Oakdown crowned AA Best Campsite of the Year

The Franks family at Oakdown Touring and Holiday Park in East Devon are celebrating after scooping the top spot of the England and Overall AA Best Campsite of the Year for 2015, a huge achievement that puts them ahead of 900 other parks listed in the AA guide.

This award is the latest in their already long list of awards, including the Gold accolade for Professor David Bellamy’s Conservation Award for 17 consecutive years and the 5 Pennant rating from the AA Camping and Caravan Park Scheme – the equivalent of a top star rated hotel.

This year’s AA inspection saw the campsite café bestowed with its first 5 stars for hygiene, having been improved with new facilities which now enable guests to buy hot food such as camping favourites paninis, sausage rolls and much more.

Other popular facilities for visitors include a golf course, play areas, games room and deluxe centrally-heated shower amenities. Inspector Colin Church remarked that the whole site was ‘very worthy’ of its existing 5 pennants and awarded an increase in points, to 94%, citing the park’s exemplary cleaning standards and beautiful new green signage as particular highlights.

Alastair Franks said of the award: “We are so happy and excited to be named the best campsite for 2015 by the AA. We are continually striving to better our park and offer high quality amenities. To receive this level of recognition for our work is fantastic.

He continued: “We knew we had done well when we received an increase in points but none of us were expecting to be named best site. It is a testament to the hard work of our family and all of our staff who help make Oakdown what it is. We’ve had another really busy year this year and we’re looking forward to see what 2015 will bring.”

Always keen to communicate with, and cater to, their guests, the Franks frequently update or introduce new facilities such as the café and the 9-hole golf course that was specifically constructed after consultation with guests.

The refurbished, well-lit, and immaculate shower blocks, laundries, and kitchens are even the remnants of the RAF station set up in the fields when they were surrendered over to the military during World War Two.

The Franks family has been running the campsite for over 40 years and this holiday destination is renowned for its commitment to excellence in tourism. Offering 150 spacious, landscaped pitches for touring caravans, motor homes and tents plus 70 fully appointed caravan leisure lodges, Oakdown provides a home from home for their guests, from which to enjoy the joys of East Devon.

Oakdown’s ‘great location on the South Devon coast’ was seen by Inspector Church as a qualification in itself as ‘a superb place to stay at any time of the year.’ Moreover, Oakdown is close to the picturesque village and beach of Branscombe on the East Devon Heritage Coast and within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site.

The Franks family has more than one ingredient in their recipe for campsite success. Environmental protection and green energy is a constant priority as the family business strives for sustainability in their work. They boast 17 consecutive David Bellamy Conservation Awards, a rigorous contest which demands awareness of a range of environmental issues, as well as Practical Caravan Magazines Best Green Site of the Year in 2013.

Since the 1990s the Franks family have been implementing the newest technology in renewable energy. At the park, Victorian Reed beds naturally drain and dispose of grey water and solar photovoltaic panels produce over 10,000kw of electricity a year while low-level lighting guides campers along the paths at night in order to minimise light pollution.

View the Oakdown website here www.oakdown.co.uk and follow Oakdown on Twitter https://twitter.com/oakdownholidays or https://www.facebook.com/Oakdown?fref=ts