One of Somerset’s top tourist attractions is spending millions of pounds aimed at creating an inland resort area as an alternative to the dash for the coast.
Bosses at Wookey Hole Caves in Somerset believe the investment will not only pay off for them but bring huge benefits to Somerset and the City of Wells by encouraging visitors to base themselves inland amongst the rolling hills instead of overlooking rolling waves, which are just a few miles away at the Bristol Channel.
The multi-million pound investment has included new 21st Century attractions at the famous Wookey Hole Caves complex and in creating a huge mix of accommodation options nearby to cater for families, adventurers and tourists.
The latest investment is in Bucklegrove Holiday Park, which has now come under the Wookey Hole Resort umbrella and which provides holiday lodges with hot tubs, camping pods, cabins and pitches for touring caravans and campers with some of the best views in the West Country with swimming pool and restaurant facilities.
Daniel Medley, owner of Wookey Hole Caves, said: “We are trying to change the mindset of people who think that a holiday has to be by the sea. The dash to the coast at holiday times means those resorts are crowded and lose some of their magic.
“In reality most people don’t go in or on the sea, it just provides a beautiful backdrop for their holidays. We believe we have an equally beautiful backdrop with the green hills and fields of Somerset and fascinating places to visit like the legendary caves, Glastonbury with its myths and legends and the superb Wells Cathedral in England’s smallest city.
“Of course we are still working closely with our neighbours in Weston-super-Mare and other resorts on the coast and some of our visitors will spend a day at the seaside, just as we have always had people who are staying at the coast head inland to visit us.”
Investment at Wookey Hole Caves has included creating Wild Wookey adventure caving new for 2017; drilling through thousands of tons of rock to open up previously unexplored caverns and entertaining visitors with a high technology 4D cinema and Witch’s Laboratory. Further development of Dinosaur Valley will be carried out this summer.
Investment in accommodation has included creating an award-winning hotel; developing Mendip View luxury lodges on site and the purchase and refurbishment of Bucklegrove Holiday Park.
Daniel said: “The key has been in creating a mix of accommodation. There is luxury self-catering accommodation; hotel accommodation; cosy wooden camping pods which are a new concept; places for people to pitch tents and caravans and comfortable cabins. We now feel we have got that about right.”
For further information about the holiday park, which offers affordability all year round and its discounts and packages or to request a brochure, call 01749 870 261 or visit www.bucklegrove.co.uk