Eco-friendly holidays with Headwater

In a world increasingly aware of the harm tourism can do, helping to protect the environment - both at home and overseas - is very important to Headwater. The company’s aim is to balance the environmental impact of travelling with the immense benefits sustainable tourism can bring to places and the people who live there.

Helping to conserve natural and cultural assets and injecting often much-needed cash into local economies is hugely important to many of the rural villages in the Headwater programme. And they’re proud of their record: they don't take too many people; encourage customers to protect the countryside and, where possible, they work with hotels with an eco-policy.

During the summer, many of the hotels in the programme are part of farming communities that have lived off the land for centuries. So the food is based on fresh home-grown produce requiring little or no transportation with chefs relying on traditional family recipes passed down through generations.

In the winter, Headwater's cross country ski villages are so much more environmentally friendly than concrete alpine ski resorts. Choices include the pretty Auvergnat hamlet of Pailherols and the thatched wooden chalets of Lamoura where locals continue wood carving, pottery, cheese making and gem cutting as they have for centuries.

All the holidays are about getting you to places that cars can't go and, in 2006, Headwater walkers hiked a staggering 462,000 kilometres; their cyclists pedalled an amazing 520,000 kilometres; canoeists paddled an impressive 9,000 kilometres, and dedicated cross country skiers notched up a further 39,000 kilometres. That makes a record-breaking total of 1,030,000 "green" kilometres covered in just 12 months!

Time never stops like it does in the mountains - take a deep breath of the clean crisp air… it feels good!

Friendly farming folk work their land - patchwork quilts of sunflowers, maize, olives and vines - bordered by ancient woods and pine forest.

Only fly if you want to...

Increasing numbers of Headwater guests are choosing rail as their preferred means of getting to their chosen destination. In most European countries, trains are modern, fast, reliable and represent excellent value for money. No lengthy check-in queues and few luggage restrictions. And, of course, travelling by rail is much more friendly to the environment.

For people wanting to fly, off-setting carbon emissions and flying "carbon neutral" has significant positive impacts on global warming. The Headwater website at Headwater.com offers all customers the opportunity to compensate for the environmental impact of flying with a carbon offset scheme managed by the World Land Organisation.