Dales caravan park is pitch perfect say tourism chiefs

Inspectors from VisitEngland have told a North Yorkshire family that its holiday park is “off the scale” in terms of quality – and has warranted a rare award.

Riverside Caravan Park in High Bentham now boasts the national tourist board’s prestigious 2018/9 Gold Award for its outstanding standards of excellence.

Fewer than 50 of England’s 3,000-plus holiday parks have been granted the accolade this year, putting Riverside among an elite of top-performing park businesses.

Yorkshire Holiday Park wins Gold!

VisitEngland says its gold standard can only be achieved if a park exceeds all of the requirements necessary to gain a top five-star rating during its annual inspection.

Even then, the park must be visited by a “mystery shopper” before the award is officially confirmed.

Owned by the Marshall family for almost 50 years, the park is currently putting the finishing touches to a new development of luxury holiday lodges and glamping accommodation.

These are based on Riverside’s sister-park called Wenningdale Escapes which adjoins the 18-hole Bentham Golf Course, also owned by the park.

Thomas Marshall said that the VisitEngland honour was very much the result of a team effort:

“The award is especially important to us because it recognises not just the quality of the park’s facilities and surroundings, but also the levels of hospitality and service provided to guests.

“It’s our staff team which deserves the lion’s share of the credit for this, and they do a great job in making everybody feel welcome and helping them enjoy their stay.

“We can now look forward to starting the season next year with a new range of luxury holiday homes, and a real feather in our caps from VisitEngland!” said Thomas.

Thomas and his wife Jane are helped in the running of their business by their daughter Isabel. There is more information about the park at www.riversidecaravanpark.co.uk