Make 2021 an eco-friendly year of travel with socially-conscious experiences that reduce the impact on the planet and preserve the Naturally Inspiring setting of the English Riviera.

Protect and Enjoy the Natural Environment

The English Riviera’s Naturally Inspiring landscape has designated UNESCO Global Geopark status. The world class environment has incredible local geology with fascinating places and rare and protected wildlife. One of only 8 geoparks in the UK and 140 in the whole world, the area’s cultural heritage and natural setting makes it one of Earth’s extraordinary places. The remarkable setting is the perfect backdrop for nature watching and responsible outdoor adventure such as wild swimming and kayaking. WeSUP offers a range of soulful stand up paddleboard experiences and yoga sessions to enjoy positive energy in amazing, natural settings. Be a responsible tourist and take part in a coastal clean-up with group litter picking events organised by Torbay Cleaner Coasts Initiative with local organisations including Torbay Coast and Countryside Trust. 

Visit a Socially Responsible Tourist Attraction

Berry Head Nature Reserve is a place of outstanding natural beauty perched high up on 200 feet cliffs. It is a key gateway site to the UNESCO Global Geopark and a Special Area of Conservation. The guillemot colony is protected by the only Area of Special Protection in the UK with visiting boats prohibited from entering during breeding season. Enjoy the unbelievable sunsets, regular sightings of pods of dolphins and humpback whales and the incredible natural history which stretches back 400 million years.

Paignton Zoo Environmental Park is part of Wild Planet Trust, a registered education, scientific and conservation charity making a global impact. Paignton Zoo supports projects in the UK and overseas that aim to conserve wildlife in the wild and play a key role in breeding programmes for rare and endangered species. There are over 2,500 animals set across 80 acres. It has won numerous awards including the Social Responsibility and Sustainable Tourism Award and uses a variety of waste reduction and energy saving initiatives including solar panels.

Green Travel

Consider your carbon footprint when you book your next holiday or short getaway in 2021. Leave the car behind and travel to and around the English Riviera by public transport. As one of the UK’s top seaside holiday destinations the area has well established links to national rail and coach networks, connecting with all parts of the country. Getting about Torquay, Paignton and Brixham couldn’t be easier with regular bus services including an open-top double decker sightseeing bus, ferry boats and land trains. The English Riviera’s 22 miles of glorious coastline has beautifully winding roads as well as relatively flat promenades to thrill all cycling abilities and ramblers can enjoy walking the famous, South West Coast Path.

Sample Locally Sourced Produce from the Naturally Inspiring Landscape

Shop locally and support South West based food and drink suppliers. South Devon is known for the finest quality produce including homemade pasties, freshly baked scones, Devon clotted cream and handcrafted real ales and ciders developed in local microbreweries and speciality gins from coastal distilleries.

The Naturally Inspiring area is also known as England’s Seafood Coast for the freshest and world class fish landed locally in Brixham. Rockfish is a sustainable seafood restaurant serving the freshest local and sustainable fish, ensuring that healthy stock levels of fish are maintained in the ocean. The Michelin-starred restaurant, The Elephant uses sustainable ingredients and free-range meat from their dedicated farm in Brixham whilst Occombe Farm café uses seasonal produce grown in their organic vegetable garden.     

Places to Stay with an Ethical and Environmental Focus 

Torquay is home to The 25 Boutique B&B, bronze winner of Visit Devon’s Ethical, Responsible and Sustainable Tourism Award in 2019. Their environmental policy includes reducing printed paper use by providing iPads in the guest rooms instead of daily newspapers and magazines and producing booking and registration confirmations in digital form. Long life containers are used to store items reducing use of cling film and food waste. Earlston House is an environmentally friendly B&B in Paignton that uses enzyme-based and vegan cleaning products. Haven House in Torquay has a charging point for electric vehicles.

Be eco-conscious this year and discover more remarkable places to Stay, Visit, Eat and Drink on the English Riviera. Visit our Naturally Inspiring webpages to find out more.