Sustainability at The Sally
We love living and working in Cumbria. We’ve named our B&B rooms after our favourite beauty spots in the area and we are incredibly proud of our local heritage. Being so close to Hadrian’s Wall makes us a perfect stopping off point for tired and hungry walkers and we welcome visitors, year-round.
Running a thriving business in a rural (and beautiful) area, we are conscious of the damage that we, as humans, can have on our surroundings. We are committed to reducing our impact on the environment and aim to run a sustainable business that operates ethically and responsibly. We are just starting out on our journey but here a few examples of how we are trying to achieve change.
- We like to use local suppliers to source food and drinks, wherever possible, including Solway Spirits, Bruce & Luke’s Coffee, Silver and Green and Appleby Creamery. As well as the environmental benefits, it is important for us to support other local businesses and showcase the gems that our county has to offer, enabling us to provide an overall more ‘Cumbrian’ experience for our guests.
- In order to reduce plastic waste, we provide full sized, refillable toiletries in all guest bathrooms, made in Cumbria by Bath House, an artisan company. The toiletries we choose are made from natural ingredients and contain no parabens, SLS or microbeads. They are also cruelty-free, eco-certified and sustainable.
- We work in partnership with local suppliers such as Sealy Beds, to provide cosy and comfortable beds for our overnight guests.
- We worked with a local interior designer to individually furnish and decorate each room in a style that is inspired by the local landscape.
- We work with marketeers, designers and printers from the local area to create brand materials that reflect our products, all using environmentally friendly processes.
- We provide information on walks and cycle routes for guests, in order to reduce transport miles.
- We provide fresh milk for use in the guest rooms.
- We provide mineral water for our overnight guests in glass bottles instead of plastic.
- We use free range eggs from local hens!
- We use reusable storage tubs in the kitchen to reduce waste.
- We have worked hard to reduce our energy consumption, re-insulating the building to bring it up to modern day standards, fitting double glazing in all guest rooms and using LED lights throughout.
- We cook our meals to order and ask that large parties pre-order to minimise food waste in the kitchen.
- We recycle all glass and cardboard and encourage our guests to recycle their waste too.
- We have an electronic booking system and send out invoices via email wherever possible to reduce paper usage.
- We have a low maintenance garden area including astroturf and window boxes to reduce the amount of watering needed. Hanging baskets are on a timer to reduce water consumption.
- We have notices in guest bathrooms asking guests to put towels in the shower if they would like them washed and if not, to hang them on the heated towel rails to dry and re-use.
- All radiators have individual thermostats to reduce energy and guests can optimise to their own setting.
- We aim to use energy efficient suppliers such as Calor for LPG and EDF for electric. We also use a local coal supplier for our multi fuel stoves in order to reduce emissions where possible from gas.
- Our toilets are on dual flush and urinals have a cistermiser valve attached.
Community
We are proud to have brought The Sally back to life and returned it to its rightful place at the heart of the community.
As a local small business, we ensure that our loyal, local customers are treated as valuable VIPs.
We have launched a loyalty scheme so that regular customers can earn points to spend on future purchases including food, drinks and overnight accommodation.
We are home to two local darts teams.
We organise a series of family events throughout the year including Hallowe’en tricks, Easter treats and Christmas carolling. Details are advertised on social media platforms.
We hold an annual event showcasing our local suppliers to the public. Details are advertised on social media platforms.