Skelwith Fold caravan park, in Ambleside, has been crowned as Lakeland’s top holiday park in this year’s closely-fought Cumbria Tourism Awards. The family-run business trumped more than 100 eligible parks in the county to take the overall gold accolade in the holiday parks category of the competition.

Park director Henry Wild says he will use the award to shine the national spotlight on Cumbria’s ‘amazing and diverse’ parks industry.

Receiving the award was also a proud moment for Henry’s father, Syd, who has been involved in the parks industry for more than 40 years, and who acquired Skelwith Fold with Henry two decades ago.

The award adds to a succession of regional and national accolades for Skelwith Fold, including the David Bellamy Conservation Award at its top gold level, an honour given to tourism businesses making outstanding efforts to protect the natural environment.

Earlier this summer, Skelwith Fold was also named as Britain’s ethical business of the year in the Federation of Small Businesses and Worldpay UK Business Awards 2017.

Henry paid tribute to the park’s hard-working staff. He said, ‘An important component of these awards is the hospitality and quality of service provided to guests, and our team at Skelwith must take a major share of the credit for providing this. They are always prepared to go the extra mile to make holidaymakers feel welcome and at home, and to help them get the most out of their stay.’