Natural assets a winner at Skelwith

A LAKE District holiday park that takes a special pride in what it doesn’t offer customers has won a top tourism honour.

Skelwith Fold Caravan Park near Ambleside took the prize as the overall park winner in the regional tourist board’s 2006 Cumbria For Excellence Awards. But although the park has a top five-star tourist board quality rating, owner Henry Wild says that the secret of its success is what holidaymakers won’t find there when they arrive.

“Skelwith Fold promises an absence of bars, discos, clubs and other distractions,” says Henry. “The only laid-on entertainment is a twice daily chorus of birdsong – plus guest appearances of red squirrels, badgers and deer.”

The park is set in 130 acres of wooded estate with panoramic views over the Lakeland fells. It provides 280 privately-owned caravan holiday homes, some lodges, plus facilities for touring caravans and motorhomes.
Among Skelwith’s many natural attractions are a spring-fed tarn which plays host to kingfishers and dragonflies, and a network of discovery trails that allow visitors to view the wildlife.

The park was bought eight years ago by the Wild family, and operations manager Henry Wild immediately began
making “sustainable tourism” his goal. Historic countryside skills – such as hedge-laying, coppicing and dry-stone walling – are used to maintain the character of the grounds, and shielded illumination allows visitors to enjoy the night sky.

The park’s reception and conservation centre, in which wildlife talks are given, has been constructed largely from local materials, and features an innovative ‘living roof’ of wildlife-friendly plants.

Skelwith’s commitment to the natural environment has also been recognised by a number of other accolades. These include the David Bellamy Conservation Award at its top gold level.

More information about the park is available from tel: 015394 32277, or the website: www.skelwith.com.

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