Wildings Elms Meadow, an eco-glamping site in Norfolk, is offering what it calls a “self-sufficient and off-grid guest experience” after installing 52 solar panels on its site.
Owners Anissa and Kevin Connor moved from London to Toft Monks, near Beccles, in April 2021. They had a dream of creating a green and eco-friendly site after Mrs Connor studied for a postgraduate degree in climate change, and took a “cathartic journey” with their children across Europe in a campervan.
Their site has space for campers, two shepherd huts available for hire, and two small cottages.
Mrs Connor said, “We were both increasingly worried about the environmental crisis we’re facing. Particularly poignant was some research that demonstrated that the greatest predictor of pro-nature behaviour in adults is unstructured time in nature in childhood.
“Living in London, we felt very detached from nature.”
The owners said they wanted visitors to “reconnect” with nature during their stays and moving to the area allowed them to make a change.
“We used all of our first year’s profits and more to invest in solar panels and plant 60m of hedging.”
They said, “Rather than just read about things we should be doing to be more environmentally friendly, it became increasingly important for us to move to a more rural location. We came with a dream of building a business that creates a magical space for people to slow down and reconnect with each other and nature.
“We used all of our first year’s profits and more to invest in solar panels and plant 60m of hedging.
“We use refillable containers for all of our toiletries to reduce plastic waste, provide guests recycled toilet paper, have a myriad of different waste disposal options and leave large areas of the site to rewild.”
Much of the site is left to rewild around spacious but secluded camping pitches which the owners say is great for wildlife and biodiversity as well as giving campers and glampers privacy and the feeling of being immersed in nature.
