficiency, the thermostats are centrally managed; however, if you feel cold or require additional heating, please just ask us and we will be happy to assist. This transition has significantly reduced our carbon footprint and completely eliminated our reliance on fossil fuels.
Solar Thermal
There are two banks of 30 evacuated tubes connected to our 300-litre smart hot water tank. On a sunny day, these heat the circulating water to over 100 degrees, which in turn heats the full tank of water to over 50 degrees during the day.
This provides a completely “free” and carbon-neutral way to meet our hot water demand. By capturing this intense heat from the sun, the system reduces the work our heat pump needs to do, especially during the busy evening periods.
Smart Hot Water Tank
During our renovations in 2021 we replaced the hot water system with an intelligent tank from Mixergy.
During our renovations in 2021, we installed an intelligent Mixergy hot water system. This computerised tank manages up to 300 litres of water, prioritising energy from our solar thermal panels and surplus solar PV when the sun is shining. To ensure there is always enough for the morning rush, we now use our high-efficiency heat pump to heat the tank overnight, , relying largely on our solar set-up for the evening.
We monitor water levels and performance in real-time. If the tank is depleted by several showers in quick succession, please turn off the tap for a few minutes to let the system catch up. To help us stay sustainable, we encourage the 4-minute shower challenge—a quick shower uses about 36L of water, whereas a 15-minute shower can use up half the tank!
Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging
In August 2022 we installed two Zappi 7kWh EV chargers — one at the B&B and one in the Hay Meadow camping field. These “smart” chargers are integrated with our system to prioritise the solar energy we generate on-site, allowing you to charge your vehicle directly from the sun.
Biomass (Wood)
As we are surrounded by several acres of woodland, we have a ready supply of carbon-neutral fuel on-site. The main use for this wood is providing logs for our campers’ campfires and the wood burners in the Stables Eco-Bothies. We also use our woodland fuel to fire up our pizza oven for our homemade pizzas, ensuring that even your dinner is cooked using sustainable, local energy.
Regular maintenance of the woods also produces logs for our indoor wood-burning stoves. However, we rarely need to light the one in the guest lounge now that the heat pump and underfloor heating provide such a consistent, comfortable temperature.
Stables Eco-Bothies – Heating and Lighting
Our Stables Eco-Bothies are designed for a low-impact stay, featuring solar-powered low-voltage lighting and wood-burning stoves for warmth. A mains back-up is in place to ensure the lights stay on even when the sun hasn’t been out to charge the batteries.
Future Projects
We are always looking for ways to improve our self-sufficiency. Potential future projects include exploring micro/pico hydro power using our own streams and adding further PV battery storage to capture even more of our generated energy.
Water & Sewerage
Water
When we arrived at Riverside, our water came from a small stream which runs from a spring near Pepperdon Mine down to the Wray Brook. There was a filtration system, but the whole system needed constant maintenance, and we had no control over the water source. So it could dry up or be polluted at any time. Aquasource, a local water specialist company, dowsed for water and then drilled a borehole 40m deep in the Hay Meadow.
They installed a complete water treatment system including aerator, filtration, metals exchange and UV treatment tube which now provides us with a safe and reliable water supply. Just as well as the stream we originally used almost dried up in 2022. The water system is serviced annually.
Sewerage
The house has a very effective septic tank system which handles all the sewage and grey water from the B&B and the campsite showers and toilets. We may need to upgrade it to a treatment plant at some point, but it currently works well.
In addition, for those ‘greener’ campers we have a very efficient ‘tree bog’. A compost toilet where the manure produced is absorbed by a planting of alder and willow trees around the toilet. It has worked really well for 5 years now, uses no water and provides a lot of healthy tree growth. The sawdust used in our treebog mainly comes from Miranda Salmon, a local bespoke furniture maker and designer.
Waste & Recycling
We are aiming for “zero waste to landfill” from our own activities through sustainable waste management. We have largely eliminated waste coming from the B&B but we are not in control of the waste produced by you on the campsite. Please help us meet this goal by correctly separating your waste and recycling it rather than putting the lot in the same bin. We’d rather not have to go through your waste to sort it.
Did you know that as a business, we are not allowed to use the municipal waste collection services and have to pay for a separate commercial waste and recycling collection. There is only one service provider prepared to come to us, so we pay a premium for the service. General waste collection costs a lot more than our recycling collection. So please help us keep our costs and your prices low by putting your waste in the right bin first time. Most months we have less than one wheelie bin of general waste but in July and August when we have more campers this rises to 2 wheelie bins.
If you can think of any ways we could improve please let us know. If in doubt please ask.
Find out more about what we are doing in the B&B and on the campsite in more detail below.
In the B&B
- Instead of little single use plastic bottles of toiletries we use refillable bottles for our handwash, shower gel, shampoo, and conditioner.
- Tea, coffee and sugar in the rooms is presented in refillable glass jars.
- A small jug is provided to collect fresh milk from the fridge in the guest lounge.
- Likewise at breakfast we have eliminated excessive packaging for the butter and preserves.
- We provide a fridge in the guest lounge so you can keep your food fresher for longer.
Please help us by segregating your waste. A box is provided in each bedroom to dispose of recyclable materials such as cardboard, paper, plastic, glass bottles and cans. If you have any food waste please let us know and we can dispose of that for you.
On the Campsite
Extensive recycling and waste disposal facilities are provided at the rear of the shed in the Hay Meadow. It will make your life much easier if you separate your general waste from your recyclables at your pitch and have a separate container for each. We don’t like going through your rubbish bags in the wheelie bin to separate out all the food waste, beer bottles, cans and plastic packaging.
If you have any leftover food that is within date and you don’t want to take home please do not dispose of it in the general waste. You can take it to the Community Larder in Moretonhampstead, leave it in the camper’s kitchen or give it to us.
Please take any camping equipment you no longer want home again for disposal, even if it is broken. The only exception to this is unwanted tent material which can be donated to the Moretonhampstead Flag Festival by giving it to us. Please do not leave it by the bins
Dog Poo Disposal
We love welcoming four-legged friends to Wray Valley, but we do ask that you follow these simple rules to keep our fields clean and safe for everyone:
- Pick it up! We often have children running around and playing in the grass, so it is essential that all dog waste is cleared up immediately.
- The “Tree Bog” (Biodegradable only): If you use compostable or biodegradable poo bags, these can be disposed of in our Tree Bog. If you have run out, please just ask us—we have plenty of biodegradable bags we can give you.
- General Waste: If your bags are not biodegradable, please dispose of them in the general waste bin located in the Hay Meadow Recycling area.
- DO NOT use the toilet bins: Please do not put dog waste bags in the hygienic bins inside the toilets. They cause unpleasant odours that are unfair to other guests and our cleaning team.
Organic Waste
We compost nearly all our organic waste and use it to improve our soil. As well as the usual garden waste this includes any of our own leftover food (excluding meat products), chicken bedding, paper hand towels etc. We operate a 3 bay compost heap which is turned regularly.
Biodiversity & Conservation Efforts
We are dedicated to restoring and protecting the natural habitats across our 10 acres. The highlight of our conservation work is our woodland, which has been officially designated as a County Wildlife Site. This status recognises its importance for nature conservation, and we have commissioned a professional Woodland Management Plan to ensure the woods are appropriately managed.
Beyond the woods, we have a wide range of ongoing projects across the entire property:
- Meadow & Habitat Management: The Hay Meadow is being managed into a wildflower meadow; it is scythed in late summer to encourage native growth. We also preserve biodiversity corridors between camping pitches and maintain patches of bramble and nettle for birds, bees, and butterflies.
- Hedges & Trees: We have worked with Moor Trees to establish new hedgerows. We are also laying hedgerows that had not been managed correctly by previous owners and have planted 45 saplings to extend Lower Moor Wood into the Hay Meadow field to enhance habitat connectivity.
- The Orchard: We have rejuvenated the four original apple trees and expanded the orchard with 12 new trees, all of which are varieties from Devon or the wider South West.
- Water & Riverside Care: We manage our riparian (riverside) habitat, including bankside coppicing to reduce the risk of erosion. We have also created wildlife ponds to supplement the river.
- Invasive Species Control: Working with the National Park ecologist, we actively remove invasive species such as Himalayan Balsam and Hemlock Water Dropwort whenever they are spotted.
Willing Volunteers Welcome
We have a long list of projects that we are gradually working our way through and always welcome volunteers. If you would like to help, please contact us or read our newsletters to find out more about our current work.
Future projects include
- Hedge management
- Haloing of Veteran Trees
- Ring barking alder to increase percentage of dead wood
- Control of invasive species in Lower Moor Wood
- Scrub control to ensure mosaic of habitat in Water Meadow
- Clearance of the drainage ditches in the alder wood. These ditches drain the Wray Valley Trail.
Our Carbon Journey
We take full accountability for our environmental impact by tracking the carbon footprint of our entire site through the Green Business Carbon Tracker. Wray Valley is both our home and our business. We live here year-round, which means our winter energy usage is primarily personal heating, while our summer usage is driven by guest demand for hot water. Because our systems are integrated, we do not attempt to “split” our personal lives from the B&B and campsite. Instead, we report on the total net impact of the entire 10-acre site. We believe this “whole-household” approach is the most honest way to show how we manage our footprint.
Annual Carbon Footprint Comparison (tCO2e)
| Year | Market-Based (Green Tariff) | Location-Based (Grid) |
|---|---|---|
| 2023/24 | 7.74 | 9.23 |
| 2024/25 | 7.74 | 9.49 |
Our location-based emissions rose slightly in 2024/25 due to a welcome increase in guest occupancy—more guests naturally mean more hot showers!
Understanding our figures:
We report two figures to give a complete picture of our impact.
- Location-Based reflects the physical carbon intensity of the local UK grid we are connected to.
- Market-Based reflects our active choice to use a 100% renewable energy tariff; this rewards our decision to support the green energy market even though we still share the same physical grid.
We are Carbon Negative and Climate Positive
While we work to eliminate fossil fuels, our land acts as a natural “carbon sink”. Our 6 acres of mature woodland, 1,200 new hedge saplings, and orchards absorb approximately 12.4 tonnes of CO2 every year*.
This means that Wray Valley is carbon negative; our land absorbs significantly more carbon than our home and business generate. By removing more CO2 from the atmosphere than we emit, we are proud to be a climate positive destination.
Community, Food & Travel
Home-Grown Delights: Food & Drink
- If you book one of our evening meals it is home-cooked for you from scratch.
- Our eggs normally come from our very friendly hens (when their supply keeps up with your demand). Otherwise we will supplement from other local producers.
- Our bread, cinammon rolls and yoghurt are homemade from ingredients sourced within the southwest.
- Our pizza bases on pizza night are made from flour sourced from a mill within the southwest and hand stretched in front of you!
- Our bramble, blackcurrent and strawberry jams are homemade as is our marmalade. We grow most of our own fruit and supplement with strawverries from local producers if its been a poor season. You can buy our jams, preserves, apple juice and eggs while stocks last.
- Our water comes from the borehole in the camping field and is treated on site. It has been certified fit for public supply.
- We make our own apple juice to serve at breakfast and for you to buy. See us pressing the apples here.
- We also have meadowsweet and elderflower cordials to keep you cool in the summer, grown, picked and made here.
Supporting Local Producers
We actively promote local food and drink producers and recommend you try the following while you are here:
- Locally sourced meat from Michael Howard Butchers, Moretonhampstead; Lloyd Maunders, Bovey Tracey and Higher West Combe Farm, North Bovey
- The Van du Pain – Bread by Liz – mobile van but based in Moretonhampstead also available at Lustleigh Dairy
- Wild Hart Venison – delivers to us for free
- Little Dartmoor – Artisan Chocolates – Moretonhampstead. Free Collection
- Baskervilles Ice Cream – we stock a limited range here but try the cafe in Moretonhampstead for the complete selection.
- Midfields Granola produced near Moretonhampstead and available to buy locally, e.g. in Michael Howard.
If you are a local food producer and would like to be listed here please contact us.
Devon-Only Bar Menu
We are delighted to spotlight some of the wonderful producers we have in Devon, and have decided to ONLY stock drinks produced here in the county in our bar. Read about our current range here.
Supporting Local Businesses
In addition to our local food and drink suppliers, we also try to use local suppliers and trades for all our grounds and infrastructure work. Examples include:
- Plumbing – MP Plumbing
- Electrics – Devon Electrical Contractors
- Groundworks (and the pizza oven) – Chris Hill
- Branded clothing – MoorSo
- Water Treatment – On-Tap
- Cleaning Products and Toiletries – Zero Waste Moretonhampstead
- Pond Liners – Rubber Flat Roof (Exeter)
- Underfloor Heating – OMNIE, Exeter
- Scrub clearance – Devon Habitat Services, Buckfastleigh
- Path Construction – Vallance, Liverton
- Signs – SJB Signs, Heathfield
Promoting Sustainable Transport
At Wray Valley, we encourage and celebrate sustainable travel practices. If you’re arriving via a sustainable mode of transport, we would like to express our appreciation by offering you special rewards:
- For Campers: Enter the promo code SUSTRANS during booking and let us know your eco-friendly travel method in the Special Requests box to receive a discount on your camping stay. (Only one offer per booking – cannot be used in conjunction with the Nearly Wild Camping offer)
- For B&B Guests: Share your sustainable travel choice in the Special Requests box uThat’s fine = all worpon booking and receive a complimentary bar credit during your stay or pickup and drop off from Moretonhampstead.
Explore the options available to reach us by public transport, with detailed directions to be sent to your email shortly before your arrival. Together, we can make a difference by promoting responsible travel and contributing to a greener future.
Public Transport
We are accessible by public transport from Monday to Saturday but you need to plan very carefully to make the connections! Unfortunately the nearest bus services on a Sunday are the 38 and 39 from Bovey Tracey.
Rail
The nearest railway stations are Exeter St Davids, Newton Abbot and Okehampton.
Bus
The main buses serving us are:
- Newton Abbot to Okehampton – 178 this is a “hail and ride” service so you can request the bus driver to stop at the B&B or campsite even though there isn’t a bus stop. It does go on a tour of Bovey Tracey, Lustleigh, Chagford and South Zeal on the way.
- Newton Abbot to Tavistock via Moretonhampstead and Two Bridges – 171 summer only – slightly more direct than the 178.
- Exeter to Moretonhampstead – 359 via Dunsford
- Exeter to Moretonhampstead – 173 via Tetburn St Mary and Chagford
- Exeter to Ivybridge via Bovey Tracey – 38 runs every day
- Newton Abbot to Bovey Tracey – 39 runs every day
Other useful buses if you are going out on the moor
- Tavistock to Newton Abbott via Two Bridges – 172 (summer only) – Monday to Saturday
- Newton Abbott to Bovey Tracey via Haytor – 193 – Wednesday and Friday Only
- Bovey Tracey to Widecombe – Haytor Hoppa – Summer Saturdays Only
Give us a call in advance of your arrival to arrange a pick-up of your luggage from Moretonhampstead.
Remember – all single bus journeys are currently capped at £3.
Please do not try to walk along the A382 to get to us if you get off in Moretonhampstead. It is much safer to walk down the Wray Valley Trail following the directions we will send you by email shortly before your arrival. Just ask in Moretonhampstead for the start of the “bike trail”.
Don’t wait – plan your dream getaway today!