The Story so far..
We have been offering holidays in one of the world’s most beautiful valleys for sixty years but as the decades pass our world is showing clear signs of being unable to cope with the consequences of humanity’s continued desire for growth.
The climate crisis is like no other in extent, urgency and impact. Our government has, for many hundreds of years, taken two things for granted: a stable climate and plentiful fossil fuels. Neither of these can be taken for granted any more. We have little faith in this government being able to deliver any meaningful reduction in the amount of carbon being used in the UK and so, in the absence of national regulations, it’s up to all of us to do what we can do to influence, lead and to try to make a difference.
We all have some choice in how to live our lives, the energy sources we use, if we accept single use plastic or not, what we buy, where we holiday etc.
The Quiet Site has spent the last two decades making both business and investment choices based on a desire to be fully sustainable. We consider, our place in the community, our impacts on biodiversity as well as our embedded and operational footprints .
Choosing a ‘Quiet’ holiday means you too want to make a difference in the world. The Brundtland Commission of the United Nations in March 1987 said, “Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.
We agree with this statement fully but sadly much of the Holiday Park industry does not share this view. The Static Caravan is a product designed ~50 years ago. They are mostly, poorly insulated and reliant on LPG. Manufacturers show little desire to innovate or improve the product to make it fit for purpose in the 21st Century. We no longer purchase static caravans and have been building our own units since 2015. We build well insulated and shaded units that are sustainably heated via district heat mains.
Many of our units are energy positive as they generate more energy than they use. They have been designed to operate in both hot and cool climates that we all sadly have to become increasingly used to. High levels of insulation are becoming as important for keeping the heat out, as for keeping the heat in. Our self-built units are triple insulated and shaded (either by soil, hedges or solar panels.) During the recent heat waves over the 2022 summer the temperature inside our units was nearly half the outside temperature. (We all need to start preparing for the worst even if we still hope for the best.) The humble static caravans that dominate our industry are both difficult to heat sustainably in the winter and also will become uninhabitable heat traps in the summer as the climate heats up.
June 2023 saw our last gas boiler be replaced with a sustainable district heat main. Our heat is generated remotely using Heat Pumps, Solar PV, Solar Thermal and Biomass. We consider Biomass as a transitional fuel which will be replaced within the next decade.
2020 saw the formation of SITU (Sustainable Integrated Transport Ullswater). This group has been formed of Ullswater residents who want to see a sustainable and integrated transport system for the Ullswater valley which will benefit residents, local businesses and visitors. To this end the group is working on a variety of projects in conjunction with local communities and businesses, farmers, land owners, local authorities and relevant agencies to improve local transport options, reduce adverse impact transport can have on the environment and on residents and increase road safety. 2023 saw SITU open a new safe and beautiful footpath from Penrith Station to Pooley Bridge AND introduce a new hopper Bus that links the valley attractions and accommodations.
In 2023 SITU opened a safe dedicated walking path from Penrith Station to Pooley Bridge and initiated an Ullswater Hopper Bus linking accommodations with attractions.
After 20 years of re-investment The Quiet Site is approaching a carbon neutral status.
You can view our Environmental Policy here.
The Quiet Team are absolutely delighted to have received the following awards:
- Green Tourism Gold Award 2023.
- Voted UK’s Greenest Park by Readers of Practical Caravan 2023
- Hero of Net Zero at COP21 Glasgow 2021
- Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Sustainable Development 2020.
- Visit England National Silver Award for Sustainability, 2020.
- FSB Award for Sustainability 2020.
- Cumbria Tourism’s Gold Award for Sustainability 2019.
The world will have to move to a Circular economy if it is to survive. As a business we ask all our customers to buy into the green ethos. Reduce, Reuse, Refill and Recycle.
Designing out waste and pollution, keeping materials in use and using renewable energy sources doesn’t sound too hard – does it? We believe that there needs to be a balance between how we operate our Business, our Customer’s behaviour towards the environment and the Community in which we operate. Operating as a Carbon Neutral business is just the beginning of our quest to become truly sustainable.
