Abbey Walks - Responsible Travel Policies

We are endorsed by Responsible Travel, a travel body which promotes trips that maximize positive and minimize negative impacts on local community, economy and environment.

 

Environmental Responsibility

• Abbey Walks is run from an office in our environmentally friendly family home.  We rarely print anything, but when we do we only print on recycled paper.  We also use the reverse side of printed paper as note paper.  We use our household recycling bins for any paper, cardboard and plastic packaging waste that we generate and are very lucky that we also have a council run recycling site very close to our home where we take batteries, ink cartridges, glass and any redundant electrical items.
• Our walking routes only use legitimate footpaths, and we advise and encourage our walkers to keep to only use those.  This is so that we do not disturb nearby wildlife or farm land. We advocate a ‘leave no trace’ policy when arriving, using and leaving the countryside.  We inform all walkers how to actively sustain the environment that they are travelling through.
• Our walk guide is passionate about the Yorkshire countryside, protecting the environment and walking within it.  He informs walkers about Abbey Walks related history of the area, as well as providing information on local flora, fauna and the natural landscape.

Economic Responsibility

• We live, work, and walk in Yorkshire.  Our walk guide is, therefore, a local lad.
• We use independent accommodation providers on our multi-day walks.  These establishments employ local staff, and declare that they use local produce as much as possible.  We endeavor to review their commitment to this regularly.  Our baggage transfer companies are local to the area that we walk in.  All of these services provide valuable income and support to the local economy.
• Whilst with Abbey Walks, walkers will come across, and possibly frequent, local cafes, pubs, gift shops and heritage sites (eg. Fountains Abbey, Byland Abbey) where local people are employed and offer service to both tourists and their local economy.

Social Responsibility

• Whilst on an Abbey Walks holiday, we start at, walk via, and end at historic English abbeys for example Byland, Fountains, and Rievaulx Abbey.  Entrance fees to visit these abbeys are used to fund their restoration and conservation, and also provide employment for local people.