PRESS RELEASE – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
EVERYONE NEEDS A LITTLE TLC
Trevassack Lake Cafe (TLC) is re-opening Tuesday 20th February!
The local charity that own Trevassack Lake are pleased to announce that after a long coffee break over the New Year, a deep clean and a lick of fresh paint, their fabulous lakeside café is ready to welcome you back for Origin coffee and yummy cakes.
A new, not-for-profit start for Trevassack Lake Cafe
After the unexpected departure of the previous café occupants just before Christmas, Children’s Sailing Trust (CST) were left with an opportunity. It was all hands to the deck to figure out the way forward but CST have managed to come up with a way to take the café on themselves, meaning that every cuppa you buy directly supports their work with local disadvantaged children.
Children’s Sailing Trust is a Cornish, non-profit organisation dedicated to transforming lives through sailing and watersports – if your children sailed at primary school, it was with CST! Since 1997, their mission has been to provide accessible opportunities that empower participants from diverse and deprived backgrounds to acquire life-skills because every individual, regardless of financial circumstances or physical and mental capabilities, deserves access to the enriching experience that water-based activities provide.
“The work the CST team do on a daily basis makes such a difference to so many people, taking the café under the CST wing is a lot of hard work but it will be worth it, and is involving some fantastic community collaborations along the way.” – Jakie Jewell, CEO for Children’s Sailing Trust and its subsidiaries.
Working with Matt of One Blue Eye, CST have commissioned some of his fantastic work to make the place more sustainable and attractive, with recycled plastic splashbacks, kitchen caddies and other wonderful creations made from plastic waste. As a thank you, he will be using the café walls as an exhibition space to sell his unique artworks (and make the place look extra pretty!).
The plan is to carry on the theme of sustainability (the site was built off-grid to strict environmental guidelines to protect the wildlife) and CST hope to build a community kitchen garden as well as source ingredients from a limited mileage within Cornwall.
And speaking of food… CST are beyond excited to welcome back Andrei, everyone’s favourite chef, known for his passion and pride in every plate. There is no doubt you’ll enjoy his menus (and Sunday Roasts!), catering for a wider range of people with the same high level of finesse he is known for.
A big thank you also goes to number one volunteer, Tony Chown, who diligently sanded and oiled all the tables and countertops, bringing them back like new.
The new, fully accessible HQ at Trevassack is open to the public, with the café opening alongside watersports for all ages and abilities on the natural, 10 acre springwater lake, this Tuesday 20th February 2024.
Find out more on our social media @TrevassackLakeCafe
Everyone needs a little TLC.
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CONTACT DETAILS
Marketing Manager: Katie Chown Tel: 01326 702326
Email: hello@childrenssailingtrust.org.uk
CST Background
2023 marks the 26th 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 – fully 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 (funded by their namesake trusts, with thanks) 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 other Lizard Houses is also accessible, with 3 additional adapted cabins that can have mobile aids included on request.
www.trevassackholidays.com
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.
Watersports | Accessible | Sailing | All Ages | All Abilities | Weddings | Corporate Events | Cafe | Birthday Parties | Instructor Training | Holidays
Children’s Sailing Trust, CIO 1165396
To find out more about Children’s Sailing Trust and its charitable sailing programme through community groups and schools:
childrenssailingtrust.org.uk
For public enquiries and to book watersports on the lake or Helford River:
www.childrenssailingtrust.org.uk
For holiday accommodation:
trevassackholidays.com
For public watersports and events:
www.cstexperiences.co.uk
Watersports | Accessible | Sailing | All Ages | All Abilities | Weddings | Corporate Events | Cafe | Birthday Parties | Instructor Training
