A FAMILY-RUN “bread-and-butter" Dorset campsite has won its first award.
The team at Norden Farm in Corfe Castle is celebrating after winning silver in the camping and caravanning park of the year at the Dorset Tourism Awards.
Campsite general manager Ben Barton said it is a “wonderful achievement” for the hard work put in by his team of around 30.
He said: “It’s a great recognition and it's a really worthy team who put a lot of effort into making the site what it is all year round.
“Everyone is really passionate about their job – they don’t just come and go home at the end of the day – everyone wants to go that extra mile.”
Ben, who has spent 17 summers at the site, added the recipe for the site’s success is because it does “good, back-to-basics camping”.
“We've not sort of diversified into other areas like glamping or anything like that, it’s a bread and butter, good campsite without readymade entertainment,” he said.
“You know, it's rustic, in the countryside with great offerings locally that the Purbecks can offer from, for example, Monkey World to its natural beauty and good quality facilities.
Norden Farm has had some investment in recent years, too, including a new assault-style play area for kids, a BMX track and big ball game area, charging areas for phones and free Wi-Fi.
In addition to this, the site boasts a holiday cottage, a seven-bedroom self-catering holiday let and a farm shop open all year round stocking Dorset produce including jam, chutney, beer and cider, veg and meat.
Since the Covid pandemic, Norden Farm has also been enjoying a “staycation boom” which only started to die down last summer when rain was forecast for most weekends.
Ben added: “People also do staycations because of the cost of living or maybe they just had one holiday abroad and wanted to come camping for a couple of weekends
“A lot of people are also booking last minute depending on the weather.”
Norden Farm has now been entered into the South West Tourism Excellence Awards later this month which could pave the way for an entry into the national Visit England Awards later this year.
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