by Joe Jeffrey
Caravan park in tavistock named best in England
A Devon caravan and camping park has been named as England’s top destination for camping and touring guests in the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence 2016.
Woodovis Park, near to the ancient Stannary market town of Tavistock, received the accolade after recently taking top gold honours in both the finals of the Devon and South West tourism awards.
Members of the family-run business stepped up to receive their national trophy earlier this month at VisitEngland’s glittering awards ceremony at Blackpool’s Winter Gardens.
Owned by John and Dorothy Lewis, Woodovis is located in 14 acres of tranquil countryside, and is a member of the Best of British group of independently-run parks.
As well as pitches for touring caravans, motorhomes and tents, the park also offers popular glamping pods which provide comfortable and snug accommodation for couples.
The park also features a heated swimming pool and spa, and this year it will once again be running a full activities programme aimed at both grown-ups and children.
John Lewis described how everyone was extremely proud to have scooped three golds including the top VisitEngland award in its first ever entry to the competition. He said: “To have come out on top for the whole of England is incredible, and reflects the hard work every member of the team invests into making our little park a huge success.
“Now we’re all very much looking forward to sharing our success with both returning visitors and new guests when we open for the season in mid-March,” said John.
Woodovis was not the only Best of British park member to be celebrated in the finals of the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence 2016.
Also named among the top three parks in England was Poston Mill in Peterchurch, Herefordshire, which won the overall park of the year title in 2015’s Excellence awards.
The holiday park category winners in the awards were:
Gold: Woodovis Park, Tavistock, Devon
Silver: Darwin Forest Country Park, Matlock, Derbyshire – www.darwinforest.co.uk
Bronze: Poston Mill Park, Peterchurch, Hereford
Highly Commended: Castlerigg Hall Caravan & Camping Park, Keswick, The Lake District, Cumbria
Highly Commended: Padstow Touring Park, Padstow, Cornwall
