Certificated Location Of The Year 2018

[Bugs]

The Caravan and Motorhome Club is delighted to announce the winner of its Certificated Location of the Year Award 2018 is Avon Bank Meadow situated in the beautiful Worcestershire countryside. Close runners up are Poole Farm in North Cornwall and Keal Lodge deep in the heart of Lincolnshire.

Certificated Locations (CLs) are privately-owned, maximum five-pitch sites found across the UK, open exclusively to Caravan and Motorhome Club members. Many CLs are found in idyllic and remote locations such as farms, country estates and beside inns and they can provide a valuable, additional income stream for local communities. The CL of the Year Awards are voted for by Club members, recognising the very best sites and rewarding hard-working owners who pull out all the stops for guests. The awards are presented at the House of Commons in recognition of the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act (1960) which enables the Caravan and Motorhome Club to grant certificates to landowners to operate CLs.

Grenville Chamberlain, Caravan and Motorhome Club Chairman said: “We are proud to recognise the important part CLs play in both our members’ experiences and as a sustainable form of tourism.  Visitors to CLs across the country help contribute towards the local economy by bringing income to the area; many owners have diversified into operating CLs as a means of generating additional revenue.  The awards recognise those owners who really go the extra mile for members and provide them with a truly memorable experience. My congratulations go out to all this year’s winners.”

New for 2018, the Caravan and Motorhome Club has introduced the Best Newcomer CL Award and Most Inspiring CL Photograph Award. The Best Newcomer Award celebrates a CL that joined the Club in the past year, meeting all criteria and going above and beyond. Located on the Isle of Wight, Rodgebrook Farm scooped the Award for Best Newcomer CL 2018 with many visitors coming to know the site for its level pitches, warm welcome, discounts on ferry fares and being very dog-friendly. In addition to this and also new for this year, the Most Inspiring CL Photograph Award celebrates all things CL and the site’s surroundings in visual format. The first ever winners of this award were Woody Kiln Farm from the depths of Pembrokeshire National Park with its stunning photo of Lindsway Bay, a beach accessible from the Pembrokeshire coastal path, just 20 minutes’ walk from the CL.

Winner – Avon Bank Meadow

Situated on the banks of the River Avon, Avon Bank Meadow Certificated Location offers an idyllic location for caravanners, so it is little surprise that it scooped the top spot at this year’s CL of the Year Awards. Run by Craig Brown and Sandra McAllister since 2015, the Worcestershire CL is full for most of the year attracting repeat guests.

The site itself offers five hard standing spacious pitches, set within half an acre.  It is open all year round and encourages visitors to get out and visit surrounding areas, helping to sustain the local economy.   Each pitch is fully serviced with its own electricity, water, drainage and aerial point meaning everything that any caravanner could ever need is at their fingertips. The site has also recently installed Wi-Fi and has undergone a lot of replanting with the silver birch trees being a popular hit with visitors.

Runners up – Poole Farm and Keal Lodge
Poole Farm Certificated Location in Cornwall has been owned by the Holmes family since 2015. Situated adjacent to the Tamar River, the site is also not far from the Devon border so is well placed to visit many stunning locations in the south west. All five of the pitches are hard standing and fully serviced; the site also offers battery charging, laundry and recycling facilities and dog walks directly from the site. The owners have even been known to deliver a cooked breakfast, piping hot, to members on site.

The site is renowned on the CL network for its warm welcome; the Holmes family regularly look forward to welcoming new visitors to their site. It is a real family affair with everyone having a role to play; Louise runs the business, young Harvey is responsible for recycling, newspaper delivery, ice-cream runs and on the odd occasion, playing his saxophone in the middle of the site to entertain guests, or running a ‘make shift’ dog agility competition for our four-legged friends. Greg is head grounds person, caravan fixer and generally an all-round handyman.

Wi-Fi is also included in a stay and local tourist attractions include Tintagel Castle, the Eden Project and Launceston Steam Railway.

Keal Lodge Certificated Location situated near Peterborough in Lincolnshire takes third place in this year’s CL of the Year Awards.   Open since 1996, Keal Lodge is no stranger to picking up CL Awards having won back in 2009 and scooped runner up in 2010, 2011 and 2013.

Keal Lodge offers a relaxing tranquil break on its adult-only site. The pitches are designed with this in mind, allowing each visitor privacy within their area. All five pitches are hard standing with Wi-Fi available. A firm favourite, the site also has a two acre field to exercise and walk dogs, meaning even furry friends do not have to miss out on a holiday to Keal Lodge. Local tourist attractions include Stamford, Peterborough, Tolthorpe and Rutland Water.

[David from Suffolk]

Its great to see the CL network acknowledged,as it plays a big roll in retaining CMC members. The club sites could not cope with just their sites alone. Well done to the winners. and the work they put into their CL's.

[DianneT]

Its great to see the CL network acknowledged,as it plays a big roll in retaining CMC members. The club sites could not cope with just their sites alone.  Well done to the winners. and the work they put into their CL's.

Agreed but my CL of the year is Wildmere Farm Who Welcomes Caravanchat Meets.

[nelliethehooker]

It's good to see that a CL priced from £10 pn has beaten those that are charging up to twice that price. It was the same a couple of years ago too, with the winner of this year's new Most Inspiring CL Photograph Award, Woody Kiln being the CL of the year. We've visited both of these winners and although Avon Bank is good, and may well have had it's facilities upgraded in the last couple of years, since our visit, I think that there are other CLs out there that are better. However I shan't be voting for them in the competition as they will then become too popular and we might not be able to get a pitch on them when we want to visit.

Anyone thinking of visiting Avon Bank please be aware that there's a Rugby Clubhouse close by where they do hold parties, as well as a small commercial site and a C&CC CS just along the road past the site, and the field adjacent to the CL is used for caravan/Motorhome rallies. Should we visit the site again we would definitely avoid the weekends.