Thornbury Carnival took place on 3rd July with over 11,000 people again thronging to the Mundy playing fields to soak up the fantastic atmosphere.

Ben's Delicious Scones!

Our stand was as popular as ever with local people sampling our delicious scones with jam and cream.

So Cute!

We would again like to thank the organisers who worked tirelessly to create and execute this outstanding local event.  Well done to everyone.  Roll on next year…

We are thrilled to announce that we have been awarded a Silver Grading by the Green Tourism Business Scheme.

Our attitude towards ‘green’ issues has been studied and assessed by the Green Tourism Business Scheme and has culminated in us being presented this highly coveted award.

All aspects of the hotel have been examined in great detail and action taken in all areas including, purchasing, recycling, transport, waste management, guest information, energy and water consumption.

We are extremely proud of our acheivement and are grateful to all of our guests who help to make Alveston House Hotel an environmentally friendly establishment.

If you would like more information about the Green Tourism Business Scheme please visit their website www.green-business.co.uk.

This time of year brings out the budding gardeners in all of us.

Kathryn working hard on the borders at Alveston House Hotel

Gardener and landscaper, Kathryn  Mahon, picutured right, has kindly given us some tips for an eco-friendly garden so we thought we would share them with you.

1. Deter slugs and snails from tender plants by placing bulbs of garlic or crushed egg shells around the base of the plants.

2. Try to buy plants and shrubs that attract bees and butterflies. Not only is this creating a lovely habitat for these creatures, but they will eat aphids and other insect pests as well.

3. Try to encourage birds into your garden. Not only are they beautiful to watch they will also help control caterpillars and other bugs that can destroy plants.

4. Try to compost as much garden material as possible.  If you have treated lawns with a mixture of weed/feed, do not use grass clippings to compost heap.  Most manufacturers  recommend to dispose of seperately for the first 4 grass cuts.  Always follow instructions on the box.

Father Christmas will be at Cabots Circus in Bristol on Thursday 12th November to switch on the Christmas lights.  

Three giant canopies of light strings with huge light ‘baubles’ are already up in the shopping centre and will glow in blue and white.

The Cabots Circus lighting scheme is using 127,000 LEDs rather than conventional bulbs, saving 80 per cent on power.

This year promises to be bigger and better than ever with a glittering show that will light up all the main shopping areas and the harbourside. 

Christmas in Bristol is always exciting with fantastic festive shop displays and the famous German Markets but this year why not enjoy a shopping break at Alveston House Hotel.  Please contact us for further details.

We were pleased to welcome the Alveston Litter Busters to Alveston House Hotel on Saturday. 

The litter busters are a group of local residents concerned about litter spoiling the environment.  Their aim is to keep Alveston looking clean, tidy and litter free resulting in a more pleasent environment for everyone and its wildlife to live in.  

It was a horrible day weather wise and we were pleased to offer a well earned hot drink and biscuits.

More volunteers are always welcome.  For further details please contact Shirley at http://www.litteraction.org.uk/alveston-litter-busters

Thornbury was celebrating this week after achieving a double first in the national Britain in Bloom competition.

Not only did Thornbury win gold in the national competition but it also earned the accolade of Best Town in Britain.

Thornbury won its category of best town, defeating tough competition from Ilkley, Morpeth, Oakham and Rustington.

After 18 years of entering the South West in Bloom competition, this was the first year Thornbury had been entered at national level, which was part of the prize for coming first in the regional heats last year.

What a fantastic achievement – well done to all involved!

A lot has happened in the last 12 months for the Alveston House team. Apart from the obvious such as extensive refurbishment, the winning of an AA Rosette for the Carriages Restaurant, the launch of our brand new website and our online booking feature, we have also gone GREEN.

We finally realised the impact of what we do as an organisation with regard to the environment. We aren’t planning to lecture our guests on how they can become eco-warriors but we have looked at every aspect of our business and re-evaluated the way we run the hotel on a day to day basis in order to become a ‘greener’ hotel.

The Green Tourism badge that we proudly display on our website isn’t there just to make our home page look colourful – we actually believe that our guests genuinely care if we are trying to be more environmentally friendly. Take, for example, our attitude to recycling. 1 year ago we were making a token effort to not waste paper and have our bottles collected and recycled. Now EVERY item that can be recycled is recycled. It’s really encouraging to see our staff get behind our policies.

We would be really interested to hear your thoughts on whether you think it is important for hotels to do what they can for the environment – for instance, would you go so far as to change your travel plans if a hotel chose not to be environmental?