Sustainable Tourism at Wray Valley

Apart from our electricity and phone line we are “off grid”.  That means that there is no mains gas, water or sewerage here.  

Go to our Sustainable Energy Usage page 🡆

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 2 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.

Treebog under construction

Treebog today

Inside the treebog

Find out more about how we manage waste here at Wray Valley.  See what we are doing in the B&B and on the campsite to mimise and recycle here

Go to our Waste & Recycling Page 🡆 

Jams, juice and pickles

• 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 wholemeal bread 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, plum and strawberry jams are homemade. The blackberries are our own, the strawberries come from Cheddar and  the plums are Devon grown all sourced from a local greengrocer.
• 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.

You can buy our jams, preserves, apple juice and eggs while stocks last.

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
• 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
• Papillon Gin – Moretonhampstead (refills available from The Bottle Shop in Cross St)
• Little Dartmoor – Artisan Chocolates – Moretonhampstead.  Free Collection
• Ivybridge Brewing Co – supplies our excellent beers and has a brewery tap in Ivybridge 
• Midfields Granola produced near Moretonhampstead and available to buy locally, e.g. in Michael Howard.
• Dartmoor Whisky – made in the old town hall in Bovey Tracey.
• Swannaford Wine – near Dunsford
• Huxbear Wine – near Chudleigh

If you are a local food and drink producer and would like to be listed here please contact us.

• The Hay Meadow is being managed into a wild flower meadow and is scythed in late summer and will be grazed over winter.
• Biodiversity corridors are preserved between the camping pitches to provide a haven for wildlife and privacy for campers.
• Bramble scrub and nettle patches are preserved for birds, bees and butterflies
• Invasive species such as Himalayan Balsam and Hemlock Water Dropwort are removed when spotted. We are working with the National Park ecologist on this.
• Creation of wildlife ponds to supplement the river.
• Management of the riparian (riverside) habitat.
• Laying hedgerows that have not been managed correctly by previous owners.
• Working with Moor Trees to re-planting missing hedgerows and establish new hedges
• Rejuvenated the existing 4 apple trees from the original orchard and two others in the garden
• Expanded the orchard with 12 new apple trees and all from Devon or the wider south west

• Bankside coppicing to reduce risk of bankside erosion
• Hedge management
• 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

• Plumbing – MP Plumbing
• Electrics – Devon Electrical Contractors
• Groundworks (and the pizza oven) – Chris Hill
• Branded clothing – MoorSo
• Water – Aquasource
• Cleaning Products and Toiletries – Zero Waste Moretonhampstead
• Pond Liners – Rubber Flat Roof (Exeter)

A big part of tourism’s environmental impact is car miles.  Both getting here and then sightseeing once you’ve arrived.  It is possible to get here and get about without a car.  Click here to find out more about public transport and arriving by bike or on foot and what we are doing regarding electric vehicle (EV) charging.   

Go to our Sustainable Transport Page 🡆