Environmental

Little Boynes Holiday cottages were created from near derelict outbuildings of The Boynes country estate dating from about 1750. All of the buildings at Little Boynes are constructed of local brick and tiles from the "Upton Brick works". Although it closed a long time ago the clay pits and surroundings are now the Upton Marina just 1.5 miles away.
The Orangery was originally used to house tender citrus and pineapple plants in the winter months when the adjacent glass house would have been too cold.
The Byre was a general purpose open-fronted building probably used as temporary shelter for small animals in need of warmth and care e.g. lambing sheep and for general storage of carts etc.
As much of the original structures as possible has been retained and any necessary external changes sympathetic so that the original building form is still clearly apparent.
During the conversions much attention was given to the sustainability of the buildings and many of the materials used were recovered from the site and re-used. Even the swimming pool is housed in a building constructed from re-claimed bricks, and the flooring is of blocks and tiles all found buried around the site and brought back into use after hand cleaning by the current owners.

HEATING.

Central heating is by conventional wet radiators powered by a single high efficiency gas boiler but with sophisticated controls to provide the best compromise between energy efficiency, comfort and convenience.
These will soon be enhanced by the installation of solar heating collectors on the roof of the Orangery, which is ideally orientated just a few degrees West of South.
Additionally the Orangery is equipped with a multi-fuel stove for which locally sourced fuel is provided on request. Starting with very basic structures has enabled the conversions to include high specification insulation to floors, walls, roofs and ceilings as well as thermally efficient double glazed windows with low emissivity glass.

LIGHTING.

Lighting has been carefully considered to provide efficient, diverse and convenient light levels throughout. Lighting is by energy efficient units and lamps along with the use of low voltage systems which it is planned to power from stored solar energy using photo-voltaic panels and storage cells.

WATER.

Mains water is provided to all of the domestic services in the cottages and the water from all of the taps is of drinkable quality.
Rainwater from all of the buildings is collected in a large underground storage tank which holds over 11,000 litres, about 2,500 Gals. From here it is used directly in the garden and is filtered and treated for use in all of the toilets.
Waste Water and Sewage is treated in our own plant comprising two separation tanks and a series of reed bed treatment areas, two with vertical flow and one with horizontal flow. After passing through this entirely natural biological system the remaining liquid is crystal clear water which runs into a local stream. It is routinely independently tested and has always greatly exceeded requirements for cleanliness and purity.

REFUSE.

The local recycling service provided by Malvern Hills District Council is among the best in the country and over 47% of all waste collected in the district is re-cycled; compared with a national average of less than 30%.
We strongly support this initiative and separate collection bins are provided for "General Waste", “Paper and Light Card” and “Cans and Plastics”.
We also collect “Glass Bottles and Jars” for separate re-cycling.
We also provide facilities for all suitable "green" waste to be composted, and ultimately used, on site.

HOUSEHOLD CHEMICALS.

The use of environmentally harmful chemicals is kept to a minimum this is especially important to ensure the long term trouble free operation of the read beds.

SWIMMING POOL.

Although the water in the pool is very warm, 32C, the pool is very well insulated, both underneath and around the sides, with high efficiency insulation. The heat escaping from the water into the air is collected and used to heat fresh air, from outside, through a heat exchange air handling system which also, along with a heat recovering de-humidifier, removes the moisture from the pool room air. Siting the pool inside the building ensures that none of the heat is wasted. The sanitizers and other chemicals necessary to keep the pool clean and hygienic have been carefully selected to have a minimal environmental impact and their use is kept to the absolute minimum to ensure safe hygienic but sustainable bathing.

GROUNDS AND GARDENS.

Most of the hard landscape materials used in the grounds have been re-cycled from those found on-site. Gravel has been used for paths and drives instead of concrete or bitumen based products as it has a small environmental impact and is locally quarried a few miles away. Plants are raised on-site from our own seed where possible and we use our own compost which we supplement with peat free varieties where necessary. All waste plant material is either composted or re-used as mulch etc.

WELCOME TRAY.

The ingredients provided on the welcome trays are sourced from fair trade and/or organic suppliers.

We try to operate Little Boynes in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way but also to provide comfortable modern and convenient accommodation. Of course we are always open to new ideas so if you think we could improve on any aspect please let us know.