James here, General Manager of Highlands End Holiday Park. I was sat in Aroma Café in Lyme Regis last Sunday – somewhere we would recommend for a cup of coffee and some food if you visit Lyme Regis. To my surprise a couple of friends were sat behind me saying how the ‘clubhouse’ at Highlands End Holiday Park was brilliant, but they did not know it was open to the public, so what better way to start the week but to tell you how we are not a typical holiday park ‘clubhouse’.

Martin’s Bar and Restaurant or the ‘venue’ as we call it rather than a typical clubhouse, is open to everyone daily from 9am, serving breakfast, lunch, evening meals and a weekly Sunday carvery we call ‘Roast on the Coast.’ The friends in Aroma commented on the outstanding fire service memorabilia one of them enjoyed looking at while wondering around the building, including the two fire engines to the friends disbelief. Why do I write this part of the conversation which I so badly wanted to join in on? Well the fact they said they enjoyed a nice coffee made me smile, but at no point did they say it was a Costa Coffee.

Anyway, we left for the beach and left them chatting away about places to visit with Martin’s being the highlight, so what should we tell you today to get our message out there? There is no better way to do this and to pass over to the Venue Manager Tess…

I’ve been a part of the team in ‘the venue’ now for almost 3 years and in that time I’ve really tried to help influence how local people regard us and use us throughout the year.  I am lucky enough to lead a really diverse team who have connections with countries all over the world. We celebrate this by including influences from home-cooked favourites from Turkey, Italy, China, The Dominican Republic….and London…. in our menus.

Hayri thinks he has stocked the best looking bar in town ready for this season – including this year a few collaborations with Lyme Bay Brewery and Dorset Nectar Cider to create our ‘own’ draft products – and we’re talking to local gin producer ‘E18teen’ to restock our ‘own’ Strawberry Gin –  I will leave that to our guests to judge…but if you haven’t tried it really you do need to!!!

Prior to my arrival the Senior Team here had already put wheels into motion to install our ‘Little Fire Station’ soft play – what a game changer that was!  I’m a local Mum – and spent my ‘toddler years’ heading to one of the big indoor play zones locally and then instead of spending my time drinking tea and ‘releasing’ my children I found myself crawling through tubes and in ball pools as a ’sitting target’ at somewhat of an unfair disadvantage!

The Little Fire Station is just so perfect for the smallest of visitors – a manageable, un-daunting size where it is possible for parents to supervise but to encourage their toddlers and pre-schoolers to enjoy a little independence! We now offer snacks and meals tailored to even the youngest of children so everyone can really enjoy the experience of being with us – and with loyalty cards there is really no reason not to visit regularly (especially to enjoy that nice coffee James mentioned above!).

Alongside the soft play of course we have outdoor play areas, a nature trail, a pitch ‘n’ putt course and footpaths, plus we’re very dog friendly all year.  It’s a great place to enjoy just a few pleasant hours – if we’re blessed with sunshine I personally can’t take my eyes away from the views towards Portland from the patio area. It is just so beautiful here – and the safe walk along the footpaths from West Bay is a wonderful cobweb-removing ‘jaunt’ up the hill (did I mention we sell the BEST giant cookies and gin and tonics at the bar??? The beer battered halloumi fries aren’t bad either!)

We serve a great carvery every weekend now until the end of the year 12 noon until 8pm – we extended the hours following feedback from our regulars and to enable beach lovers to enjoy the day out and return to us in the early evening to enjoy a great, locally sourced ‘Roast on the Coast’.  Throughout the year we have live music in the restaurant – including our lively lunches on a few Sundays and have also scheduled a number of children’s entertainment events with local entertainer ‘Strawberry Jam’ – each of which is free, and open to locals to join us.  Harry Potter Day is a thing – who knew? – and we will be celebrating! See our Events Calendar for more information.

There is so much we offer here – a superb, family friendly venue – able to cater for couples looking to enjoy a ‘lunch with a view’, big family groups looking for somewhere to celebrate and get together and everything in between!

We give back hugely to the local community through our fundraising support – we have hosted some of the area’s largest fundraising events for years and many individual fundraising events for London Marathon Runners and McMillan Tea Party Hosts – along with the epic ‘Curry Lunch’ we host every February. Only last week we were recognised by the Bridport Business Awards as both the best restaurant in the town but also the best community involvement – find out more! As a holiday park we also contribute thousands to The Jurassic Coast Trust to support this wonderful area in which we sit, by raising over £80,000 over the last 12 years!

We pride ourselves in what we do, how we do it and who we can support along the way….. as we said we are so much more than just a Holiday Park….!  Please join us one day, support a local, family run business that really does have the heart of the community at the forefront of what we do.

Tess

Team Captain, Top Washer-Upper and probably the most likely team member to find in the soft play discussing Xmas socks with our youngest guests…..

AKA Venue Manager