Green Award For Couple Who Swapped Pictures For Pitches

A couple who quit their successful London photographic business to take on a hideaway caravan park in Dorset have snapped a top environmental accolade from botanist David Bellamy.

Martin and Vicky Bowrey received the David Bellamy Conservation Award at its top gold level less than a year after moving to the Back of Beyond Touring Park near Ringwood in the New Forest.

In that time, said Professor Bellamy, the husband-and-wife team have laid the foundations for a fantastic eco-friendly business with much for nature-loving guests to enjoy.

It was in February 2014 that Martin and Vicky swapped their busy lives as West End photographic retailers to move to an area of Dorset where they often went camping with their three sons.

Their aim was to create an adults-only touring park which, said Martin, would be modelled on the type of environment which the family most enjoyed during their breaks from London.

Covering 30 acres of quiet Dorset countryside, over half of which is woodland, the Back of Beyond provides 80 pitches for camping, touring caravans and motorhomes.

From the outset, the couple were determined to run the business as far as possible on sustainable lines, and to create an oasis for wildlife.