Our Environmental Policy
At Endless Trails MTB we believe in Travel, Adventure and Outdoor activities in mountains and wild spaces , the positive impact of these on our mental and physical wellbeing, the opportunities to understand and connect more deeply with nature and the living world, and the value in experiencing cultures and lifestyles different from our own in order to broaden our minds and foster and maintain relationships with our international friends.
As we gradually become more aware and informed of our environmental impact, we acknowledge that with these beliefs we are at the same time creating an environmental footprint as we seek those positives, and because of this, we have a personal and corporate responsibility to act now, and make changes in the way we operate to try and minimise our contribution to global warming, before it’s too late.
We want to conserve the mountain spaces, the woodlands and the wilderness that we love, and ensure they are there and protected for future generations to enjoy in the same way we have done.
At Endless Trails MTB we have always felt environmentally conscious, as we are sure many of our guests do, but we know that we could, and NEED to do more. We are not perfect, we don’t claim to be, and we can’t eradicate the carbon footprint our business makes altogether, but we are making a concerted effort to implement changes to reduce it as much as we can.
No matter how big or small, we believe every effort to preserve our environment is important, and we’re committed to working towards becoming more environmentally responsible in how we operate, both now and as we grow.
There is always more we could do and we are constantly looking for ways in which to do so, so please let us know if after experiencing one of our trips, you have ideas to help us towards this goal, we’d love to hear them!
Here are a few of the things we are doing to try and minimise our environmental impact:
Take only photos, leave only tyre tracks… Image: Roo Fowler/Juliana Bicycles
We don’t sell flights, but we recognise that our trips encourage and enable it, and so we are updating our advice and options for people who wish to travel by train, and will include free local station pick-up for those who choose this option.
We avoid using excess paper as much as feasibly possible, sending out email newsletters, online invoices and receipts, and using online booking forms.
We use small local hotels on trips who share our values, employ local people, and use local food suppliers in the meals they cook for us.
Whilst most hotels include meat in the main meal, this is often locally grown on small scale farms. All can always offer vegetarian or vegan options, and dairy-free milk alternatives for any guests who request this when they book with us.
We include seasonal, locally produced food from small shops where we can in our lunches.
We are trying to cut down on single use disposable plastics in the lunches we make, by offering proper plates and cutlery for guests, and carrying a large water container for bottle refills, rather than buying bottled water. For Alpine trips and bikepacking trips, every guest will receive an exclusive Endless Trails MTB ceramic mug as a gift at the start of their holiday. This can be used throughout the trip at lunchtimes, and then taken home as a memento of your trip!
We recycle tins, cans, paper, glass and recyclable plastic food packaging from the lunches we make, and encourage our guests to join us in doing so.
In the chalet, and in the hotels we use, we try to switch off unused lights, and encourage guests to do the same.
On the trail, we stick to recognised paths and actively discourage riders from corner cutting or riding away from the trail.
On our Scotland trips, we make donations to each of the Trail Associations who look after the trails in the areas where we ride, recognising that we all have an impact and contributing where we can to help lessen this and ensure the trails remain sustainable.
Take only photos, leave only tyre tracks. We don’t leave rubbish on the trails, even fruit peels and banana skins, which can take a long time to decompose, and don’t belong there, and we’ll actively pick up other people’s rubbish when we see it at break spots.
We’re actively involved with Trash Free Trails and the work they do, and try to spread the message about this great organisation to those who join us on trips.
We keep group sizes to a maximum of 7 riders plus a guide.
The World Land Trust
For anyone interested in looking at ways to offset their carbon emissions from travel to a trip, the WLT have a handy Carbon Calculator which can be found here: