The Finalists were announced in October for the 21st year of the Cornwall Tourism Awards and we are very proud to say that our new Trevassack Lake HQ was selected for not one, but two of the awards, being presented in Truro Cathedral on 17th November 2022.
It’s taken three months of judging, to get to this stage of this year’s Cornwall Tourism Awards for us to learn whether we had won Gold, Silver or Bronze awards…
PRESS RELEASE - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
GOLD AND BRONZE FOR CHILDREN’S SAILING TRUST AT CORNWALL TOURISM AWARD
- GOLD FOR NEW TOURISM BUSINESS
- BRONZE FOR ACCESSIBILITY AND INCLUSIVITY
CST images available for free use: Media Kit
Tourism Awards for Trevassack Lake's First Birthday
“Winners were announced at a glittering ceremony in Truro Cathedral on 17 November, with successful businesses in many categories fast tracked into the South West Tourism Excellence Awards in March 2023 with some invited to represent Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly in the 2023 national VisitEngland Awards, in which Cornwall has often excelled.
The 23 award categories covered everything from dog friendly, active experiences and cafes to glamping, hotels and pubs with a Winner of Winners title, a Tourism Leadership award and special Outstanding Contribution to Tourism award also presented on the night.
Jakie Jewell, CEO, attended the ceremony;
I'd like to extend our heartfelt thanks to all involved and a huge congratulations to all of the finalists of CTA22. And we look forward to welcoming as many of you as possible to Trevassack Lake in the future."
CST Background
2022 marks the 25th year of providing local children with sailing opportunities that they wouldn’t otherwise get the chance to take part in. Through spending time out on the water with their peers, young people learn skills that help them in all aspects of life; confidence, competence, resilience and critical thinking. Whether or not they choose to continue on towards further qualifications, each child comes away with a sense of pride and achievement.
The charity relies heavily on grants and donations in order to cover running costs of operating subsidised Helford River sailing courses as well as continue providing these amazing experiences for young people for another 25 years. Therefore, the development of Trevassack Lake is a forward-thinking strategy to ensure financial stability for the Trust while benefitting the local community.
All ages and abilities are welcome at Trevassack, with the whole site being developed to be as inclusive and accessible as possible, with hoists and adapted craft allowing our experienced staff to help people with disabilities to get out on the water. The location is unique and jaw-dropping – first time visitors always have the same, amazed reaction when they round the corner from the car park and the ex-quarry opens up before them. It’s still a beautifully natural location, with an array of bird life swooping the 10-acres of freshwater – plus it’s a chemical-free site, so no noisy engines or smelly petrol to disturb the environment with everything run on solar, underwater-source heat pumps or electric.
Children’s Sailing Trust’s purpose is to provide life-affirming watersports opportunities for young people. In 2016 we acquired a disused quarry near Helston, transforming it into an accessible watersports centre with purpose-built holiday accommodation. Trevassack Lake opened in October 2021, 6 months late but to fantastic feedback from customers near and far, who were delighted to finally have fully accessible, self-catering properties in a beautiful, fully accessible location with a great big cherry on top – accessible watersports. Oh, and there’s a waterside café, too.
This new CST venture is far from finished but has made a tremendous start, operating as a Not-For-Profit organisation, so that money goes back into helping the charity improve young lives.
SOLVING A NEED
Trevassack Lake is the only outdoor water facility that provides DDA compliant accommodation in the UK – the site was specifically designed to help families, children and adults with a range of physical and learning difficulties feel confident they can get away again.
Grant awards from the Coastal Communities Fund and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, allowed for a neglected quarry with 10 acres of sheltered water to be transformed into a year-round watersports facility and this fully-accessible scheme ensures CST can continue to provide watersports that are inclusive for all.
ACCESSIBLE SELF-CATERING HOLIDAY ACCOMMODATION
High dependency holiday accommodation that includes all the required fixtures and fittings to support individuals and families with special educational needs and disabilities; Bradbury House and Clare Milne House in particular were designed to meet Part M4(3) building regulations, making them fully-accessible units including an integrated ceiling hoist that can transfer a user from bedroom to bathroom. The kitchen is fully accessible with adjustable height hob and drop-down shelves for the wall-hung cupboards.
The Lizard House is also accessible, with 3 additional adapted cabins that can have mobile aids included on request.
ACCESSIBLE FACILITIES FOR ALL
Cornwall has a reputation for outstanding outdoor activities like swimming, sailing, kayaking and surfing but for many residents and holidaymakers, these activities just aren’t possible.
Accessible provisions are low so Trevassack Lake is providing the local community and beyond a place where families can try out watersports and visitors can holiday in accessible environments. The site is for both able-bodied people and those with disabilities to experience the innumerable benefits of watersports, exercise, time in nature and being together for their physical wellbeing and mental health, in a safe, level and welcoming environment. The centre delivers high quality, accessible watersports activities for all, outstanding disabled facilities and a wide range of specialist equipment with the state-of-the-art Learning Centre facilitating educational development of local schools and communities.
- childrenssailingtrust.org.uk
- 01326 702326
- Click to Email
