Top Devon holiday park invites guests on a “green safari”

Visitors to a top Devon holiday park this year are being invited to enjoy a “green safari” of the grounds where a raft of new wildlife-friendly initiatives are taking place.

Ladram Bay Holiday Park in Budleigh Salterton says it has drawn up an ambitious “green blueprint” designed to encourage an even greater diversity of animal, bird and plant life.

The park was named last year named by world-famous botanist David Bellamy as a winner of his prestigious conservation award at its top gold level

Now Ladram Bay’s family owners say they intend to move up another gear in their efforts to make the park a haven for flora and fauna, including endangered species.

Holiday guests, it says, will notice many new plantings of native trees, shrubs and flowers – including foxgloves flourishing in fallen trees which have been allowed to naturally decay.

The wood provides the flowers with important nutrients, and will encourage them to produce the nectar on which butterflies and honey bees feed.

Decaying timber also creates habitats for insects – which in turn provide vital food resources for the many resident and visiting birds attracted to Ladram Bay.

Banks of wild flowers are also in preparation, and a special area has been put aside for winter-flowering blooms to help sustain pollinating insects as the colder months approach.

At the same time, the park will be removing various non-native species such as laurel – and bolstering its historic hedgerows with new plants such as blackthorn, spindle and hazel.

Credit for much of the work, says Ladram Bay, is due to head gardener Scott Rowe who leads a four-person grounds-keeping team tasked with putting the park’s plans into action.

Park director Zoe House says the latest initiatives will add an extra dimension of discovery for holiday guests to enjoy during their stays:

“Our family first started welcoming holidaymakers to Ladram Bay Holiday Park more than seventy years ago,” said Zoe.

“It was then a farm, and we have never forgotten our agricultural roots and the importance of managing the land in a sustainable way.

“Protecting the natural world and its inhabitants is even more important now than it was then, and we try to ensure that the park is as welcoming to wildlife as it is to guests.

“We were delighted to receive the gold David Bellamy award again this year, and it’s fantastic to know that he is supporting all of our work here at Ladram Bay,” added Zoe.

Ladram Bay, which boasts its own private beach, is today one of Devon’s most popular holiday parks attracting tens of thousands of visitors each year.

It provides a raft of attractions as well as luxury holiday homes to rent or own, stylish glamping pods, and pitches for touring caravans, motorhomes and tents.

There is more information about the park at www.ladrambay.co.uk