Keeping it in the family to achieve business success

Family Business of the Year

Sponsored by Lamont Pridmore 

Park Cliffe Camping and Caravan Park

Park Cliffe is a camping and caravan park set in 25 acres of beautiful, unspoilt countryside in the heart of the Lake District.  

It has been owned and run by Susan and Derek Dickson and their exceptional small team since 2007, with their son Jack and daughter Abi also joining the business. They have developed the park with an eye for detail and dedication to investment and the need to continue to offer ever better standards to guests. 

Susan is involved in many aspects of the business, from general manager to marketing director, HR manager, bookkeeper, park warden, receptionist, tourist information adviser, chief cook and bottle washer and all-round problem solver. She is supported in everything by Derek, especially maintaining the park’s infrastructure and woodland, wildlife and habitats. 

Meanwhile, Jack manages outdoor projects and groundworks while Abi can always be called on to help on reception, behind the bar, in the shop and with general cleaning duties. Abi also writes many of the park’s website blog posts and supports its marketing activities.  

The whole team are committed to delivering the best experience and service they can to guests, taking a hands-on approach to any problems and opportunities that may arise. The family ethos runs through the business with many multi-generational family groups of visitors.   

Low Sizergh Barn 

Marjorie and John Park were the first generation of Parks to farm at Low Sizergh Barn in the 1980s. 

They established the Low Sizergh Barn farm shop 10 years later and have since handed over the running of the farm to their son Richard and his wife Judith and their son Matthew. Richard’s sister Alison looks after the farm shop and café. 

The farm shop offers a taste of Cumbria, including local game, salami and cheeses, Morecambe Bay shrimp and freshly baked cakes and scones, as well as organic milk sold directly from the farm's vending machine. The milk is also made into ice cream and supplied to the wider market through a milk-buying group. 

Growing Well, a charity which supports people with mental health issues through growing fruit and vegetables, has a site at Sizergh and their salad leaves and fruit and veg appear in the farm shop and on the café menu. It is a long-standing collaboration that shows how well people, nature and food production can work together. 

The family believe that farms and farm shops should sit at the heart of a thriving rural economy and that the right approach to farming can play a role in tackling climate change. They work hard to use words and actions to leave a positive legacy. 

Stanwix Park Holiday Centre 

Stanwix Park Holiday Centre opened during the Second World War as a camping field which was known as Stanwix Field, near Wigton, run by Roland Stanwix Senior.  

The site has been developed in the intervening years, including adding chalets, caravans, toilet blocks, a laundry, a gift shop and grocery shop, a coffee bar and converting one of the billets used for the women's RAF into a bar. Three other bars were added in the following years and an outdoor pool and apartments were then added in the early 80s, as well as the purchase of a second site at Hylton Park which is located just next to the town centre. 

The park has grown over the decades from four acres to 21 acres, bringing in customers from all over Scotland and England, and there are now roughly 750 touring and static pitches across both Stanwix and Hylton Park welcoming thousands of families each year. 

The site is now run by Roland Hylton Stanwix and his two sons Graham and Stephen. They continue to develop the park and run themed events during the quieter months including Country and Western Weekends, a Soul Weekend and its most popular event, Retro Weekend. The business continues to thrive and during the park’s sold out weekends the population of Silloth is almost doubled. 

Graham and Stephen’s children, David, Vicky, Daniel, Natalie and Leo now also work at the park, hoping to keep the business in the family for many more generations to come.