Lappa Valley named large visitor attraction of the year!
Our Cornish family visitor attraction scooped the Gold Award in the Large Visitor Attraction of Year category at this year’s Cornwall Tourism Awards.
Lappa Valley has become a firm favourite with local families and visitors to Cornwall since it opened nearly 50 years ago in 1974.
Created on the track bed of one of Cornwall’s oldest railway lines, excited visitors take a nostalgic train ride to East Wheal Rose, a former lead and silver mine, which sits at the heart of Lappa Valley’s facilities and attractions.
The former mine engine house and chimney tower stand above a lake home to a fleet of swan pedalos and where two further railways, a crazy golf course and other outdoor activities and play areas are found.
From L – R – John Harvey (award sponsor, The Samphire Club) Sara and Keith Southwell (Directors, Lappa Valley)
Just a year ago the biggest development in the attraction’s history saw The Engine Shed open. This new building overlooking the lake was built at a cost of more than £1.5m and is home to a large soft play area, café, party rooms and a Changing Places toilet.
Keith & Sara Southwell took over the reins at Lappa Valley in 2014 from the founder’s family. They began their tenure with a clear vision to sensitively improve the attraction’s facilities and offering whilst retaining everything that has led to generations of families falling in love with Cornwall’s secret world of play and trains.
Keith said, “Cornwall is blessed with numerous top visitor attractions, and we are truly humbled to be recognised in this way by our industry. We must thank our incredible team who work so hard and are passionate about making sure our guests have a fun, enjoyable and safe visit, it really does set us apart.
“We listen to our visitors and have invested in creating the facilities they need; The Engine Shed is a big part of this ongoing programme to ensure Lappa Valley continues to be a special place that families fall in love with and create wonderful memories.”
It’s not the first award that Lappa Valley has won in 2022. Earlier this year it was given a TripAdvisor Traveller’s Choice Award, which is given to only a small percentage of tourism businesses each year that secure consistently high visitor feedback on the online review platform.
