Wray Valley Autumn Update: Embracing Change and Sustainability
Welcome to the Autumn edition of our Wray Valley Newsletter! We’d like to kick off this issue by expressing our heartfelt gratitude to all our guests and campers who made this our busiest and most memorable year yet. While the beautiful sunny weather certainly played a part, we truly appreciate each and every one of you for choosing Wray Valley as your destination of choice.
Our Eco-Bothies have become increasingly popular, especially among those on their way to camp in Cornwall. With the seasonal arrival of unpredictable Autumn weather, they offer a comfortable and convenient alternative to traditional camping.
We are now looking forward to our own well-deserved break from September 18th to October 8th, during which the B&B and Eco-Bothies will be closed.
Read on to discover the exciting local carnivals and festivals that took place in August.
Thank you for your continued support, and we look forward to creating more unforgettable memories together in the future!
Happy reading!
🍎 Apple Harvest Begins at Wray Valley! 🍎
Our delicious, organic apples are making an early appearance this year, thanks to the summer heatwave! Or was it due to the wassailing we did in January? Normally we start at the end of September but Autumn seems to have come early too. We took advantage of a gap in the rain showers this week to pick and press the apples from the tree close to the toilets. That yielded an impressive 24 litres of incredibly juicy apples from our first pressing session. We can’t wait to see what the rest of the harvest has in store!
Our homegrown apple juice is really popular, we serve it at breakfast and you can buy it in the bar or to take back to your pitch in 330ml bottles. Next year it will also be available in 500ml bottles.
Apple Juicing
Did you know there are several stages to making our apple juice and cider? Obviously we first have to pick the apples, then we take them all to a big bath where we give them a quick wash and pick them over to remove any really rotten bits.
They are then put through the hand-cranked scratter to break them up to make them easier to press. We find a nearly full 30 l plasterer’s bucket of scratted apples goes nicely in our 18 l apple press. Each pressing gives about 5-6 l of apple juice which we put into handy 5 l plastic water bottles campers have left in the recycling. The pressed pulp goes onto the compost heap.
The apple juice is then left to settle for 24 hours and decanted through a filter into the final bottles for storage. These are then put into our pasteuriser at 70C for 20 minutes to kill off any bugs that would make it go off. The filtered sediment goes into a large demi john and is left to ferment to become scrumpy cider.
✨Join us for a taste of the season and experience the joy of sustainable living. Book your stay now or come to help us harvest our bountiful organic apples: www.wrayvalley.co.uk✨
Zero Waste Week: Embrace Sustainable Camping
As we celebrate Zero Waste Week, let’s remember the importance of our sustainable practices at Wray Valley. We’ve noticed some campers are hindering our efforts to reduce waste, so let’s take this opportunity to become more mindful of our impact on the environment and fellow campers.
Recently, a small family filled an entire 240 l general waste wheelie bin as they left and they had only been here 3 days. We kindly request that everyone follow our guidelines and separate waste for proper disposal.
The “Simpler Recycling” Regulations
🚨 Did you know? In England, since March 2025, all businesses must separate waste before collection, including waste produced by customers and visitors (that’s you!). This includes:
- Dry recyclables (plastic, metal, glass, paper, and card)
- Food waste
- Non-recyclable waste
As a micro business we have an exemption untill March 2027 but that’s not the point. By separating your waste:
- You help us reduce waste collection costs, keeping campsite fees down.
- Increase recycling rates and reduce food waste sent to landfills.
- Cut methane emissions, protecting our environment.
So if you don’t do it – we have to and its an unpleasant, frustrating, soul destroying task.
🌿 Here’s a quick guide to help:
| DON’TS ❌ | DOS ✔️ |
|---|---|
| …Mix waste types in one bag …Place unsorted waste in the General Waste Bin leaving waste for others (us) to sort through | …Separate your waste and place in designated bins. Empty food containers. Encourage other campers to recycle |
| …Throw away in-date food and toiletries | …If you can’t take it home, donate to other campers, us, community food larder… |
| …Put any liquids in the waste at all. This is not permitted (even in your domestic household waste) | …Make sure your cans and bottles are completely empty before disposing as recyclables. |
| …Discard unwanted, functional equipment | …Take it home. If you can’t manage that then please donate it to us and we’ll find a good use for it. |
We would really welcome your ideas on how to encourage your fellow campers to recycle.
Together, we can protect our beautiful environment.
Stables Eco-Bothies: Discount Code Reminder
We’ve had a quite a few bookings in the Eco-Bothies this summer. The’ve proved popular with people heading on down to Cornwall to camp, but don’t want to unpack everything.
As Autumn arrives and the weather starts to turn they make a cosy, dry alternative to camping and no tent to dry when you get home! Remember, as newsletter reader you can get a 15% discount if you use the discount code ECO15
Summer Festivities: Local Carnivals and Festivals
August was filled with exciting events! Although we missed the Manaton Show due to our busy pizza-making schedule, we had a lovely time at the Moretonhampstead Food Festival, which this year combined with a small morris dancing festival. We connected with local suppliers, Huxbear Vineyard and Black Rabbit Cider, and sampled their delicious new 6.8% brew, “Shangri-la.”
We were also delighted to see the 100th Moretonhampstead Carnival Procession, an unforgettable event that showcased the vibrant community spirit and sense of humour. Looking ahead in September, we’ve got the upcoming Bovey Festival this weekend celebrating local food, drink and crafts, and next week the historic Widecombe Fair.
Widecombe Fair, a centuries-old tradition dating back to the early 1800s, began as a cattle show and sheep sale. It gained global recognition thanks to the traditional folk song “Widecombe Fair,” featuring the famous character Uncle Tom Cobley.
Join us in celebrating local heritage, community, and the beauty of Dartmoor at these wonderful festivals!
Time for a Well-Deserved Break: Our Upcoming Autumn Holiday
This summer has been an incredible journey, and we’ve been working tirelessly to ensure your stays at Wray Valley are memorable. Now, it’s time for us to recharge and create our own memories.
Closures and Reduced Availability for our Holidays
To celebrate the wedding of two close friends and our own anniversary, we’ll be closed completely from September 18th to 22nd. Following that we head off for a two-week adventure to the beautiful island of Corsica. We look forward to exploring scenic walking trails, savouring local cuisine, and sipping delightful beverages as we unwind. Although our B&B and Eco-Bothies will remain closed until October 8th, our campsite will reopen with reduced availability from September 22nd onwards. This is thanks to our trusty house sitter who will keep our chickens, Shadow the cat, and Mum company while we are away.
Longer response times for enquiries
While it will be possible to make online bookings and email enquiries during this period, please bear with us as our response times may be significantly slower, especially when we’re off on a planned 5-day trek in the mountains!
Thank you for being a part of our Wray Valley family. We appreciate your understanding, and we look forward to welcoming you back for more unforgettable experiences once we reopen. Thank you for your continued support!
Whats On Locally
There’s something happening throughout the year so why not plan your stay around a local event. Here’s the remaining regular fixtures this Autumn and beyond.
Many, but not all, of the links below are on Facebook.
- Bovey Festival – Food & Drink – Saturday 6 September
- Widecombe Fair – 9 September (always the second Tuesday in September)
- Devon Open Studios – 6 – 22 September 2025
- Lustleigh Boxing Day Duck Dash – December 26
Thanks for Reading
As always, thank you for your support and for choosing Wray Valley. We hope to see you soon, creating new memories and celebrating the beauty of Dartmoor together. As we wrap up this edition of our newsletter, we hope that you’ve found it an enjoyable read. We encourage you to share our newsletter with friends who might also appreciate the insights and updates from Wray Valley.
Your support means the world to us. We’d be truly grateful if you could take a moment to like and follow us on social media (@WrayValley) and subscribe to our YouTube Channel. By doing so, you’ll stay connected with our latest news, events, and developments, as well as help others discover the beauty and excitement of Wray Valley.
We wish you a wonderful time ahead, filled with unforgettable adventures, memorable experiences, and precious moments with loved ones. We look forward to sharing more stories and updates with you in the coming months and hopefully seeing you here soon. Until next time!
