The owners of two Yorkshire Dales holiday cottages have installed electric car charging points in a bid to boost their green credentials.
Diane and Andrew Howarth have had the points fitted at their properties in Newbiggin in Bishopdale.
They believe they are only the second company in the Yorkshire Dales to have the chargers installed.
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Diane said: “W have done it so that guests can charge their totally electric and/or hybrid cars at our cottages.
“We are hoping this will encourage more people to venture out from the towns to the countryside, without bringing so much CO2 exhaust fumes with them.”
The couple have also invested in their own hybrid car – a Mini Countryman 4×4 – to take advantage of the charging points and have become real converts to the technology.
“It means we can go back and forth between our cottages for just a few pennies electricity – no fuel,” said Diane.
“Amazingly going back and forth to Leyburn, where it needs just a small amount of petrol, we are getting between 75 and 99mpg – the measure in the car doesn’t go above 99.9mpg.
“Instead of it costing about £4.50 in fuel, it only costs us about 50p to do the 20-mile round trip to Leyburn – something we do about four to five times a week.
“For that one regular journey we are saving £20 a week which equals £1,000 a year, let alone all the other journey miles we do.”
The couple received a Government grant towards the chargers, which meant they cost just £300 for installation.
They were fitted by Leyburn-based Steve Geater, of DDR Electrical, who specialise in installing this equipment.
The couple say they are a gold member of the Green Tourism Business Scheme and the chargers support their green business ethos.
The cottages have previously won a host of awards.
The Dairy is officially the most accessible self-catering cottage in the Yorkshire Dales and has been judged to meet the highest standards possible for every type of disability – mobility, hearing and sight – which meant it last year took second place in the national Blue Badge Style awards.
The Howarths’ other holiday cottage, The Byre, also in Newbiggin, was named best self-catering property of the Year in the VisitEngland awards 2017 and Yorkshire cottage of the year in the White Rose awards in 2016.
