Woodland Springs’ great tourist attractions
Tranquil Parks Woodland Springs Touring Park is the only 5-star adult only caravan park and campsite in the beautiful Dartmoor National Park in Devon. Its delightfully peaceful, central location is ideal for exploring many of Devon’s tourism gems including Dartmoor and is well positioned to tour the rest of the South West. Chris and Jan offer guests a warm welcome with high-grade facilities, all maintained in harmony with the lovely countryside and wildlife habitats that surround the park.
Castle Drego one of the greatest tourism gems has just gone through major renovation and is very close to the Touring Park and ideal for a visit whilst staying at Tranquil Parks Woodland Springs.
Perched above the Teign Gorge looking out over Dartmoor stands a windswept country home that looks as ancient as the landscape it’s set in:
Castle Drogo. However this remarkable building, built by Sir Edwin Lutyens for self-made millionaire Julius Drewe, is only 100 years old – the last castle ever built in England. The castle has suffered from structural problems ever since it was built resulting in major leaks and water damage throughout the building.
By 2012 water was also starting to rust the steel infrastructure making the need to save the building urgent. Following a massive fundraising appeal, a five year building project was begun in earnest at the end of 2012 and now, over two years later, progress is well underway. This year marks the halfway point in the building project with work on the southern end of the castle almost complete. Once finished, the huge scaffolding structure that shrouds this end of the castle will be moved so work can begin on the northern end. As the building work continues to progress and the team prepare for the next phase of work, things are also changing inside the castle. The entire collection is being moved from its current home in the north of the castle to the southern half, with some key pieces being re-displayed as a part of brand new and exciting exhibits in each room. Artists have been invited to interpret the stories of the castle, garden and estate, highlighting objects from the collection and exploring why the ‘Saving Castle Drogo’ project is so important. There are some exciting installations, including an artistic vision of how one room in the castle might look if nature took over, films and stunning images of the Dartmoor landscape and a visual exploration of Drogo’s stories through a series of large scale outdoor photographs. The extraordinary 17th century ‘Char de Triomphe’ tapestry will be back and hanging in pride of place after years of meticulous conservation work. The impressive tapestry now hangs unlined in the centre of one of the redisplayed rooms – a rarity for this type of textile and will allow both the front and back to be viewed, revealing the wonderful designs and craftsmanship as well as the intricate stitching and repairs. The castle will be open daily from 9 March and, as well as the chance to see the artist’s work, there will be the rare opportunity for those with a head for heights to climb the scaffolding viewing tower. Standing at 20-metre high the viewing tower allows visitors to take in the breath-taking views of the Teign Gorge and Dartmoor and enjoying a bird’s eye view of all the painstaking and skilled conservation work taking place on the roof. For more information click here