Downturn boosts Barmoor Castle park owners

Jul 8 2009 by Karen Dent, The Journal

THE rediscovery of caravan holidays during the recession is paying dividends for a Northumberland business.

Barmoor Castle Country Park says it is benefiting from an upsurge in enquiries, reflecting figures from the Caravan Company chain suggesting sales of new caravans have increased by 15% this year as a result of the credit crunch.

Ann Lamb, who runs Barmoor, near Berwick, with husband Hedley and son Jamie, has been pleasantly surprised by how resilient the market has proved during the downturn.

She said: “If you’d asked me at Christmas, I would have said I was terribly nervous about the year.

“But caravan parks are actually benefiting – it’s an affordable holiday home. It’s easy to look after, it’s secure if you are not here and there is a community feel. It’s like village life.”

The Lambs, who bought Barmoor two decades ago, believe the impact of the caravans on the local economy should have a higher profile.

“They are the mainstay of bed nights in the rural area. There are more than 20 parks in the old Berwick upon Tweed borough and you’re not aware they are there,” said Mrs Lamb.

“The customer spend goes directly into the local shops, pubs, garages. Caravan parks should be recognised for what they do for the local economy.”

Barmoor has undergone slow and steady regeneration since the Lambs bought 10 acres of land and the derelict castle in 1986.

The size of the estate increased to 200 acres in 2000 when additional land became available and they were able to buy the original drive to the castle.

Mrs Lamb said: “My husband’s vision was to build a park. People in the business say starting from scratch is the hardest thing to do.

“The first area we did, we followed what the architects said and put 20ft between the pitches. Then we started to spread them out.

“There’s not another park that has the spacing between the caravans.”

The park currently has 104 caravans and the Lambs aim to boost the number over the next few years. The additional space has attracted wildlife including otters, deer, foxes and ducks.

“We’ll continue the vision of more space – little pockets of development, surrounded by trees and huge lawns,” said Mrs Lamb, who is the former head of overseas sales for Bourne Leisure’s European caravan operations.

“I was talking to the chairman and I said ‘why are you not marketing yourself to Europe?’

“I then organised the contracts with tour operators and ferry operators throughout Europe to bring people to parks all over the country.”

The couple are now concentrating on restoring the derelict castle which will eventually be used as holiday accommodation.