Trewan Hall - Camping and Caravanning in the Heart of Cornwall, England

Conservation and Awards

In 1961 the estate was acquired in a very dilapidated and run down state. The company was formed with the primary purpose of restoring and enhancing the land and buildings. The nature of the area is strongly agricultural and all development and maintenance is carried out with these criteria in mind.

The original buildings, which have mostly been modified for campers, have been restored in the vernacular style using local materials. New buildings likewise, or sympathetically. Great care is taken to keep the character; for example, we retain our ancient entrances.

Restoration of the land, which includes 14 acres of woodlands and amenity, has been tended with an eye to the agricultural heritage. Plants, shrubs and trees have been selected to be appropriate rather than merely ornamental or decorative. There is little in the way of positive inducements to wildlife but efforts are made not to disturb. We have no owl boxes but many owls.

It will be apparent that the ratio of campers to ‘environmental area’ is very high on this site.

Areas of particular interest

A large amount of ‘wild’ areas including hedgerows and fallow grass.
Management of woodlands including sawmilling, firewood, chipping and the manufacture of charcoal.
Recycling but without destroying the character of Trewan it is not possible for large lorries to collect. We recycle all that we can transport ourselves.
Long life light fittings, solar heating, composting and no unnecessary light at night to preserve the view of the stars.
Conversion of petrol grass cutter to propane gas.
Nature trail.

Awards

Trewan Hall was awarded a GOLD award by The David Bellamy Conservation Award Scheme.

Parks are assessed on a number of factors, the cultivation of flora and fauna, the creation of habitats designed to encourage a variety of wildlife on to the park, recycling and waste management policies, links with the local community and the use of local materials and craftsmen are also taken into consideration.

Together with an inspection by the local wildlife group, comments by customers are also noted. These comments are obtained from the postcards distributed by the park to customers, who then post these cards direct to Professor Bellamy.

We include these comments below along with a short note from Professor David Bellamy.

GOLD - well done. You have made it into gold. Congratulations. Your visitors love it and we were very impressed by their encouraging comments.

David Bellamy

Comments taken from postcards:

"An excellent environment for camping. Beautiful house, silent room, beautiful vast gardens - lawned for children's play and all recreational facilities provided without vulgarising the heritage. No selling of alcohol or cigarettes hence retaining integrity of approach rather than increasing income. Excellent provision of wardens and helpfulness which is great".

"Recycling bottles, papers. Proposed nature trail, flowers".

"It takes imaginative care to maintain its beautiful natural site of grass and woodland. Some banks and woodland are left wild with the lovely Cornish flowers, grasses and ferns. The walls are tastefully constructed around bins and toilets with ferns and flowers growing in the local stone. Birdsong is a constant pleasure on the site".

"Wonderful. Clean, beautiful camp with wooded areas. Gardens and well maintained grounds. The whole family enjoy the opportunity to stay at Trewan".

"Nice walks through woodland area, beautiful gardens, old buildings with a sense of timelessness. Wake up to the birds singing and peacefulness".

"Well managed woodlands, hedges full of colour of the wildflowers which are getting scarce in other parts of the country. There were ample collecting points for recycling paper, bottles etc. Plenty of trees to hide shower blocks etc".

"So much of the area left wild for butterflies, birds and all sorts of wildlife and wildflowers. Recycling of waste for composting also newspapers, cardboard and glass".

"Not only is the park environmentally friendly but Mr hill has created a human friendly place where everyone is part of a family".

Over the 30 years we have known them, the site management have always shown concern for the environment, planting new trees and shrubs but over the past year have gone further to encourage interest in plants and wildlife by introducing nature trails for young and old which are greatly enjoyed".

"Has now developed a juniors and adult nature trail and also tractors that run on gas ( a new conversion)".

"Yet more trees planted. An interesting nature trail laid out. Low water user washing machines installed therefore smaller amounts of detergent used".

"The site has always been beautifully kept and the visitors allowed to share the hard work that has been put in throughout the year. Recycling and conservation are part of everyday life. The two nature trails are developing".

Comments taken from Survey Forms

"Already excellent. More open water would be nice but not practical here because of large numbers of small children being allowed a degree of freedom whilst on holiday".

"We don't see how Trewan can be improved. We love it just as it is and feel part of the family while we are here. We feel Mr Hill has struck the right balance".

"The Hill family keep the park perfect providing everything for the campers at no risk to the environment".

"Very difficult to find much to improve while still maintaining current uses".