Argyll Park Hits Golden Half-Century
Resipole’s picture-postcard setting on the banks of Loch Sunart.
As a West Highlands holiday park prepares to mark its golden anniversary, the family owners have been praised for achieving the gold standard in countryside care. Resipole Farm Holiday Park in Argyll will now be celebrating its 50-year milestone with the David Bellamy Conservation Award at its top gold level. The world-famous botanist said that the Sinclair family have shown themselves to be true friends of wildlife and the natural world with their many green initiatives. Managed today by Rory Sinclair and his partner Karin, it was Rory’s grandfather Archie who first started welcoming camping guests on his farm in the early 1950s.
Deer, red squirrels, badgers, and a myriad of bird species are drawn to the 15-acre grounds which includes an ancient woodland with a nature discovery trail. In addition, the Sinclairs have planted hundreds of native trees and shrubs which provide valuable nesting and breeding habitats as well as food resources.
Award-winning holiday park operator, Bunn Leisure, is continuing to invest heavily in a new state-of the-art entertainment complex and a purpose-built main reception and head office facility. The 300-acre holiday park on the stunning Selsey Peninsula is split into four villages and is mid-way through an ambitious £16m refurbishment programme replacing the 60-year-old White Horse entertainment complex.
Sara Bertin, Finance Director at Shorefield Holidays, has been named Board Level and Senior Executive of the Year at the prestigious Women in Business Awards. Now in its fourth year, The Business Magazine’s 2017 WiB Awards aim to celebrate, encourage and inspire successful and aspiring business women in the south.
the finalists. The awards, dubbed Britain’s ‘Tourism Oscars’ attracted 1.3 million public votes last year, with Devon’s Beverley Holidays amongst the select final seven in the “Best UK Family Holiday / Holiday Park Operator” category. Director of Beverley Holidays, Nicola Furneaux, said news of its shortlisting is a thrilling climax to a very successful summer at the park: “Here at Beverley we have been welcoming guests to the English Riviera for almost sixty years, and our big-hearted team are passionate about providing holiday memories that last a lifetime.
Holiday park entertainment has significantly evolved from the first Redcoats of the 1930 and the Hi-De-Hi era of the Sixties. Operators of parks, large and small, still agree that getting the entertainment recipe right remains crucial to ensure happy, satisfied customers.
When Bert House, a Somerset dairy farmer, opened his farm to a group of scouts in the summer of 1948, it started a trend which continues to grow to this day. From its humble beginnings, the family-led team of Holiday Resort Unity have been aiming to get people smiling for over 65 years.
With on-site facilities such as the state-of-the-art gym and indoor and outdoor splash zones with views overlooking the Mendips, there is plenty for the whole family. The indoor and outdoor splash zones feature slides, interactive water features, tipping buckets, mini-slides, and a 25m six-lane swimming pool with male and female gym exclusive changing and sauna and steam room. Kids are also encouraged to enjoy the soft play centre, and big kids have the options of Brean’s Golf Course – open to beginners and pros – or Brean Theme Park with over 40 rides and attractions including rollercoasters and dodgems.
An all-action holiday park near York, Thornton Lodge Country Retreats says its planned 20 bespoke lodges, to own and rent, are designed to satisfy the growing appetite for outdoor challenges among guests.
Haven, the holiday firm that runs the Craig Tara site, said it had recently introduced state-of-the-art software that seeks to target and report suspicious pages and listings across social media sites. This follows a report from BBC Scotland which highlighted that dozens of people had paid for holidays in caravan parks, only to discover the real owner knew nothing about their booking.