Wildlife & Conservation at Golden Cap Holiday Park

All Parks have been awarded the David Bellamy Gold Award for conservation - David Bellamy looks at virtually every aspect of park management - from the protection of plant and animal habitats to the efficient use of energy and recycling.

Helping visitors to understand conservation is also considered an important qualifying feature.

At Highlands End we are currently participating in a 10 year Countryside Stewardship scheme, in recent years we have achieved 3,000 metres of new fencing, 900 metres of hedge restoration, 2,000 new hedge and trees plants at Larkfield alone we have planted 800 trees a mixture of Beech, Ash and Oak as part of the Woodland Management scheme to replace dead trees. 

We have also undertaken footpath maintenance, and creating wildlife zones. In the future it is hoped that a wildlife pond will be introduced at Highlands End which will be left to attract ducks, wild geese, newts, toads, frogs, dragonflies and other wildlife.

As a result of the Countryside Stewardship Scheme we have seen an increased number of wildlife including many species of butterfly due to the planting of buddleia, many rare birds have been spotted in the newly restored hedges including Green Woodpecker.

We have almost daily sightings of badgers on the Parks and in the banks we have three well established Badger sets on or near Highlands End Holiday Park and our regular visitors spend many hours watching the badgers who will soon appear for milk or food.

The Badgers are not tame, but are happy living alongside our visitors and in return for the benefit of the food will let you get fairly close and take photographs.

We see frequent sightings of Fox on the Parks and in the surrounding fields and the occasional sighting of Deer in the surrounding fields, the parks also offer a natural haven for squirrels, rabbits and other wildlife.

We have a coarse fishing lake at Golden Cap Holiday Park which was established in 1998 with the help and advice of Kingcombe Aquacare who are specialists in water management for fisheries, leisure and conservation this has developed rapidly over the years and is now very popular it contains carp, roach, rudd, silver fish and eels. The lake also attracts other wildlife such as dragonflies, wild geese and swans. 

We also have a Wildlife Lake at Sandyholme Holiday Park and over the last few years a number of exotic ducks and geese have made their home here. The pond is fenced off for safety but the birds can easily be seen going about their daily life.

Each year there are young additions to the feathered family. The birds come from faraway places that include China, North America, Nepal & South America. View the Wildlife Lake webcam.