Away Resorts Ltd

Founded in 2008, Away Resorts is a UK holiday park operator, with 24 parks peppered across the country – three of which are based in Lincolnshire, the jewel in the crown being Tattershall Lakes. Founded by a team that’s on a mission to show off just how great Great Britain is, Away Resorts takes pride in having a unique personality at each park. Every location has been developed to appeal to all ages to allow families in all shapes and sizes to enjoy an incredible holiday – an incredible holiday with cutting-edge facilities based in location-sensitive surroundings.

One-third of the founding team behind Away Resorts is Carl Castledine - the third generation in his family to run a holiday park. Following in the footsteps of both his father and grandfather, who ran one of Britain’s first holiday camps at Caister in Norfolk in 1905 – which opened when Billy Butlin was still at primary school. Carl went on to work for some of the biggest businesses in the UK market, but it was in 2008 when he teamed up with two other holiday park experts, Neill Ryder and Greg Lashley.

The three friends shared a dream for the holiday park of the future and a desire to shake up the industry. And so, Away Resorts was born. With a vision to continually improve the industry offering, Carl and the whole team at Away Resorts is more than ready to welcome the insight and support Destination Lincolnshire can offer.

“For me, the big driver with Destination Lincolnshire is that it will bring those of us working towards the success of Lincolnshire’s tourism experience together, to deliver a cohesive message, so each visitor knows exactly what Lincolnshire stands for.

“The people behind Destination Lincolnshire are truly passionate about what they do, and why they do it. They believe in what they’re doing and who they’re doing it for. For me, Destination Lincolnshire signals the opportunity to cohesively let visitors know how much Lincolnshire has to offer.

“At the beating heart of Destination Lincolnshire is that desire to shout about what an amazing place Lincolnshire is to enjoy a holiday. Showing our customers how extensive the experiences that Lincolnshire has to offer are.

“So many attractions spend money ineffectively when it comes to getting their message out there, but with the voice of Destination Lincolnshire uniting everyone, we can share our thoughts and resources to increase the footfall coming into Lincolnshire.

“It’s that increase in visitor numbers that will give people the confidence to invest and help us build a legacy, something that’s bonded, more sustainable and with more longevity to put Lincolnshire firmly on the tourism map. Destination Lincolnshire promises to be something that can tackle those county-wide challenges, in order to make individual business concerns a thing of the past.

“There is no doubt that organisations should back this initiative, it will provide us with a bigger voice, a clear, concise voice, to push the message forward that there is so much to enjoy here. I for one am looking forward to that peer-to-peer support, getting around a table with like-minded businesses, and having a dialogue in a forum where we are all trying to achieve the same goal – make Lincolnshire’s visitor economy community something that is self-sustaining.

“I’m looking forward to spending time with business leaders, those that have proved their resilience, their adaptability and their drive, to network together to make Lincolnshire a part of the national conversation.

“Since I returned to the family business and the sector in 1992, it’s been a privilege to be a part of it. Hospitality and tourism are so enriching, and from a commercial viewpoint, it’s fascinating. There are so many revenue levers to pull, and so many generational changes to overcome that challenge us and our offering year-on-year. There is a myriad of things that keep us on our toes.

“Tattershall Lakes itself opened in November 2019, right in the teeth of the global financial crisis. It had a small bar and no pool - what you saw was a disaggregated family destination. It was very clear to us that this wasn’t a family experience. We set an agenda that turned that on its head, we wanted to change the narrative of what Tattershall Lakes was offering so the park was a place young families could come and have an amazing time, with no one family member wondering what to do with their time. And that story goes for all of our park locations too.

“For us bonding with our setting is always paramount – so many places just pretend it isn’t there, but we wanted to embrace it. With RAF Coningsby and BBMF (Battle of Britain Memorial Flight) on our doorstep, we wanted to honour the location and heritage that came with it. We’ve developed those all-important relationships with local attractions to encourage our visitors to experience Lincolnshire in all its glory. There’s such an eclectic mix of things to do here that you just don’t get in other counties – what’s not to like about Lincolnshire?”