by Alice Scarsi
One of the leading names in the caravan industry turns 50 this year
Stowford Farm Meadows, one of the UK’s top touring parks, is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, and it has in store many surprises to celebrate this milestone.
This year is indeed a special year for one of the top touring sites in Devon, whose beginning goes all the way back to 1955, when brothers Redvers and Denzil Rice set up a limited company in their own names. The initial business was farming, but within ten years Stowford had set itself up as a touring park, taking full advantage of a Devon Council Structure Plan that identified the urge to have a touring, caravan and camping park in the area.
Winston Rice, Redvers’ son, is the backbone of the family business, and thanks to his daring choices the touring site has become the multiple award-winning holiday destination it is today. In the mid 1970’s, whilst farming at Stowford, Rice sought planning permission to build a new agricultural shed (the now main site Reception area) and to widen the gate so that, in future, caravans and motorhomes could enter easily. That was the first step towards Stowford becoming a touring site. In 1978 Stowford Farm Meadows Touring Caravan and Camping Park opened, with one field, an amenities block and holiday shop, followed by the inauguration of a take-away and The Old Stable Bar.
Over the years, the park has become bigger, with 70 acres of woodland added in 1996 to the original site and another touring field added in 2002. In 2011 the family decided to become also a dealer of caravans and motorhomes, opening Stowford South Wales, and in 2014 started producing its own VW campervan conversions.
Today, with Winston Rice still overseeing the family enterprise, Stowford Farm Meadows has developed one of the most successful camping and caravanning park operation of the UK, hosting restaurants, bars, an indoor swimming pool, take-aways, shops and even an NCC-approved workshop.
The leading figure of the business commented his family’s success: “I never dreamed, when we set out on this amazing journey, that Stowford Farm Meadows would develop into what it’s become today.
“It’s been hard work, but always enjoyable, and the fact that we’ve given so many happy camping and caravanning memories to hundreds of thousands of people is what really makes it all worthwhile. To be in business and still thriving after 50 years is an almighty achievement.”
To celebrate its successful half century, the family has created a special anniversary logo and is planning to create a web blog to show how the business evolved from a farm to a renowned name in the UK caravan industry.
To keep yourself updated, visit Stowford official website.
