News from our parks May 2025
What a fantastic spring we’ve had this year. Lots of sunshine, blossoms and blooms have made the parks look better than ever. May is indeed a ‘Merrie Month’ this year and park teams have been keeping the pitches, hedges and trees in pristine condition, while maintaining natural habitat for birds, bees and butterflies.
If you’ve been making the most of the spring weather by staying at Tranquil Parks we’d like to thank you. Our park teams hope to see you again soon.
(Top photo shows Somers Wood Caravan Park in Meriden, North Warwickshire, ready for the 80th Anniversary of VE Day.)
Win a stay in our new giveaway
Named ‘Best Small Site’ in this year’s Top 100 Sites, Grooby’s Pit has very kindly donated a 3-night stay as the prize for this month’s giveaway. If you fancy relaxing on a luxury lakeside pitch, exploring the Lincolnshire countryside, or even some fishing at this peaceful, friendly park near Skegness enter now.
Awards and gradings update
Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice awards 2025
We’re very pleased to share that more Tranquil Parks have received these awards than ever before this year. We’re also very grateful to everyone who has taken the trouble to provide a rating or review on Tripadvisor.
To find out which parks have received this recognition and the criteria for winning, please see our news item: Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice Awards 2025.
Congratulations to all the winners, and a special mention for Bath Chew Valley Caravan Park (shown here with May blossom) on receiving this award for the 9th consecutive year. You can read almost 300 reviews for this park on Tripadvisor, 90% of which rate it ‘Excellent’.
Time to have your say
Voting is now open for the Practical Caravan Top 100 Sites 2026! If you’ve enjoyed your stay at any of our Tranquil Parks, please could you vote for them? It only takes a couple of minutes – vote here. Voting will end on 7 November 2025.
These awards mean such a lot to our park teams and we really do appreciate every single vote. Thank you so much.
New Lodge Farm wins regional title and goes on to national awards
Many congratulations to New Lodge Farm in Northamptonshire. Following a recent vote, they have won the Countryside Alliance Midlands Rural Enterprise Award! This means they’re now finalists in the national awards, which will be announced in the House of Lords next month. We’re keeping everything crossed for them!
Gold standard at Keal Lodge
We’re very pleased to report that Keal Lodge Caravan Park has just sailed through its annual inspection from VisitEngland, comfortably maintaining its 4 star Gold award. This is a great achievement for this small, quiet site in the picturesque ‘Deepings’ – villages on the River Welland on the southern edge of Lincolnshire.
At the time of writing, the park had availability throughout the season, including the late May bank holiday.
What’s new at our parks?
New onsite bar at Fields End Water
They were just completing a new bar next to the cafe at Fields End Water Caravan Park, Lodges and Fishery in Cambridgeshire at the time of writing! Well done to the team. It’s a fantastic addition to the park, and it’s already proving to be very popular.
The bar itself is a converted shipping container with an open air seating area by one of the lakes. It’s open from 5pm until 8pm daily.
Woodland Springs festive opening and touring units for hire
New owners, Kevin and Caire took over Woodland Springs Touring Park in Devon at the end of last year and very little has changed so far, especially with Steven, the warden of the last 2 years, staying on. The one major change is that the park now has an 11-month season and is only closed for February.
“So get your Christmas and New Year bookings in soon” says Steven. The team would like to see if festive season bookings are as popular at Woodland Springs as they are at other sites.
Another change is the addition of a small hire fleet. Two caravans, a motorhome and a campervan are now available for 3, 4 or 7-day hire. These units stay on site and are a great way to try out touring if you’re thinking of buying a caravan or vehicle.
‘The team here are ready to welcome you, no matter the weather or time of year’ says Steven. “Come and enjoy Dartmoor at its finest, or even when it’s not so fine, it’s still a wonderful place to visit!”
York Naburn Lock facilities and pizza
We couldn’t resist the opportunity to share more photos of the new facilities at York Naburn Lock Caravan Park which really are fabulous. This lengthy project has involved having the whole block completely rebuilt and the team, as well as guests, are very pleased with the new shower rooms, toilets and laundry.
Also new for this season are authentic Italian wood-fired pizzas every Saturday by Event Pizzas.
Visit Avalon Marshes from Old Oaks
The Avalon Marshes are some of Britain’s most important wetland nature reserves. They’re in the heart of the Somerset Levels and Moors, about 8 miles from Old Oaks Touring and Glamping Park, and the whole area is teeming with wildlife, making it nationally important for its cultural heritage and diversity. There’s a visitor centre and crafts gallery, a cafe and an archaeology centre, all worth a visit.
The Avalon Marshes Centre now has a new bus stop, making it possible to get there by bus. The closest pick-up point is about a 30 minutes’ walk from The Old Oaks and there are timetables in reception.
Back of Beyond glamping and cocktails
We’ve received some recent photos of gorgeous new furnishings in some of the glamping units at Back of Beyond Touring Camping & Glamping Park near the New Forest in Dorset. They have also shared some photos of the summer cocktails available at the onsite bar – what a delicious way to round off a relaxing day!
Upgrade for popular Bath Chew Valley pit stop
The Woodford is a popular stopping off point for guests at Bath Chew Valley Caravan Park as it offers panoramic views over Chew Valley Lake and is ideal for a coffee break, lunch or picnic. It has new furnishings and parasols along the waterfront terrace. Walkers and cyclists who prefer a quick snack and beverage on their journey are also catered for at ‘Little Lodge’.
All for a good cause
Many thanks to all the guests who have supported the parks’ fundraising.
Red Kite Touring Park‘s annual BBQ was in aid of Dementia Research UK this year. The park team are incredibly grateful to all the guests that attended and gave so generously, raising over £1,100 for the charity. It was a lovely afternoon with guests sitting out in the sunshine enjoying the beautiful Welsh scenery and live music.
Cartref Caravan and Camping Site near Shrewsbury hosted a coffee morning in the bar for Macmillan Cancer Support, raising over £500 (bottom left).
At Overbrook Caravan Park in Thornton le Dale, North Yorkshire , they’re collecting for a defibrillator. This will be available for the local community as well as park guests, and is going to cost around £1,000. Many guests are kindly donating their residual electricity credit, which is very positive.
The bottom right photo shows guests enjoying the sunshine on one of Overbrook’s perfect pitches for campervans!
Honouring the VE Day 80th Anniversary
Tranquil Parks teams and guests put out the bunting, flags and more to commemorate the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe on 8th May 2025.
At Back of Beyond Touring Camping & Glamping Park, the owners, wardens and staff really got into the wartime spirit. To mark the occasion, there was a special performance by singer Pete Burns, games in the onsite bar and wartime-themed drinks, all of which have raised more than £1,500 for The Royal British Legion.
Blue Rose Country Park saw plenty of decorated units and holiday homes. The onsite clubhouse was completely decked out ready for the celebrations. This park is between the villages of Brandesburton and Leven (both an easy walk) in the East Riding of Yorkshire.
The Somers Wood Caravan Park team did an amazing job decorating all the park buildings.
Somers Wood is centrally located in Meriden, North Warwickshire and has good availability throughout the summer months. If you’re into golf or fishing, you can do both or either right next door to the park! There’s also a clubhouse at the golf club which welcomes all Somers Wood guests and their dogs – guests receive a 10% discount on their food too.
Unexpected check-ins and spring arrivals
These tiny arrivals appeared in Bath Chew Valley Caravan Park‘s garden store and are now being cared for by the park team. There are actually three kittens, but you know what they say about herding cats…!
New life on the parks means ducklings and wildfowl chicks. Watching them on the water or waddling around is one of the most relaxing ways to while away a sunny day! These photos show the main lake, moorhen chicks and ducklings at Grooby’s Pit.
At York Caravan Park the team had to carefully protect a duck’s nest. When it was time for the ducklings’s first swim, the clever mother took them to the small beck (stream) at the back of the park, which is safer than the park’s large lake. A guest was lucky enough to capture the moment.
The polytunnel at Blue Rose Country Park is full of blooms grown from seed. They look ab0ut ready to go out around the park for guests to enjoy.