Blooming lovely! Cornish park toasts two floral triumphs

Newquay’s Hendra Holiday Park was twice the pick of the bunch in October’s South West in Bloom Awards after it scooped two top accolades in the competition.

Its green-fingered ground staff helped the park take the top gold prize in the tourism and leisure category, and a special cup for the best horticultural display in the South West.

Five-star Hendra, which has been run by successive generations of the family since 1972, was warmly congratulated by judges for the environmental sensitivity of its stunning displays.

Many of its thousands of blooms are selected for their high nectar-bearing qualities, and provide vital foraging resources for honey bees, butterflies and other pollinators.

Park director Jon Hyatt said the two South West in Bloom awards were a “fantastic tribute” to Hendra’s dedicated and highly skilled staff:

“The floral displays here always draw many comments from our holiday guests, and our team works tirelessly to ensure the park looks its best right throughout the four seasons,” he said.

“It’s wonderful to have their horticultural achievements praised and recognised by the panel of expert award judges in two categories of the competition.

“We’re also delighted that they highlighted the wildlife benefits of our displays as we have always been keen to make sustainability one of our highest priorities,” added Jon.

Other green initiatives at Hendra include the development of its own solar farm which provides over 70 percent of the electricity used in the park.

The business also creates clean energy from its own biomass boiler which uses locally-sourced wood chips to provide the heating for its Oasis Pools complex.

In 2017, Hendra was named as Holiday Park of the Year for both Cornwall and for South West England, beating scores of other parks in the region to the title.

Providing a raft of different activities and entertainment, its accommodation options include caravan holiday homes and glamping units to let, plus touring pitches.

There is more information about Hendra, which is a member of the Best of British group of leading independent parks, on its website at www.hendra-holidays.com