Green honour for Killhope

16th February 2012

Categories: Visitor News

A County Durham museum has struck gold.

Killhope: the North of England Lead Mining Museum has been granted a gold award through the Green Tourism Business Scheme (GTBS).

The national initiative, approved by Visit Britain, GTBS considers a range of factors including energy and water efficiency, waste management and biodiversity.

Businesses that meet the required standard are awarded gold, silver or bronze status based on their level of achievement.

An inspector who visited Killhope described the attraction as “a superb example of a sustainable destination which not only goes to extraordinary lengths to operate in a sustainable manner but also has a huge amount of information available for guests to help them understand sustainability”.

The museum was praised for initiatives such as a composting toilet, condensing boiler and LED lighting as well as its on-site events, activities and workshops and its support for local projects.

A report on the inspection concluded that the museum should “keep up the great enthusiasm and ideas which have resulted in the site receiving one of the highest GTBS scores”.

Helen Marritt, the museum’s green champion, said: “At Killhope we believe passionately in sustainability and that every little bit of 'green' effort can make a difference so we’re very pleased to have been awarded gold status by the GTBS.

“It’s a fantastic accolade and adds another aspect to visitor experience.”

This year, Killhope opened for the spring half term for the very first time. Visitors were able to enjoy the Victorian lead mine, woodland walks and the world’s only working Amrstrong Water Wheel from Saturday, 11 to Sunday, 19 February.

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