A local campsite is celebrating its successes after being awarded “AA Small Campsite of the Year 2022”.

Headon Farm, near Holsworthy has been crowned “Small Campsite of the Year” for 2022 by the AA. Owners of the site, Richard and Linda Headon have been running the campsite since 2002, welcoming guests from across the country and the world to the South West.

On their 20th anniversary, Headon Farm have been given even more to celebrate with this surprise award. Speaking to the Post about the award, Linda said: “We were both completely surprised, delighted and couldn’t believe it when we opened up the package with our award!

“It is the icing on the cake at the end of our 20th anniversary year! Receiving this award affirms that what we are offering our clients is of the quality that we aim to provide. We are so appreciative of all the support and custom our clients have given us.”

However, becoming an award winning site does not come easy, Headon Farm campsite was born out of a period of difficulty, Linda explained: “My husband Richard, is fifth generation of his family to farm at Headon. In 2001 we lost all our livestock as they were contiguously culled due to the Foot & Mouth outbreak in the area.

“During the period we were ‘shutdown’ and prevented from keeping livestock, we considered what we could do to diversify. Friends who stored their caravan on a farm in Sussex suggested that we look into opening a campsite and start also storing caravans. This we did and started as a Caravan CL Site with five pitches and 15 caravan storage pitches in July of 2002.

“In the 20 years we have been operating we has steadily grown both sides of our business. In 2009 we joined the AA Campsite Pennant scheme and were delighted to become a Gold Award 3 Pennant Campsite in 2021 (signifying we are in the top 10% nationally of small campsites). Each year we receive an unscheduled visit from the AA Inspector who considers our quality grading. We were delighted to have an increase in our grading this year, also during the visit our Inspector informed us he would like to nominate for the AA Small Campsite of the Year award.”

From this, Linda and Richard have worked hard to gain this recognition, when asked what makes an award-winning campsite, Linda said: “We feel our personal service is very important, we really enjoy meeting our clients, many who have been with us from the start of our business. We get to know their dogs, their families, and have even been invited to our clients weddings and family events! We strive to provide the services that make the most of our clients valuable holiday time. We ensure the Campsite and facilities are as we would wish to find them. Our clients satisfaction and enjoyment is our priority.”