Ivythwaite Lodge
From the Classroom to the Lake District: How Ivythwaite Lodge built sustainability into its DNA
AIRBNB RATING
4.99
BOOKING.COM
9.7
RETURNING GUESTS
20-25%
GREEN TOURISM
Silver
Located in England’s Lake District, Ivythwaite Lodge, a former Victorian gentleman’s residence, sits on a quiet leafy road between Windermere and Bowness-on-Windermere. Accessed through beautiful, mature gardens, the property boasts five guest bedrooms and two self-catering cottages. The property has been owned by husband-and-wife team Andrew and Abigail since 2017, who, after leaving senior leadership roles at secondary schools in the south-east of England, have spent the past six years building sustainability into their operations.
With a degree in environmental science, in his former life Andrew taught Geography whilst Abigail taught history. Both had climbed into senior leadership roles in large secondary schools but found the spark fading as that progression meant other responsibilities took away from actual teaching time.
“We decided to take some time out, do something different and then reassess.”
That reassessment led them to the search for a property in the spine of the Lake District, places like Bowness, Windermere, and Ambleside – those places that attract most visitors and thus boast a longer season.
Ivythwaite appealed immediately. It was the first property they viewed, and nothing else came close. The dual business model – the five-bedroom lodge alongside The Nook, a one-bedroom cottage, and The Cranny, a studio apartment – offered both flexibility and a longer-term succession plan. The cottages can continue operating when Andrew and Abigail take time away, providing income and a natural step-down route towards retirement. It is still just the two of them running everything.
The couple spent their first two years simply learning how to run the place. Although sustainability was always in the background, it wasn’t until 2019 that they sat down and asked themselves how they could integrate it into the business.
“We didn’t want it in a sledgehammer kind of way. Just to sit as the principles underneath all that we do.”
The result was their Ten Green Steps – a sustainability charter that covers everything from free EV charging and locally sourced breakfast produce to refillable toiletries, composting, and encouraging guests to explore the area on foot or by public transport rather than by car. Andrew even wrote walking guides for the surrounding area, which are now available as PDFs on the website or as laminated copies.
“Those that haven’t given this much thought – it’s a good educational tool,” he says. “Those that are a bit against it, there’s nothing there that they could really dig their heels in on.”
Ivythwaite is also a Travel Pride certified business – a scheme originating from Booking.com that recognises accommodations committed to being open and welcoming to all guests regardless of who they are or who they love. For Andrew, inclusivity is an important part of what they stand for.
One of the most tangible early changes was rethinking where supplies came from. The lodge had been using a laundry service based in Whitehaven – some 50 miles away. Andrew helped encourage a new local provider, Clear Spin, to set up in Windermere. They’re now 100 yards away.
Toiletries followed a similar path. Out went products from London, replaced by those from Out of Eden and Pure Lakes – based 30 and 6 miles away respectively. Eggs now come from Bannerigg Farm, less than a mile away, delivered fresh every Friday morning. Bacon and sausages are sourced from a butcher in Kendal.
“It probably costs a little bit more. But we can justify that in terms of quality, and it was the right thing to do.”
The same thinking extends to how guests are encouraged to behave during their stay. Each room contains a large glass bottle of tap water alongside two reusable plastic bottles. Guests are asked to take them out rather than buying single-use plastic, leave them outside the door when empty, and they’ll be refilled. Most people do it. A few forget and take them home in the bottom of a rucksack. Andrew considers that a reasonable trade-off.
“If people then go away and remember that… it’s just a little idea starting to permeate. That gives me a sense of achievement if it made just a little difference to people’s thinking.”
Energy use remains the area Andrew finds hardest to control. The lodge is a Victorian building, originally constructed as a gentleman’s residence in the 1860s, and the Lake District National Park places restrictions on what changes can be made to its appearance. Double-glazed windows on the wind-battered south-facing frontage would make a real difference, but the cost of sourcing period-appropriate replacements is prohibitive.
Guest behaviour is the other variable he cannot fully control. Some guests arrive and do everything right. Others leave bathroom lights on all night, run baths repeatedly, and make little to no effort to in terms of waste disposal.
“Some people just bring all manner of stuff and just leave hundreds of things here, and it’s difficult to get any kind of angle or control on that.”
Clearly then, sustainability isn’t everyone’s top concern. One guest even left a copy of the Daily Mail open on the table at a story dismissing climate change – an indirect little dig, Andrew reckons. Beyond that, in years of operation, the pushback has been minimal.
His most effective tool for managing energy costs has been a practical one: closing during the coldest winter months and concentrating work into the warmer periods, when heating costs are lower. As an example, Andrew says an August gas bill is roughly 30% of a December one.
Ivythwaite is rated 4.99 on Airbnb and 9.7 on Booking.com and holds a Silver award with Green Tourism – with energy and waste being the main sticking points in the pursuit of Gold. Andrew believes the sustainability focus may be a driver of occupancy, which consistently outperforms comparable properties in the area, whilst around 20-25% of guests return.
“Something out there is driving customers to us before it is to our competitors. I can’t 100% categorically say it’s this (sustainability), but our occupancy is excellent.”
The Green Tourism journey began around 2020, roughly same time the Ten Green Steps were introduced. The badge, Andrew feels, carries more weight than the sum of its parts – particularly on Booking.com, where external sustainability awards now push properties to the top of filtered searches.
They also subscribe to Ecologi, a carbon offsetting scheme, through which the business funds reforestation and other environmental projects worldwide. After five or six years of contributions, their online forest has grown considerably. Andrew and Abigail also support Fix the Fells – a local environmental charity maintaining the Lake District’s footpaths where Andrew is a Fix the Fells ranger. Collection jars in every unit mean Ivythwaite is among the top contributors in the Lakes, and a plan to donate a percentage per direct booking to the charity is being considered.
Andrew’s advice to anyone beginning their sustainability journey is straightforward: start with what you already do well and build from there.
“I’d pick their brains about what they do already that they’re proud of, and then ask how we can widen that in terms of scope.”
And, if they could do it all again? Andrew says spending a little more time thinking about the overall strategy beyond the basics would take more precedence.
“What is it that’s going to ignite your passion beyond the everyday routine of doing what you’re doing? Kind of have that framed in your mind and, ideally, have that hit in the ground at the beginning.”
