Staffs holiday park grabs second gold in tourism awards
Staff and the family owners of a Staffordshire holiday park are celebrating after it was crowned as the county’s most outstanding destination for park holidaymakers.
Oakland Holiday Park, near the village of Brewood, took the overall gold award in the holiday
parks category at the recent Enjoy Staffordshire Tourism Awards.
It is the second year in succession that Oakland Holiday Park, set in tranquil countryside close to the Shropshire border, has scooped the top title.
The presentation to the Breakspeare family, which has owned the park for more than 30 years, was made at a glittering ceremony at the Alton Towers Conference Centre.
The park provides luxury caravan holiday homes for private owners, and is also just completing a major refurbishment of its self-catering chalets which are available to rent.
The park’s clubhouse has also been given a full makeover this winter, and will be ready to welcome holidaymakers when the park re-opens for the season in March.
According to partner Adam Breakspeare, the family’s commitment to constantly re-investing in its business has been crucial to the park’s success:
“Our aim is to provide first-class surroundings for visitors, and to match these with a high standard of hospitality – both are often mentioned by in our online reviews,” said Adam.
“They are also two of the main criteria in the Enjoy Staffordshire Tourism Awards, so naturally we are delighted that the judges were impressed with what we’ve achieved.
“A big share of the credit must go to our team of staff who help us maintain our high standards, and do a great job of making our guests feel at home,” he added.
There was more good news for the park recently when it was once again awarded the Staffordshire Environmental Quality Mark (SEQM) following an in-depth sustainability audit.
The mark highlights businesses not only run on sustainable lines, but which are also helping to conserve the natural beauty, wildlife and cultural heritage of the county.
Assessors for the SEQM noted that the park’s luxury indoor pool and sauna is designed to make the smallest splash possible on the environment.
Heating for the pool water is provided by a highly efficient solar energy system. Large sky lights on the building’s roof mean that the use of artificial lighting is also greatly reduced.
Rainfall is harvested for irrigating the many shrubs and flowers planted throughout the park, a lot of which have high nectar-bearing blooms which draw butterflies and honey bees.
In addition, the family has installed bird, bat and owl boxes throughout the nine-acre grounds which are set alongside the Shropshire Union canal – itself a magnet for bird life.
According to Adam Breakspeare, the park enjoyed one of its busiest ever years in 2016, and that early custom and advance bookings for 2017 are very buoyant.
There is more information about the park on its website at www.oaklandholidaypark.co.uk
