Our Values
We’re working hard to safeguard our local environment and be the “green” choice for our Isle of Wight holiday cottage guests.
We:
Encourage our guests to recycle waste: we have containers for recyclable waste (plastics, metals, glass, paper & cardboard) and food caddies for composting- Offer incentives for guests arriving or travelling around the Island without a car – from free maps, walking and cycling guides, to free foot passenger ferry tickets or 5% off cottage rental
- We have been awarded Ambassador status by Visit Isle of Wight for promoting car free travel to our Isle of Wight holiday cottages and around the Island. All our cottages have achieved Gold Awards in the Visit Isle of Wight Green Star Scheme.
- Keep printed marketing material to a minimum as most of our communication is via the internet.
- Use recycled, locally sourced and fair trade products. Guests are provided with a welcome hamper of local Island produce.
- Use the services of local housekeepers to minimise car miles
- Line dry our laundry whenever possible
- Phase out single use plastics, e.g. we use refillable soap dispensers
Travelling to your Isle of Wight holiday cottage and around the Island without a car
If you would like to reduce your impact on the environment why not use public transport to get to your Isle of Wight holiday cottage and during your stay – see Visit Isle of Wight for more information. You can travel by train to the ferry ports of Southampton (to Cowes or East Cowes), Portsmouth (to Fishbourne or Ryde) and Lymington (to Yarmouth). Yarmouth is the port with easiest access to our Yarmouth holiday cottage (Tanners) as well as bus services to Totland to reach Meadow View. There are connecting bus services to the West Wight villages from Ryde / Cowes (via Newport) and Yarmouth (via Freshwater) for access to our Brighstone holiday cottages (2 The Granary, Weirside Cottage, The Brew House) and Shorwell holiday cottages (Brookside Cottage, Little Thatch). See Southern Vectis website for routes and timetables.
Off The Rails, Yarmouth
The Isle of Wight is popular with cyclists and has dedicated cycleways – many following the course of disused railway lines, signed routes, miles of bridleways and quiet country lanes – see Cyclewight for more information. Maps and walking guides are available in the cottages.
We recommend the use of Wight Cycle Hire based locally in Yarmouth – see Wight Cycle Hire. They will deliver cycles to the cottages (free if the cost of cycle hire is more than £50).
Unfortunately there are no electric hire car companies operating on the Island but you can hire a car from Volt-Age which is located close to Portsmouth and Southsea railway station (5% discount offered to guests of West Wight Cottages). A great alternative is now available from the newly launched Isle of Wight Tuk Tuk Co. Take a tour in their Piaggio Ape Callessino 200 Tuk Tuk which has a Euro 4 fuel-injected 4-stroke engine with low fuel consumption and low emissions.
West Wight Cottages – supporting our local community
We support the following organisations through paid membership, donations or volunteering:
Brighstone Christmas Tree Festival – over 200 theme decorated trees in 7 venues. Teresa volunteers as a steward and Steve helps out on the technical side. We had a West Wight Cottages display in 2019 – a decorated sailing boat reflecting our West Wight Cottages logo!
Gift to Nature – responsible for a variety of conservation sites on the Isle of Wight, caring for the Island’s wildlife and encouraging everyone to get out and explore our countryside. We are a business supporter.
The Isle of Wight Natural History & Archaeological Society – promotes the study of natural history & archaeology, conservation of the flora & fauna of the Isle of Wight and preservation of all objects of special archaeological and geological interest. We pay an annual membership subscription.
Freshwater Independent Lifeboat – operates 2 lifeboats and 2 fast rescue craft in an area up to 30 miles off the coast of the Isle of Wight from Hurst Point to St Catherine’s Point. We are a lifetime member and make regular donations.
Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust – protects the wildlife and wild places of Hampshire, the Isle of Wight and our local seas. We make monthly donations and also made a contribution to the successful appeal fund to purchase Parsonage Farm and Hill Heath which combined with St Martin’s Wood will make this the largest Wildlife Trust reserve on the Island, totalling 124 acres – see here.
Roy Dennis Foundation – together with Forestry England the team released six juvenile White-tailed Eagles on the Isle of Wight in August 2019. We have made a donation and still looking forward to seeing our first eagle!
Isle of Wight Zoo – home of the Wildheart Trust, a charity making the world a better place for animals in the wild and in human care environments. We are proud to have adopted Mondo one of the circus tigers rescued from Spain in 2017 and look forward to seeing him once lockdown is over!
Isle of Wight Ornithological Group – bird surveys on the Isle of Wight and field trips. Teresa takes part in the bi-annual garden bird surveys.
National Trust Isle of Wight – Teresa is a member of the National Trust and volunteers as part of the National Trust Isle of Wight newsletter team.
Isle of Wight area of outstanding natural beauty – promote events and dark skies project
You can play your part too, why not shop locally? We have a well-stocked Brighstone Village shop which, along with Shorwell Village Stores, provide the welcome hampers for our Brighstone and Shorwell holiday cottages. We also recommend the Freshwater Co-op which is the flagship for local island produce and provides the contents for our Yarmouth and Totland holiday cottages. We provide Fair Trade tea, coffee & sugar in the cottages.
