Sustainability at groomes

Groomes is now carbon neutral, producing all the units of electricity we need from our solar panels and the heating and hot water from biomass.
Our guests are most welcome to freely walk and exercise in the grounds.

we are carbon neutral

Groomes has been almost carbon neutral since 2013 by producing all the units of electricity we need from our solar panels and the heating and hot water from biomass. (wood chip). At the same time, all the light fittings were changed to LED. I took the opportunity to heavily insulate the property during its restoration and despite being over 400 years old it is an easy property to keep warm even during the winter months.

We try to conserve water using two methods. Primarily, we treat our own dirty water on site and in addition we have a well and use this supply together with rainwater when cleaning equipment and watering the gardens and plants.

Another area in which we help the environment is in recycling, the idea here is to recycle everything. Whether it be plastic, glass, cardboard or cans nothing goes in the normal waste if it can be recycled.

As an accommodation and wedding venue, we are committed to the environment through various methods and policies which we try to implement every day. 

Fresh produce & wildlife

Groomes is still a working farm and where we can, we try to provide as much of the food from the grounds of the property. We use eggs from our own chickens, lambs from a neighbour and occasionally we are treated to beef from our own cattle and rhubarb, apples and blackberries from the garden, though preferably not together! One of the rather different conservation strategies that we have is the bee keeping. We have our own bee hives currently in the grounds and we get some delicious honey from them, something our guests love to try when we have it. Other produce is sourced locally from our neighbours at ‘Country Market’, amongst others, which is a market gardening business and next door to us.

Hogsback Brewery provide most of our ales and lagers and Blackmoor Estate the ciders. Both local producers of note.

Since the demise of smaller farms in this country, we have devoted ourselves to encouraging all species of wildlife whilst maintaining the upkeep of the estate with alternative enterprises. 

We are home to an amazing number of different birds and have the second largest Sand Martin colony in the south. In January 2022, I set up a river project to try to restore the river to what I remember it to be in my childhood. Thames Water is not helping but let’s say no more about that. More successful is the raptor (Birds of prey) project. Assisted by the Hawk Conservancy in Andover, we have developed areas and installed accommodation boxes for various types of Owls, kestrels . This has been particularly successful with all the species.