We are committed to reducing the number of car journeys associated your visit to Dart Rock Climbing Centre, and hope that you carry on to all your climbing in the future. This green travel plan details you can maximise your efficiency in travel, reduce your carbon footprint your journey to Dart Rock, and even save some money in the process. After all, it isn’t just about saving the planet, is it?

Sustainable Travel
What is sustainable travel? Public transport, car sharing, and people power (i.e. walking, cycling, rowing, etc) are all examples of sustainable travel. These methods of transport create a minimum of damage to the environment per person, and can also have an added health benefit.

If you and a mate meet up at the wall after work, that is two car journeys. Can you car share with someone else? Take the bus? Walk? Cycle? A bit of physical activity before your climbing session is a great warm up to get your blood circulating, ready for exercise.

Our green travel plan is intended to show the benefits to customers of Dart Rock how they can enjoy our facility, but still do their part to help the environment by keeping local pollution and traffic to a minimum. After all, pollution isn’t just about exhaust fumes from cars on the road, but dust and noise as well. To show our commitment to green travel, we are offering discounts on entry fees for individual climbers who use one of the recommended sustainable transport methods described in this plan. Benefits of a green travel plan:

Dart Rock - A Sustainable Location for Devon
The sport of climbing began in the great outdoors. Although it extends now to indoor artificial surfaces, most climbers respect and understand that natural world should be preserved as much as possible. Reducing our environmental impact through minimising carbon emissions is one way we can all help.

The location of Dart Rock is no coincidence. A sustainable location that served as many climbers as possible within the south Devon area was always our goal. In fact, even our company name - the Eco Wall Project, Ltd, was based on the fact that environmental sustainability would always be key to whatever we do. The location was much more than central, though. It is perfectly situated within a key area serviced by many bus routes from all major populated areas in the region, and is easily accessible from outlying villages and the Moor by the country bus service, as well.

Situated amongst a residential area, the Dart Mill complex has been an industrial site for many years. Many businesses occupy the industrial estate, creating a variety of traffic that can sometimes conflict with area residents. Most vehicle movements on Old Totnes Road are during peak hours, when residents and businesses are coming and going to work.

By utilising three large buildings on the complex, Dart Rock aims to manage heavy traffic associated with the estate that will be using Old Totnes Road. Dart Rock is unique in that most traffic movements occur during off peak travel times with minibuses bringing school children and groups during the day, and recreational climbers coming by car or other means during the evenings.

We want Dart Rock to be a successful and thriving business. But for that to happen, we need to have visitors coming to the centre. Visitors usually mean traffic, but they don’t have to. We have developed this green travel plan to make sure that Dart Rock grows in a sustainable way, and that visitors know how they can enjoy their visit without the cost and hassle of bringing their car.

Putting Money Where Your Mouth Is
Our green travel plan is based on encouraging our visitors to use alternative forms of travel such as buses, cycle ways, footpaths and car sharing. We aim to do this by providing financial incentives to green travel users and by providing easily accessible information on how they can best manage their journey to Dart Rock.

Dart Rock’s general manager, Robbie Warke, will function as the owner of the green travel plan. He is tasked with implementing the plan which will include maintaining web links for customer information on green travel, operating a message board on site for car sharers, keeping record and reporting on the percentage of visitors who utilise green travel options.

Although ample parking at is available at Dart Rock, we want to ensure that visitors are aware that coming to Dart Rock by other means is easy, inexpensive, and convenient. We know that people love their cars, and the freedom they represent. So we are aware that many visitors will still arrive by car. But we still hope to encourage as many people as possible to use public transport during those times, and have provided details below.

Implementing our green travel plan will require effort. Our staff will enquire of each visitor as to their means of travel to the centre, and record this on our database. We will extend financial incentives for car sharers and people using public transport, cycling and walking by giving a discount on entry fees.

By registering your car on our car share system, we can keep track of who is using our car park. For a car transporting four or more climbers, each one will receive a discount of £0.50 off their admission for the evening. Alternatively, they can select a green travel card option, which provides a loyalty stamp for each visit using sustainable transport. A total of ten stamps give a free climbing session.
The same discount will be extended to people arriving on foot, cycling or by public transport.

Our web site will include a “share a ride” page where people can arrange car sharing and travel. Also our web page will include links to public transportation information, including bus routes and cycle paths. We will include signage at the centre explaining carbon footprinting and how to reduce yours for each visit to Dart Rock.

In order to report our compliance and increase success of our green travel plan, we will have to keep records. The best way to measure our visitor’s compliance is by checking how many are receiving the discounted entry for using a green travel option. This information will allow us to reconsider the best means of encouraging green travel to improve our success with the plan.

Staff & Travel
During busy times, Dart Rock will require additional staff to manage our safe environment. Staff will also be encouraged to use sustainable travel options whenever possible. We aim to hire as many local residents as we can so that walking and cycling to work remain an option. For those of our employees who don’t live in the Buckfastleigh/Ashburton area, we will encourage car sharing as much as possible. A staff bonus programme for those who implement sustainable travel for their work and leisure climbing activities will be applied, and an award will be given at the end of the year to the staff member who maximised their sustainable travel.

We also aim to improve walking routes to the centre by liaising with landowners, local councils and other leisure providers in the area.

Targets
Dart Rock aims to have significant increases in our customers selecting green travel options. Our goals are as follows:

20% of all travel and 60% staff travel by sustainable means in year one

30% of all travel and 70% of staff travel by sustainable means in year two

By offering discount, we can query payment records to assess the total number receiving the discount versus total customers. This will show us how we are doing, and if we need to do better.

We’ll be offering a Green climber(s) award for those who by proportion had the highest number of green journeys to Dart Rock. We also intend to publish our annual travel rates on our green travel web page.

In the future, we hope to add a company vehicle suitable for carrying up to ten people. Should our targets not be reached by year two, we would like to offer a shuttle service using our own vehicle that would minimise traffic movements at the centre, but still allow people to park in Buckfastleigh car parks and avoid the walk from town. We may even extend this offering to clubs or university groups one night a week where we offer free transport in our vehicle for up to ten climbers. This is intended as a living document, which we will revisit as we see how our business grows and our visitor travel progresses. We hope to far exceed our travel targets, and continue to educate and inform our visitors about the need for sustainable travel, for Dart Rock and for everyone.

Getting to Dart Rock

By bus
X38 makes 11 journeys between Plymouth and Exeter daily that stop at Buckfastleigh Station Approach. In 35 minutes you could travel from either Plymouth or Exeter bus depot and arrive in Buckfastleigh. A short walk (see map) brings you to Dart Rock - and show your bus ticket or pass for your entry discount (currently £.50 valid until December 2009).

Exeter/Plymouth X38 timetable
http://www.stagecoachbus.com/timetables/web_X38_111107%5B1%5D.pdf

Residents in surrounding communities, including Totnes, Torbay and students at South Devon College have many buses and routes to choose from. Use the 88 and 88c buses to Buckfastleigh Station Approach stop, and remember to bring your ticket or travel car for a discount on admission.

88 and 88c (Paignton, Ashburton, Totnes, South Devon College)
http://www.stagecoachbus.com/timetables/web_88_111107.pdf

Most other areas in the county are serviced by the Country Bus service. If you aren’t familiar with the Country Bus, please visit their website. We are currently negotiating with them for a call stop at the Austen’s Bridge (lower entrance) from Totnes Road (A347). You’ll be steps away from entering the climbing wall!

Country Bus service for all local bus routes
http://www.countrybusdevon.co.uk/

If you need more information on public transport in Devon, use the link below:
Southwest Travel Line: www.travelinesw.com

People Power
Walking and cycling are great ways to make your journey to Dart Rock. Secure bike racks are available just outside the entrance, in the upper car park. National Cycle Network Trail 2 is nearly fully complete from Plymouth directly to Buckfastleigh. Even along the A38 there is a long portion of cycle and footpath between Chudleigh Knighton and Drumbridges allows very easy access to Buckfastleigh. For more information and ideas, check out the Sustainable Transport website at: http://www.sustrans.org.uk/



A section of the National Cycle Network showing Network Trail 2.
Cycling or walking from Buckfastleigh couldn’t be easier. Follow Station Approach to Old Totnes Road. By parking in one of the town centre car parks and making the rest of your journey on foot, you could still benefit from entrance discounts. We hope by encouraging you to use town centre facilities, you would also stop and enjoy local businesses including pubs, shops and restaurants as part of your visit to Dart Rock. Information on local services in Buckfastleigh

http://www.buckfastleigh.org/
http://www.dartmoor-npa.gov.uk/au-accessbuck.pdf

By car
Driving to Dart Rock is easy, and we have plenty of parking. But we’d rather you didn’t if you don’t have to. Please try to car share if at all possible. Use our sign-up board at the wall, or log on to our Facebook or Blog to arrange a ride share with other Dart Rock climbers.

If you must bring your car to Dart Rock, please use the following routes:

From Plymouth:
Take the A38 North to Buckfastleigh. Turn Right from the junction onto Plymouth Road (B3380). Approximately 0.5 miles from the junction, turn Right onto Old Totnes Road. Dart Rock is just a few hundred feet along the road. If you are a car sharer, please use the upper car park. For non-car sharers, please carry on down Old Totnes Road to the lower car park, and take the stairs up to our
main entrance.

From Exeter:
Take the A38 South to the first junction at Buckfastleigh (see brown signs for Steam Railway). Turn Right onto Station Approach, and then turn left onto Old Totnes Road to Dart Rock as above. Or, turn Left onto Totnes Road and then Turn Right onto Old Totnes Road to easily access Dart Rock’s lower car park.

Other Routes:
Dart Rock is also easily accessed from Totnes Road (A384). Turn across the bridge at the signs, just near the Dart Bridge Inn. Please be careful as the bridge is narrow and only suitable for passenger vehicles. Dart Rock will be on your right. Before you drive to Dart Rock, please check our web site to find out if you can share a ride, or offer space in your car to someone needing a ride. Who knows, you might even find a great climbing partner that way too. Don’t forget to check the share a ride board in Dart Rock and sign up if you can offer a seat or need a ride.

For more information on car sharing, please see:
http://www.carsharedevon.com/Default.asp?uxi=&cr=check

Prove you car share/use green travel option and receive £0.50 discount on entry Register your car with our parking permit system for an annual car-sharer bonus Please have your car registration number to hand. We do spot check the car park and surrounding streets. Anyone found claiming the discount or parking outside the car park without permission will be asked to leave. Respect the earth and your fellow climbers. Please be honest so we can continue to offer the best climbing at a fair price to everyone.