Green Tourism Business Scheme, “Gold Star Finalist”.
“We are pleased to let you know that Rosehill Lodges has been selected as one of our 20 Gold Star Finalists sponsored by Beacon Purchasing: “Congratulations you are officially in the top 2% of the greenest businesses in the UK and Irleand!”
Andrea Nicholas, Founder, Director, Green Tourism Business Scheme.
Here at Rosehill Lodges we pride ourselves in the care we take to protect the environment, and preserve the beauty of the natural landscape. From the methods and materials used to construct our luxury eco lodges, to the products used to clean them – we have ensured the most ‘eco’ solution to environmentally friendly holidays in Cornwall.
We at Rosehill Lodges are committed to responsible and sustainable environmental management. To find out more, please check out our Environmental Policy.
If you’re looking for a luxury eco lodge in Cornwall, Rosehill Lodges can provide you with an environmentally friendly option, complete with a wealth of luxury amenities and a stunning woodland setting.
Our Eco Lodges:
Our Eco Lodges have been carefully created to bring you both a high quality luxury finish, and an environmentally friendly holiday home for your stay.
Each lodge has been hand built by Pioneer Environmental Building Company, a local business within our village of Porthtowan. Using an environmental building company, we could make sure that every inch of our lodges was constructed with the most planet-friendly materials possible. It was also important to us to work within our community by hiring skilled local craftsmen, and to ensure the sensitive use of building materials and features to compliment our Cornish identity.
Real Wood
Each of our luxury eco lodges has been built with bespoke Larch cladding, chosen for its sustainability and natural beauty. Sourced from FSC woodland, right here in Cornwall, and sawn by Truro Sawmills, we have kept all work necessary as local as possible.
All of the lodges have bamboo flooring, a highly sustainable material. As a grass rather than a timber, bamboo grows prolifically, and gave us a brilliantly sustainable option, while also giving the lodges a luxury finish.
Turf Roofs for Insulation
Each of our eco lodges has a grass roof, providing excellent insulation levels, keeping them warm in winter and cool in summer. As well as making our lodges more energy efficient, the grass roofs prevent excessive water ‘run-off’, and are a great encouragement for wildlife, aesthetically pleasing, and renewable.
In the construction of our eco lodges and throughout our site we have used reclaimed materials wherever possible. Some of the most interesting finds include timber from the ship wreck Godima off the coast of Devon, used as curtain pelmets in the eco lodges, and reclaimed railway sleepers from the London underground to create bridges over the stream that runs through the valley.
Not only are our eco lodges built to be sustainable and green, but we have also done our utmost to fit them out to produce a low carbon foot print and conserve energy. From solar panels to back up our electric immersion heaters, to log burners for bio mass space heating (even the logs we provide are from a sustainable local source), we have done our best to ensure our luxury eco lodges are as environmentally friendly as possible.
Our Local and Unique Environment:
Nestled in a sheltered valley, in amongst broad leaved woodland, and just minutes from the Atlantic Ocean, we have committed ourselves to preserving and nurturing this haven for wildlife.
We’ve endeavoured to do as little as possible to disturb the natural environment of our little Eden, and encouraged the presence of wildlife wherever possible.
Water Features for the Wildlife
We have created ponds and small waterfalls, encouraging the wealth of wildlife in our surrounding woodland.
During the construction of our eco lodges, we have preserved the Garlic Mustard plant and Joe Pye Weed which are known havens of the Orange Tipped and Red Admiral butterfly. In addition bird boxes, and bird tables have been installed throughout the site. “Bird Watching at Rosehill”
Feel free to ask for our list of Flora and Fauna on site, available at reception.
To continue the betterment of our environment we have an ongoing programme of the introduction of flowers and shrubs to attract birds and insects.
Hills and Valleys
At Rosehill we are in a unique geographical position, with our site sitting in a sheltered valley, running parallel to the Atlantic. A perfect habitat for broadleaved woodland to survive. Here we are lucky to boast a rare abundance of flora and fauna this close to the sea. As such we feel it’s our duty to protect and nurture this natural haven.
Re-cycling at our Eco-Lodges:
We love re-cycling!
All lodges are provided with re-cycling bins for the easy re-cycling of glass, tins, plastics, paper and cardboard. Compost bins are provided for each lodge and we also shred any pruning from all over the site.
In our offices we recycle all paper, batteries and ink cartridges, and the stationary we use is all recycled.
We even go as far as to use the ashes from the log burners from each of our eco lodges to feed shrubs and trees.
In addition to this we have chosen to use re-cycled glass mosaic in tiling the bathrooms of each of our luxury eco lodges. This being practical, attractive, and eco-friendly.
We are proud to support THAG-Truro Homeless Action Group by donating used but servicable duvets, duvet covers and other useful items.
The Gweek Seal Sanctury get our older used towels to save on their costs.
Environmental Awards and Memberships:
We are extremely proud to have been recognised for our efforts to make Rosehill environmentally friendly, and are pleased to have been awarded certification by a number of green schemes.
-Rosehill Lodges was awarded Gold by the Green Tourism Business Scheme (GTBS) as of June 2008, achieving the highest rating in the UK’s only recognised tangible sustainability assessment scheme.
-Rosehill Lodges was awarded Gold by the International Green Apple Awards for ‘Built Environment’, also winning a Green Champion Award.
-Rosehill was also a finalist in the GTBS Goldstar Awards in 2011.
We at Rosehill Lodges are committed to working with our community to realise a number of environmental initiatives, and we maintain membership of a number of environmental organisations here in Cornwall.
-Rosehill Lodges is a corporate member of the Cornwall Wildlife Trust
-Rosehill is a member of COAST (Cornwall Sustainable Tourism Project)
-Rosehill management team have also been trained in BS8555 Environmental Management, up to Phase 3. This ensures that we are up to date and informed on all matters of maintaining and improving the site from an environmental standpoint.
It means a lot to us to have been recognised for our efforts to remain environmentally friendly, and we hope to continue this high standard of environmental awareness into the future.
Our Carbon Footprint:
We have done our utmost to reduce the carbon footprint of our business, by sourcing local materials, and using local companies and craftspeople.
Our lodges have been built to reduce energy consumption and emissions- take a look at our Green Tourism Board Carbon Footprint certification.
We have conserved a huge amount of energy by keeping the energy consumption of the eco lodges in mind during their build and continued use. The grass roofs on each of our eco lodges have worked as an excellent insulation measure to keep in heat during the winter, and to keep the lodges cool during the summer.
In addition to this we have ensured that wood framed double glazing has been used throughout the eco lodges, again increasing their energy efficiency plus super efficient Warmcell newspaper insulation.
Warmth
Each of the eco lodges has been fitted with a log burner, allowing us to massively reduce the energy used to heat the lodges, although the super insulation used in the lodges means that if you boil the kettle, the energy and warmth stays in the lodge. The lodges really are super cosy in all weathers. Its not necessary to light the log burner to heat the lodges as there are ample electric radiators and towel rails but the log burners are extremely relaxing and very romantic.
We have used low energy lights throughout Rosehill, and in an effort to make our eco lodges even more eco, we are committed to an ongoing upgrade to LEDs.
We have also invested in alternate energy sources, and solar panels are used to back up the electric immersion heater.
Our eco lodges here at Rosehill can offer you an indulgent, cosy, and relaxing holiday, whilst providing a green, sustainable and energy efficient option. So, going for a luxury break doesn’t have to cost the earth!
Visitor Information for an Eco-friendly Holiday:
We have a wealth of local knowledge and suggestions for fun and eco-friendly things to do on your holiday, including those within the Green Tourism Network.
We also have all the resources you need to holiday here in Cornwall without a car, with information on local bus routes, trains, ferries etc.
Information on the best local walks is available, as part of our partnership with Cornwall Wildlife Trust.
Porthtowan is perfectly placed for access to some brilliant cycle routes. We can provide information for great routes suited to all the family, and to local cycle hire.
As we are placed just a few minutes’ walk from a certified Blue Flag Beach, we and the local community have undertaken several environmental initiatives to preserve this area of coastline. At Rosehill we can provide you with information on organised beach cleans, which can be a fun and rewarding day out for all.
Book now and choose Rosehill Lodges for your environmentally friendly holiday here in Porthtowan, Cornwall. Our eco lodges balance sustainability and luxury, and will continually evolve as we find new ways to protect our environment. We are proud of what we have achieved here, and we will keep striving to make Rosehill even greener in the future.