A sustainable stay

 
We’re passionate about preserving and enhancing the natural beauty of our surroundings, working alongside local organisations to protect and improve wildlife habitats. With owls hunting and roosting in our barns, partridge, hares, deer, pheasants and small mammals enjoying the pastures, and an abundance of birdlife, we’re deeply committed to the conservation of flora and fauna.

As part of the Tees-Swale Naturally Connected programme, funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, we’ve planted well over 6,000 hedging plants and 1,500 trees on-site, creating vital wildlife corridors from the River Swale to the top of our hills and the horizon. To further enrich biodiversity, we’ve also regenerated five hay meadows with locally-sourced green hay and wildflower seeds and plugs.

Through the Woodland Trust’s Grow Back Greener initiative, a new 12-acre woodland has been planted between The Old Vicarage and Marrick village, with more than 5,600 trees and shrubs creating an ever-evolving natural landscape. Thanks to support from the Farming in Protected Landscapes (FiPL) initiative, this area now features a new permissive footpath, offering our guests and passing walkers a scenic diversion off the stone track — perfect for taking in the beauty of the growing woodland. We continue to plant more copses, hedges, and in-field trees to improve biodiversity and sustainability.

All of this ensures that The Old Vicarage remains a haven for both wildlife and those who come to appreciate it.