Rain puts a major dampener on start to tourist season

»»RAIN-LASHED campsites were forced to cancel bookings at Easter as the gloomy weather weighed heavily on Cornwall’s tourism industry.

The persistent bad weather led to safety concerns at a number of holiday sites that delayed opening as a result.

One campsite had to return all of its deposits for the Easter break. Another said it had no choice but to delay opening and had to get in touch with all those who made bookings to let them know. The situation has been described as “pretty critical” with fears the poor weather could continue into May.

Leroy Chandler, of Trethias Farm Camping and Caravan Park, at Treyarnon, near Padstow, told the BBC that campers were not being allowed on site until April 15 at the earliest because of “saturated” ground. It should have opened on March 28 and lost 24 bookings as a result.

The business had returned £1,000 of deposits, describing the situation as “pretty critical”.

It made the decision after weeks of rain with some parts of Cornwall seeing almost twice the average rainfall for March.

❝❝

It’s the British weather for you, there’s nothing you can do

Lee Meech

Cornish Lavender, between St Agnes and Perranporth, said it made the tough decision to not open as planned on April 6 due to continual wet weather. The tearoom, which also hosts various events and workshops, said the conditions “severely hampered” its outside work plans through the winter months.

With “serious concerns” about the farm entrance, it thinks it would be too slippery to open safely. Sharing details to Facebook, it said: “I can assure you that we have not been idle in the winter months and we are very excited about the future, but this is the safest option for all.”

East Crinnis Holiday Park, in Par, also had to cancel some of its early April bookings for grass camping patches after relentless rain, saying: “Unfortunately we have been completely beaten by the weather.”

Lee Meech, of Springfields Fun Park and Pony Centre near Newquay, called the Easter holidays “a write-off” saying that if things continue the way they are going he doesn’t know what they will do.

“It’s the British weather for you, there’s nothing you can do, just try and take every day as it comes I suppose and work on from there.”