A PARK WITH A FRIENDLY FEEL

The park has been developed over the years in a way which works within the natural environment rather than fighting it, and the park owners’ policy of continuous, natural evolvement lends itself well to adding elements residents think might add further to the beautiful park environment, and their enjoyment of it. For those we’ve talked to, that’s ensured a really good atmosphere on the park, which is owned and run by the Home family with several members actually living on the park.  To explain how residents have enjoyed new-found freedom and developed new hobbies on the park, we asked them to tell us all about their park experiences in their own words.

WE ALWAYS WANTED TO KEEP BEES, 

AND NOW WE HAVE A HIVE!

Paul Littler, who lives at Homelands with his wife Barbara.

We arrived at Homelands after 12 years in France and almost a year looking for where we wanted to live.  We started in Dorset and went as far as Lincolnshire, and we chose Homelands in beautiful Shropshire.  

We chose Homelands for the family that own it, the way it is laid out, with no straight lines and not having to open your front door onto your neighbours back door, and the peaceful atmosphere and the view looking out onto the Shropshire hills.  Little did we know that now during ‘lockdown’ how good our choice was. The park manager Claire straightaway created a WhatsApp site for residents to communicate and help each other and organizing group deliveries from the local farm shop and doing everything possible to support and make the residents feel so safe.  What better place could you find to be in ‘lockdown’!

The owners have a lot of land with a fishing pool, woodland walks and land allocated for allotments the residents can rent for a very modest figure per year.  

I have always wanted to keep Bees!  I wondered if I approached the family if they would think about a resident keeping bees and of course if there was anywhere suitable to put a hive.  When I did talk to them about the idea they couldn’t have been more supportive, we had a couple of meetings and walks to look at suitable places. We decided on a beautiful copse very near to the allotments with a small clearing and lovely dappled sunlight coming through the trees, ideal for a hive (and me sitting in peace of course watching these fascinating creatures going about their lives). Bryan, (who owns Homelands Park with his two sisters Shirley and Julie), and Claire Julie's daughter both spent a day strimming, clearing and levelling the hive area and laid a slab as a standing for the hive. 

Meanwhile I was just as busy reading, watching YouTube videos and talking to all I could for information.  Joining the Ludlow Bee Association was a very important thing, the help I have received from them has been invaluable, particularly pointing me in the right direction for equipment and bees of course. Also becoming a member of the national association, as this has also given me 10 Million pounds of 3rd party liability. All hives are registered and regularly inspected by the county inspector particularly for diseases, and the inspector is also a very good source for information and help.

So about four weeks later we now have a lovely cedar hive with a nucleus of a queen and a couple of thousand workers and drones, happily building up their new colony. By September we hope we will have our first jars of ‘Homelands Woodland Honey’ to be sold to local residents and I hope at the local Bridgnorth and Ludlow markets.  Without Bryan, Shirley Julie and Claire running such a lovely park home site (and all loving honey of course) this wouldn’t have happened, so we are thankful for their support.

I CAN NOW FISH ON THE PARK!

Allan and Sheila Cox

Hi, my name is Allan Cox and I live on Homelands with my wife Sheila. We have been on the park for twelve months now and absolutely love this lifestyle. The reason for us choosing Homelands was the layout of the homes and its location. 

The pool is situated in the woodlands, very tranquil, and contains carp, roach, bream, dace, perch and the odd big eel. A great place to spend a few hours.

The pool has had a lot of work done by Claire's husband cleaning the banks and trees and now is a gem to go to.

The park has not changed a great deal over the past twelve months due to weather and covid 19, but you can see the prospects for the future, and we have a new park manager Claire, very helpful. 

The atmosphere is great – everyone helps each other and it is so peaceful, you can only hear the wild life. I would say it will add 5 years to your life span, so relaxed. Come and join us!

I WAS AN AVERAGE GARDENER BUT NOW

I HAVE MY OWN ALLOTMENT! 

Elaine Bissell who lives on the park with her husband Alan and labrador Zeke.

We were inspired to look at park homes after friends of ours bought one in Wales, and we then spent three years reading magazines such as Park Home & Holiday Caravan and Park Lifestyle to find out more information, visiting quite a few parks, and also went to the Stoneleigh World of Park and Leisure Home Show where we met Bryan Home and found out more about the park. We took a visit to the Prestige Homeseeker factory and decided on a Prestige Reprise at Homelands –  which after all our park visits was the park we seemed to always want to go back to. 

We both worked in Halesowen so carried on working for a while, but with retirement on the horizon we wanted to make sure that the park we bought on felt really right for us. 

Homelands has a natural feel and they’ve made a good job of the layout. It’s not regimented and has plenty of greenery and mature trees.  It’s full of character, and now they’ve added more to it, it just seems to get better and better. 

There are several ways to walk around the park and that keeps it interesting - you can have a different view every day.

We wanted village life but didn’t want to feel isolated and this is perfect as it’s only 20 minutes to town by car. Local suppliers deliver to the park too, so during lockdown we were all well supplied!  The park owners love animals too, so we felt welcome with our Labrador Zeke – in fact Claire has a couple of labradors of her own and they play together in an adjoining field to the allotments where Claire's horses are kept, it’s lovely! It’s a major bonus for us being able to take him for walks without even having to get into the car.  

This park is great, and my top tips for buying would be to make sure you get to know the park management and feel comfortable with them. When the management is right, the park is right, and that’s something we were increasingly aware of as we were looking at different parks. Talking to other residents before you buy can be really helpful too.  The family here are fantastic and that makes for a really friendly and positive atmosphere which will continue with Claire (the next generation) now also helping to manage the park. We also realised you don’t have to be retired to move into a park home and it’s such a lovely lifestyle you might as well get on with it. We’re so glad we did. 

A fishing pool has recently been cleared opposite the park that is a short walk from most of the homes. I quite fancied having an allotment when Bryan mentioned it, despite me never having grown a thing previously! You can take as much or little space as you need within reason for a minimal fee, and I have two areas – a 20ft polytunnel and an outdoor area. Outside I am growing runner beans, dwarf French beans, peas, red cabbage, green cabbage and courgettes. Inside I have tomatoes, cucumbers, radishes and lettuces.  I give quite a bit away to friends and family and have really got into it now – I’ve surprised myself a bit and absolutely love it!  

Now there’s a hive here that will help with pollinating the plants, and it’s set back into an area at the edge of the allotments away from the houses, so that’s perfect. The family have even created a pathway to the bee hive and it’s a lovely little area with a brook nearby.  

We also have plenty of land around our home as we’ve adopted a sloping bank to the back with the park’s approval and it’s now planted with bushes and flowers – Alan’s domain as he used to be a gardener, so we both get to enjoy our hobbies in different ways and with really pleasing results – it’s brilliant!  We’re so glad we made the move and chose Homelands, and what’s surprised us most is how economical the lifestyle is.

ABOUT HOMELANDS PARK

With views out to the hills and mature, green surroundings with plenty of woodland, this is a well-established park with a good reputation and instant appeal. In addition to the fishing, allotments, easy walks around the parks and to the surrounding countryside from the park, manager Claire (inset)  keeps her horses on site so Homelands can accommodate those with equestrian interests. We know from the residents that this all adds to the countryside appeal of the park. The River Severn and railway in the village of Highley is only 4 miles away. Bridgnorth, Ludlow, Bewdley and Cleobury Mortimer are all within easy reach and of course Shropshire has some lovely countryside including the Clee Hills and Wyre Forest. Fishing and golf courses are in abundance and also tourist attractions such as Ironbridge and the West Midlands Safari Park are nearby.