Eco-Friendly and Sustainability Commitments at Our Keswick B&B

Maple Bank, our dog-friendly B&B in Keswick, has undergone a substantial refurb programme since we took over the House in September 2018, which has helped contribute enormously to build our sustainability credentials.

All the B&B bedrooms are now double-glazed, as well as the dining room (using the original frames), with a new, purpose-built 2" thick front door with double-glazed panels and a new double glazed back door.

All bathrooms now have LED main lights and above sink lights, as well as energy efficient fans which deactivate once the main light is switched off.  And we use eco-friendly bin-bags in the bedrooms and bathrooms and kitchen.

Re heating, the top floor has been entirely re-piped from the hot water tank, to ensure that all the radiators are fully efficient.  The ground floor - hallway, dining room and owners' rooms - have had all gas radiators replaced with individual electric radiators which can be independently controlled and switched off when the rooms are empty, with individual thermostats and timers.  And the boiler was replaced in September 2029.  This has resulted in a recent reduction in our monthly energy bills (February 2024).

All washing machines and tumble drier were replaced in 2020 to energy efficient models.

B&B guests are asked to pre-order their breakfast the night before, so waste is tightly controlled and virtually non-existent.

In the kitchen, the food is purchased primarily from local producers and suppliers, helping to reduce the carbon footprint. Local suppliers include milk (E Clark and Son, Braithwaite), free range eggs (Scales Farm, Embleton), bakery (Real Coffee Bakery, Cockermouth), award-winning butter (Winter Tarn Dairy, Penrith), honey (Wild and Fruitful, Portinscale, Keswick). Hot water left over from the breakfast water urn is used to water plants and troughs, even during the winter months, for those window ledge troughs.

B&B Staff are local (Braithwaite and Keswick), with reduced carbon footprint.

Laundry is cleaned either on site or at Keswick Laundry, again helping to reduce carbon footprint. Rather than using larger national companies.  We use non-biological washing powder and eco-friendly products to clean our rooms.

Eco-friendly efforts outside the B&B

Recycling also extends to the gardens.  Bulbs in the pots are recycled after blooming and dug into the garden for the next years growth.  And the Paradise Garden Terrace was designed and built, with about 80% of materials being recycled from around the garden and donated from other gardens in Braithwaite. Many of the plants in the back garden (1 acre) have also been donated from other gardens in Braithwaite through a local WhatsApp group, which shares items available for recycling.  We also have a compost heap and one area at the top of the garden is being put to wilding in the 2024 planting/sowing season.

EV Charging

Local EV charging points are available across the road at the Braithwaite Institute, the Braithwaite village hall across the road.  Each charge is payable via an app.

Waste collection

Our waste is collected via Cumberland Council and this includes recycling bins for cardboard and cans/plastic/glass.