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Our nearest shops are in Newcastle Emlyn, which is
trying to be the first town in Wales to do without carrier bags, so
we provide a bag to help when guests go shopping. Our kitchen
bins use old plastic carrier bags and a supply is provided, which
can also be used for shopping.
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Guests are invited to think about using public
transport. There is a Bwcabws service, which allows you
to book a bus to come to the mill and take you to Newcastle Emlyn,
where there are bus routes into Carmarthen and Cardigan. We provide
timetables for the local bus services. The trains from Carmarthen
run along some beautiful routes, you can get 2 or 4 day Rover
tickets and parking at the station is very reasonable.
The coastal buses like the Poppit Rocket
can really enhance your holiday. They allow you to drive to
the coastal path and take the bus along the route, so that you can
walk in one direction rather than trying to find a circular route,
or turning round to retrace your steps. A hint - it is often
better to catch the bus out and walk back (then there's no danger of
missing the bus for your return).
Visit Wales have put a leaflet together,
suggesting car free days out in Pembrokeshire - try this link:
www.visitwales.co.uk/upload/pdf/Car_Free_Days_out_in_Pembrokeshire.pdf
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Recycling: it is important that we recycle
whenever we can, so we provide bins for guests to dispose of
their recycling, glass, vegetable compost and food waste as well as
general rubbish. Vegetable compost is made here at the mill
and the council make wonderful "Magic Merlin" compost with the food
waste.
This sewerage system relies on friendly microbes
working merrily away. To keep them happy, we only use non-bio
washing powder and supply non-bio powder for guests to use too.
We use dryer balls in the tumble dryers. They help
to reduce the drying time and give a better result by separating the
clothes as they dry.
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There is no additional charge for electricity but
guests are asked to think about the electricity that they use and
are requested to turn lights and the TV off when they go out. The
hot water heater is on a timer, so guests do not have to remember to
turn it off, but the timer can be overridden to give extra hot water
if needed.
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We have replaced all traditional
light bulbs with low energy ones, throughout the mill - this is not
just for ecological reasons, we got significant
electricity savings as a result. The stairs lights
are always left on for safety reasons. The outside lights come on
at dusk. Additional lights on the washhouse and cabin can be turned
on if needed.
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The apartments are heated from September until June.
To reduce the oil that we burn, we normally time the heating to come
on at 06:00 until 10:00 and again at 16:30 – midnight, unless it is
very cold or if guests ask for different timings. A wood
effect fire is provided in the lounge and a plinth heater in the
kitchen to boost heat levels if needed. A thermostat is
provided in the lounge so that, if guests are warm enough, they can
easily reduce the resources they use by turning down the thermostat
a little.
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At certain times of the year, parts of the lawn are
left uncut. It’s not because we can’t be bothered to cut it, though
it does save a bit of petrol. It’s actually to encourage wild
flowers that grow naturally in the grass. To help them, we do not
put any chemicals on the lawn. The flowers encourage butterflies,
insects and, therefore, birds.
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We have planted a butterfly garden and
other flowering plants to encourage bees and butterflies.
Honey is available at the mill which has been made by bees visiting
these flowers.
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We use fallen trees from our
woodland to line paths and make benches and pergolas in the garden.
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We are looking into generating our own electricity.
The water wheel is well over 100 year old and has to be greased very
regularly so producing regular electricity from it is tricky, but we
have some ideas for a new turbine/Photovoltaic cells.
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We are slowly replacing cleaning materials with
E-cover type products. We’ll use up anything that we already have
first, but always replace with E-cover or similar.
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We ask guests if they have any other ideas and
provide a sheet for suggestions to us.
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