Sustainability at Lochs, Bens & Glens
Our sustainable promise and environmental policies
In choosing Lochs, Bens & Glens, you can be sure that you are travelling with a company that takes its commitment to sustainable tourism seriously. From our very inception, we are creating a business and operating in a way that supports our local environment and community. Sustainability isn’t a check box for us, it is a way of life.
Founding Principle
Sustainability is a core value in creating our business. The choice of starting a bike business wasn’t just because we like riding bikes. Riding bicycles has given us so much – real connection with the land without harming it. We wanted to build a business that opened the door for other people to experience this joy and connection. Instead of leading a car-centric life, we are running a bike-centric business.
Community Impact
While Lochs, Bens & Glens is focused on getting visitors to Dunoon to explore the area by bicycle, we also would like to see our local community on bikes, too, because more people on bikes = fewer journeys in cars. Dunoon is lucky to have a community organisation focused on active travel – Dunoon on the Move. From free e-bike rental to locals to bike confidence sessions, we work in partnership with Dunoon on the Move to direct locals to them while they direct visitors to our business. Lance and Fiona are also committee members for the Cowal Mountain Bike Club.
Slow Tourism & Local Tourism
Tourism can bring many benefits to areas of Scotland, but it can also have a detrimental effect on what we love and cherish so much – the natural landscapes. Part of creating a more eco-conscious tourism industry in Scotland is to slow it down. The need to cram in all the best bits of Scotland into a day or two leads to over reliance on coach and car tourism, overcrowding at hotspots, and minimal interaction with local businesses. Touring the area by bicycle naturally slows it down, and allows you to really appreciate the area you’re in – the land, the water, the air. You’ll see things you would’ve missed in a car or coach – the red squirrel leaping across the path, a seal popping his head up to say hello, or a waterfall on the side of the road. It also helps keep you in our beautiful town, enjoying the local eateries, art studios, theatre, pubs, and museums. That helps sustain our town and the people who live here.
Leave Only Footprints
“Take only pictures, leave only footprints” could be considered an ethos for Lochs, Bens & Glens. Our bicycles leave little to no impact where we travel – we’re too light to deteriorate road surfaces and paths, and we don’t contribute to air, water, soil and noise pollution like motor vehicles do. Our bicycles don’t block roads or fill up carparks. Everything we bring with us, we take away. We do not use any single use items on our tours – we encourage our guests to bring their own reusable bottles, or we can provide one for the tour. We move through our landscape with a light touch and a sense of awe.
Shop and Eat Local
We love our community so of course we shop and eat locally at every opportunity. Every one of our excursions includes a stop at a local eatery for a refreshment break or food. On our tours, we also bring snacks made by local restaurant The Kirn Rooms. These snacks are vegan, gluten-free, and delicious! Check out the other parts of our website for things to do in Dunoon, where to eat, and where to stay!
Conscientious Choices
Every day, we make conscientious choices regarding sustainability and our business. We use biodegradable cleaning solution on our e-bikes (Muc-Off brand), and we recycle or compost any waste we create (which is very little). Owners Lance and Fiona have been car-free since moving to Dunoon in October 2024 so even our commute to work is by bicycle or walking. There are no petrol-powered machines used in the running of our business, and the only energy consumption we have is charging the e-bike batteries. We do not use AI for artwork, marketing, or emails due to its energy consumption and theft of creative work. Because we’ve been living a sustainable lifestyle for a decade, it is second nature for us to consider the environmental impact of our operations, and our promise is to always work towards mitigating any detrimental effects on people and the planet.
Owners Lance and Fiona married on Earth Day 2017
Our Green Story
Our impact on the environment is always in the forefront of our mind. Lance and I take sustainability seriously, and it is a key driver of many of our life decisions. For example, one of the reasons we moved away from South Carolina to Dunoon was to be able to live a car-free life. Dunoon is compact enough that we can travel by bike or foot for most of our journeys, or get the bus if we like. We can access the major city of Glasgow (and you can access us!) by public transport, and we can step into the hills and the lochs right from our doorstep.
At home, we grow medicinal herbs and we look forward to getting our fruit and vegetable gardens going soon (we had vegetables, fruit and chickens at our home in South Carolina). We compost our food scraps and separate waste for recycling. Composting alone took us from 3 bags a week to the landfill down to 1.5, and with better recycling streams in Argyll, 3/4s of our waste is recycled every month.
At all turns, we’ve eliminated single use items and plastic from our lives to the best of our ability. In practice that looks like using bamboo toothbrushes, shampoo bars and other package-free bathroom items, glass for food storage, reusable water bottles and thermoses, recycled clothing, and more.
Our food choices have also been shaped by their environmental impact. Since we were married in 2017, we’ve chosen to be vegan except for eggs from our own chickens. We purchase 100% of our produce from local producers and green grocers, and we look forward to growing more local food with the Sandbank Community Garden.
Beyond individual actions, being part of the community is a core value for Fiona. In South Carolina, she was a bike and pedestrian safety advocate, the lead organiser for the Kershaw County Ride of Silence, and actively advocated for better bike and pedestrian infrastructure and protections at the county, state and federal level. She served on the board of Palmetto Cycling Coalition, now known as Palmetto Walk Bike. Fiona was also a Commissioner on the Kershaw County Planning Commission, appointed as a direct result of her bike/pedestrian advocacy. She served as Chair in her final year in that role.