It may be a long word which sounds a bit worthy but this is a very big deal, especially in Cornwall.

Why?
Half a million of us live here, but five and a half million visit each year. And from the middle of July to the end of August, there are two visitors for every resident of Cornwall. It’s no good we at Gwel an Mor just sitting here on our fabulous cliff top, admiring the view and thinking none of this has anything to do with us.

What we do.
We use a lot of energy. We use a lot of water. We generate a great deal of rubbish. Our visitors tend to come by car. Like we said before, Cornwall’s beauty brings millions here, and that beauty’s not endlessly renewable. This is why we try to make all our lodges energy efficient and use wood from fully sustainable forsets.

So we make it simple to recycle at Gwel an Mor. We’re looking at smarter ways to use water and energy. And because we believe in involving ourselves in the place where we work -  in being a part of it rather than apart from it  - we sponsor the National League 2 rugby club at nearby Redruth and we help with the funding of the Portreath Surf Life Saving Club; this not only provides lifeguards for the beach all summer, it also gives young people locally and visitors the chance to stay fit, have fun and learn about safe use of the sea.

Being properly sustainable is not just about recycling your bottles and turning off lights (though all that helps); it’s about the choices all of us make, too, wherever we go on holiday. Can we try that trip by public transport? Could we walk today? Why don’t we try the local shops this afternoon, instead of the supermarket? What about bike hire?

We’re far from perfect; a lot of this is as new to us as it is to most others. But we’ve begun to try hard. And because we think it matters, we plan to go on trying...