Staff and volunteers at Moors Valley Country Park and Forest near Ringwood are celebrating a third year of success in the Dorset Tourism Awards having taken Gold in the Large Attraction category.
The Park was also awarded Silver in the new Artistic, Cultural and Learning Experience category, and Communication Ranger Katie Davies received a personal award for Outstanding Customer Service. Go Ape, which provides tree top adventures at Moors Valley also received a Silver award in the Active and Sporting Experience category.
“To win one award is amazing, but to come away with so many is simply fantastic!” said Clare Gronow, Team Leader at the Park.
“Delivering that special Moors Valley experience would not be possible without our team of incredibly dedicated staff. Their combined talents play a huge part in making sure all our 750,000 visitors enjoy their time with us, regardless of age or ability, so I am really delighted that those efforts have been recognised across so many awards this year.”
Jointly owned and managed by East Dorset District Council and the Forestry Commission, Moors Valley offers a unique combination of outdoor play, working forest and wonderful wildlife for everyone to enjoy in a safe outdoor environment. One of its core objectives is to provide opportunities for visitors to experience, understand and learn about wildlife and wider environmental issues and the Park’s environmental education and creative art and craft programme currently reaches over 10,000 people every year. A packed programme of family events runs throughout December and Moors Valley is looking forward to another great year in 2018 as it celebrates its 30th anniversary.
The latest Dorset Tourism Awards bring the number of tourism accolades won by the Park in the last three years to 11.
In the 2015 Dorset Tourism Awards, Moors Valley won Large Visitor Attraction (Gold) and Access and Inclusivity (Silver) as well as being named Winner of Winners. In 2016 the Park carried off Gold in both the Sustainable Tourism and Access and Inclusivity categories. In the regional South West Tourism Excellence Awards it achieved Silver in the Large Visitor Attraction category in 2015/6 and Bronze in both the Sustainable Tourism and Access & Inclusivity categories in 2016/17.