Staying warm with The Winter Fuel Store

Keeping the home fires burning, for anyone who wants to stay cosy in the South Hams, The Winter Fuel Store is the place to know and go. Here, owners James and Tracey explain what they offer and where to find them.

How long has The Winter Fuel Store been about?

Our main business is Parkland Caravan and Camping Site, which is a seasonal business offering five-star facilities for campers. Around 13 years ago, however, James had the idea for adding a side of the business that was more winter-focused, so we started selling logs and coal, and it's grown ever since. 

What can people find at The Winter Fuel Store?

We try to make it as easy as possible for customers, so we offer click ‘n’ collect or cash ‘n’ carry services. We have lots of local customers, as well as holiday makers - especially as we all love our log burners! 

We pride ourselves on high quality products, but we have fuel sources for a range of budgets and uses so we can cater to everyone. That includes Ecoal50, kiln dried hardwood logs, premier hardwood briquettes, ecofire briquettes, kindling, firelighters, Twizlers, and Calor gas.

Lots of people like the eco fuel products, like e-coal, which is 50% olive oil nuts with anthracite and coke; eco briquettes, which are manufactured from sawdust; and compressed logs made out of wood waste.

Where can customers find you?

We are so easy to get to on the A381, and we have intentionally designed everything to make it easy to load up, whatever vehicle you have. Gas customers in particular appreciate that. We also try to be as flexible as possible for people, so sometimes we will get people paying over the phone and then collecting after hours - everyone's busy and we get that. 

Are you open all year round?

Yes! As we head into the summer we change some of our stock. For example, smaller cans of gas are a big part of our business as we go into the camping season, and we also stock charcoal for BBQs, bags of logs for fire pits and so forth. 

We're thankful to have excellent local suppliers who support us, which means we can be responsive to peoples' needs. For example, we have a chap in Totnes who makes our kindling for us - it's his pension-boosting side hustle, which is a nice thing to be a part of.