Update: 16th July 2021.
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Throughout these last 18 months, our top priority has been to try and keep all of our guests and team as safe as possible while allowing people to relax and enjoy some much needed holiday time in our peaceful surroundings.
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Although the “law” maybe changing, the “risk of infection” has unfortunately not gone away. While everyone will have their own views on the matter, the reality is the onus is now being transferred from the Government to us as a business. We still have a duty of care to our guests, our team and our local community to provide an environment that helps to keep us all as safe as possible as we try to resume as much “normality” as possible and avoid having to self isolate. One of the serious dangers is that our team have to self isolate or catch Coronavirus, and we have to cancel guests very precious holidays because we have to close the park.
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With that in mind, our plan is to continue to operate in a very similar way as we are currently doing, with our park facilities (including showers) open with some small restrictions to enhance safety for everyone. We will continue with our enhanced cleaning regime, sanitising facilities, requesting guests to wear masks in crowded places and social distancing measures. These will be reviewed on a regular basis to try and provide a safe but relaxing environment.
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We ask that everyone recognises and respects how we are trying to keep each other safe so we are able to provide all of our guests with a lovely relaxing holiday in these challenging times.
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We look forward to seeing you again soon.
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With best wishes from us all at Wareham Forest,
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Tony & Sarah.
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Update: 12th April 2021.
A quick update for everyone.
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We are absolutely delighted to have reopened today, welcoming so many guests back after the long winter. What a joy to see everyone.
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The other bit of good news is the Government guidelines changed right at the end of last week and we are pleased to say we have now been allowed to open more of our Toilet Block facilities. Although we are still encouraging everyone to use their own facilities, the blocks (except the showers) have been reopened in a Covid safe manner.
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We look forward to seeing you again soon.
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With best wishes from us all at Wareham Forest,
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Tony & Sarah.
Update: 6th April 2021.
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The great news is we have now been given the go ahead to reopen the Park on the 12th April in accordance with the Government guidelines. We really look forward to welcoming all of our lovely guests back after such a long winter with the opportunity for us all to enjoy our caravans and motorhomes again, albeit while continuing to follow the social distancing rules and requirements as at home.
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While the Park and the wonderful surroundings of the Wareham Forest and the Purbecks should all be open and available, unfortunately, like the other big caravanning clubs and associations, our facilities will be limited, ie the toilet block facilities, which are a “shared facility” will not be allowed to reopen until at least the 17th May. Bookings prior to that date have been taken on the basis that you will need to use your own onboard facilities, ie cooking, showering and toilets. (Please contact us to rearrange your booking if you do not have your own facilities.) Our water points and chemical disposal points will be available with the usual sanitation provisions. We are allowed to open Reception and the Shop, but as last year, we will be following Covid safe practices with restricted numbers at any one time.
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Having received very positive feedback last year as to how safe everyone felt on the Park, our aim is to continue to provide that wonderful safe haven for us all to enjoy while keeping to the current guidance provided by the Government for numbers getting together outside. We will be sending a “Welcome email” to everyone a couple of days before their arrival date with details on arrival procedures and other guidance for a safe and enjoyable holiday.
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As you can imagine, the phones have been busy these last few weeks, and we already have a lot of bookings in place for the summer (some pitch types are fully booked in the high season), so do call as soon as possible to get your bookings in to avoid disappointment.
We hope to be able to open the Pool at the end of May, probably with the same measured access as last year, and our Street Food Vendors open during the high season. They are looking forward to serving everyone, while social distancing of course.
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We hope this update is helpful, and that we can open more facilities as we move forward. We hope that we will all now be able to enjoy brighter times without any further restrictions. We look forward to seeing everyone again soon.
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With best wishes from us all at Wareham Forest,
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Tony & Sarah.
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Update: 23rd February 2021.
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Thank you so much for all the calls and emails we have been receiving since the Government announcements yesterday.
Please bear with us as we work through all the calls and emails and while we are awaiting further clarification. Our current understanding is that we are hoping we can reopen the park on the 12th April for self-contained accommodation such as caravans or Motorhomes with their own onboard facilities. Our park facilities will unfortunately be limited, ie the toilet block facilities, which are a “shared facility” are unlikely to be allowed to reopen until the 17th May at the earliest.
We are taking bookings on that basis and will update our website when we have further information.
As always, should you have any concerns regarding the Coronavirus and your booking, we reaffirm our pledge that if you or we need to change your bookings due to Government restrictions then we are happy to give you a credit note valid for rebooking your holiday within the next two years, or a refund if you prefer.
Thank you for your continued support and we look forward to welcoming everyone back soon.
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With best wishes from us all at Wareham Forest,
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Tony and Sarah.
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Update: 3rd December 2020.
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We are delighted to announce we have reopened again today as per our last update and we have put up the Christmas lights and decorations!
The family bathrooms with underfloor heating are open in the North Toilet Block (although we would still encourage you to make use of your own facilities where possible for your own safety).
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We look forward to welcoming you back soon.
With best wishes from us all at Wareham Forest,
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Tony and Sarah.
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Update: 10th November 2020.
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We are pleased to announce we have now started taking bookings again in the hope that Government Coronavirus guidelines will allow us to reopen the park on the 3rd December for you to be able to enjoy Wareham Forest again.
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We are uncertain what facilities we will be able to initially reopen, so we are currently only accepting bookings on the basis you have a “touring unit with your own onboard facilities” which you would use while staying at the Park.
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Over the winter months, although we would still encourage you to make use of your own facilities where possible for your own safety, if we are allowed to reopen limited facilities, we will use the North Toilet Block which has underfloor heating to try and maintain a warm, dry, safe environment for everyone.
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All Coronavirus procedures mentioned previously below and on our website will remain in place and we will update them periodically in line with the current Government and industry guidance.
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Please use the Online Booking system or send an email to holiday@warehamforest.co.uk with your enquiry. We will answer these and phone messages as quickly as possible, but due to “Lockdown” we currently have very limited daily cover in reception, so we apologise that unfortunately it may take a couple of days to get back to you.
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We hope you are all staying safe and look forward to welcoming you back.
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With best wishes from us all at Wareham Forest,
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Tony and Sarah.
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Update: 2nd November 2020.
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Dear Guests and Future Guests,
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Following on from the Prime Minister last night on television, and a review of the Gov.uk website information, we sadly have to make the decision to close the park again on Wednesday 4th November. We will remain closed until we are able to reopen in a sensible way that ensures you are able to again enjoy a safe and relaxing holiday with us at Wareham Forest.
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As last time, we will be contacting all of our guests who have future bookings with us that may be affected by this temporary closure in due course to discuss alternative arrangements as more information becomes known.
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Again, please follow our Coronavirus - Covid 19 website advice page which we will update on a regular basis and we ask that you bear with us while we work through this process in chronological order of bookings. If you have any immediate concerns, rather than telephone, we ask that you email us at holiday@warehamforest.co.uk so that we can respond in a timely fashion.
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We are grateful that we were able to be open during this summer and would like to thank everyone who has shown such enormous support and kindness to us. We were delighted to receive such positive feedback from so many saying how safe they felt on the park within the new guidelines, and how pleased they were to be able to have the opportunity to enjoy all the park and Dorset have to offer, particularly during the lovely summer weather this year.
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We look forward to seeing everyone again soon in better times. Please stay safe and healthy.
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With best wishes from us all at Wareham Forest,
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Tony and Sarah.
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Update: 25th July 2020.
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We have now been open for three weeks, and we would like to take the opportunity to thank all our wonderful guests for their care, enthusiasm and support while we have all been learning in these new times.
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You have given us some really lovely feedback saying how safe and relaxed you have felt on the Park as everyone tries to adjust in this changing environment. For many it has been your first time away from home, and it has been a privilege that you have trusted our team to look after you.
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We are accepting bookings for touring caravans, motorhomes, and a limited number of tents. Most of our facilities including the pool, shop and toilet blocks are now open, albeit with some restrictions to enable us to try and maintain the Covid safe environment our guests are currently enjoying. We have an enhanced cleaning regime as well as lots of soap and sanitiser dispensers all around the park. We are still asking all our guests to make use of their own facilities as much as possible for their own safety, and to wear face coverings inside our buildings.
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Please read the Arrivals pack we send out a few days before your holiday starts, which includes information regarding our Covid park rules, social distancing and asking that everyone (including children) respect the guidance that we have put in place to help us all enjoy our holidays and get through the summer as safely as possible. To help and support Track and Trace, unfortunately we are still not allowing day visitors to the park, and restricting extra vehicles.
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We look forward to welcoming you for a safe, relaxing holiday.
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With best wishes from us all at Wareham Forest
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Tony & Sarah.
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Update: 30th June 2020.
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We are absolutely delighted to be reopening the Park on the 4th July in accordance with Government Coronavirus guidelines. It will be lovely to be welcoming our guests back to relax and enjoy the tranquillity of our natural surroundings in the beautiful Wareham Forest and Purbeck Hills.
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This is new to all of us, and for everyone's safety this will be in a measured way as per our last update to reassure everyone that we are proceeding in a safe manner. We are planning to initially reopen our shop and one of our Toilet Block Facilities on Saturday, and will then review next week how everything is working.
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We have been accepting bookings for “touring units with their own facilities”, and while we will obviously have an enhanced cleaning regime for our facilities, we would still encourage you to make use of your own facilities where possible for your own safety.
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We are planning for our Street Food Vendors to be open and they are looking forward to serving everyone, while social distancing of course.
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The pool will unfortunately still initially be closed but we are looking at whether we can safely open the play area, with children being personally supervised by their parents, and obviously there will be all the lovely local walks and the Purbeck coastline to enjoy. Also, as a good will gesture and to thank you for your understanding that facilities are limited this year, the parks guest wifi will be complimentary to everyone for this season.
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We will be sending a “Welcome email” to everyone a couple of days before their arrival date with details on arrival procedures and other guidance for a safe and enjoyable holiday.
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We are required to hold the contact details of each individual guest staying on the Park, and ask that for our records you provide these for everyone in your booking. Unfortunately, for everyone's safety, we will not be accepting any day visitors at this time. Whilst we have closed the access to our overflow car park from the main entrance road, we will now have restricted access to limited parking facilities. This will only be available on a pre-booked, prepaid basis for extra vehicles. Once we are open we will assess whether we will be able to accept a small number of tents over the summer holidays.
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Should you have any concerns regarding the Coronavirus and your booking, we reaffirm our pledge that if you are isolating or suffering from the Coronavirus then we are happy to give you a credit note valid for rebooking your holiday within the next two years, or a refund if you prefer. This will also apply to anyone who decides to return home if they start to show symptoms, especially those in tents without facilities who may struggle to self isolate with their family inside their tent while awaiting results. If you remain isolating on the park, you will still be liable for all the normal pitch and occupancy expenses.
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We hope this update is helpful, and that we can open more facilities as we move forward. We pray that we are all able to enjoy brighter times without any further restrictions. We look forward to seeing everyone again soon.
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With best wishes from us all at Wareham Forest,
Tony & Sarah.
Update: 15th June 2020.
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As we look forward in these new times, we want to update you on what we are trying to plan here at Wareham Forest for opening when the time is right, hopefully the 4th July in accordance with Government guidelines. We are expecting this to be in stages in a measured way and we are really looking forward to welcoming our Guests back to the Park. As I am sure you are all experiencing at home, it has been very strange and a lonely time without the normal buzz around the Park.
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We are now accepting new bookings for holidays starting from the 4th July for touring caravans and motorhomes that have their own kitchen, toilet and shower facilities ie the Governments “Self-catering accommodation without shared facilities”.
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We are sorry but it is unlikely that we will be immediately re-opening the Toilet Blocks and therefore unfortunately we are not able to accept any bookings for tents or “touring units without their own facilities” at this time. We will also not be able to accommodate any extra day visitors, extra cars or commercial vehicles (overflow car park will be closed).
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While we hope to be able to open the shop in a limited way, many of our other facilities, such as the pool, play area, visiting food vendors, etc may initially have to remain closed. When and if we are able to reopen them in a phased way, including the toilet blocks, it will be likely that there will be possible queues, one-way systems and restricted access to allow us to maintain a high level of cleanliness and for everyone to confidently enjoy a relaxing holiday while maintaining safe social distancing. We ask that everyone is patient and considerate, and to make use of their own facilities in their caravans and motorhomes as much as possible.
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Other changes we will be making to the way we operate in the “New Normal” include:
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Enhanced cleaning procedures and Coronavirus safety procedures for staff and guests
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Guidance on how we will be operating our Refuse disposal, Water, Chemical and Grey water Disposal points
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One-way systems and spacing to ensure good social distancing on pitches and around the park
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Procedures for check-in (contact-less where possible) and the use of Card Payments Only.
To reassure everyone during these difficult times, should Government guidelines change or you wish to change your bookings due to Coronavirus concerns and our proposed plans for re-opening, we will be more than happy to give you a credit note valid for re-booking your holiday within the next two years, or a refund if you prefer.
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We hope this information is useful. If you currently have a booking for a tent or a “touring unit without your own facilities”, or if you have any questions or concerns. please email us at holiday@warehamforest.co.uk with contact details so we can call you to discuss your options.
We look forward to seeing you soon, best wishes and please stay safe and healthy.
With best wishes as always from us all at Wareham Forest,
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Tony & Sarah
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Update: 15th May 2020.
To all of our many guests and future guests of Wareham Forest,
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We hope this update finds you safe and well as we move through these challenging times. We would like to say a huge thank you for the wonderful amount of support we have received from so many of you. It is great to see communities pulling together as we strive to support each other.
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Events have been slowly moving on since we last wrote and the recently updated information released by the Government starts to give a tentative plan over the next few months. The message for us is that sadly the park is still required to remain closed until at least the 4th July, and it is still very uncertain even then what elements of the Tourism and Hospitality industries will be allowed to reopen immediately and how they will be allowed to operate.
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To that end, until we know more on what these new requirements may bring, we have paused on taking any further new summer bookings, in the hope we may be able to still honour those bookings already made earlier in the year (even if it is with limited facilities) when we are eventually allowed to reopen our gates. We fully support the Government as it attempts to navigate us through these new times, and await patiently for their guidance following the scientific advice as we learn more day by day.
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We continue to contact guests with bookings on a rolling basis, working three to four weeks ahead as we get more information, and we thank you for your patience as we process these with our smaller team. We hope you may have seen the messages of #DontCancelPostpone to #ProtectTourismJobs and #SaveTourism in the media, and we are incredibly grateful for all your support in these difficult times for everyone, as we move towards the “new normal”.
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As in our last update, we are all looking forward to seeing everyone soon in better times. It is very strange not having guests on the park, especially with the lovely sunny weather. Please stay safe and healthy, and email us at holiday@warehamforest.co.uk if you have any questions or concerns.
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With best wishes from us all at Wareham Forest,
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Tony & Sarah.
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Update: 03rd April 2020.
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An update to all of our many friends and guests of Wareham Forest
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It is just under two weeks since we took the difficult and unprecedented decision to close the Park. Although it was difficult, it was absolutely the right thing to have done, and we thank you all for your kind emails, support and understanding as we all navigate through these uncharted waters.
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Firstly and most importantly, we hope everyone is managing to stay as safe and well as possible. We have sadly already had a call from one of our guests with tragic news, and our thoughts and prayers are with them and their family.
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We wanted to let you know what we have been doing here at the Park. Our core team who live on the park are safe and well, albeit on reduced hours, working hard to look after the day to day necessary running of the park which still continues even when closed. We are all “social distancing” and being careful to wash hands and sanitize to stay safe. We have our seasonal wardens “Angie and Rich” back with us at the far end of the East Field keeping an eye on the seasonal caravans, with our new seasonal wardens “Andy and Maja” half way down the East Field. We have had to furlough “Terry and Jenny” as well as Brian, David and Ann, but look forward to welcoming them back to work when things start to improve. Lucy and family are doing well and enjoying Olivia while she is on maternity leave.
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We have been contacting our guests with bookings initially through to the end of April to rebook their holidays, and will continue to do so on a rolling basis through May and onwards as necessary as we move through these uncertain times. We are extraordinarily grateful to all of you who have been so pleased to support us regarding your booking deposits, which will help us to support the team and park moving forward, looking ahead to when we can open the gates again.
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We look forward to seeing everyone soon in better times, and being able to enjoy the wonderful memories we have of life at Wareham Forest again. Please stay safe and healthy, and email us at holiday@warehamforest.co.uk if you have any questions or concerns.
With best wishes from us all at Wareham Forest,
Tony & Sarah
Covid-19 Coronvirus Update: 22nd March 2020
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Dear Guests and Future Guests,
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You will all be following the daily and rapid developments with the current Coronavirus situation, Government advice and many of the sentiments being expressed across the country. These are unprecedented times. We all have a responsibility to consider not only ourselves and our team, but more importantly to you and the people of our local community and our country. We are having to make decisions and take actions which were unimaginable just a few weeks ago.
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Along with the Caravan Club, many of our friends and colleagues, and following advice from our Trade Association, we have taken the sad and difficult decision to close the Park until further notice. This will remain under constant review while we wait for more advice from the Government and our Trade Association.
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We feel this is the right decision to be making at this time to support the needs of all our guests, our team, our local community and of course the NHS and public services in these difficult times.
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We will be contacting all of our guests who have future bookings with us that may be affected by this temporary closure in due course to discuss alternative arrangements as more information becomes known.
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Please follow our Coronavirus - Covid 19 website advice page which we will update on a regular basis and we ask that you bear with us while we work through this process in chronological order of bookings. If you have any immediate concerns, rather than telephone, we ask that you email us at holiday@warehamforest.co.uk so that we can respond in a timely fashion.
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With the support of the Government and from our many loyal guests, you can be sure, as a team, we will be working hard to look after the Park to ensure it is in great shape for when we all come through these challenging times together. We would like to thank everyone who has shown such enormous support and kindness to us, and look forward to seeing everyone in better times. Please stay safe and healthy.
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With best wishes from us all at Wareham Forest,
Tony and Sarah.
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Updated: 21st March 2020​.
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Coronavirus - Covid 19 advice:
Please find below links to the latest Government advice and also what to do if you are experiencing any symptoms or are concerned you may have been exposed to the virus.
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https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-information-for-the-public
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What we are doing:
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We are totally committed to the health and wellbeing of our guests and staff and to that end a number of measures have been put in place around the Park to help us all "do our bit" to stop the spread.
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More hand sanitizers have been put in place around the Park along with information posters for guidance. Please follow the 20 second rule and wash your hands frequently.
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Our usual high standards of hygiene and cleanliness has been enhanced to include extra cleaning and monitoring. We may close some facilities to enable us to concentrate our cleaning efforts more effectively.
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Staff and guests are being given advice when needed regarding any new developments as they happen. This is a very rapidly changing situation.
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What you must do:
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If you become suddenly unwell and have flu like symptoms whilst on site please do not approach anyone or any of our staff members. Please do not visit the Reception, Shop or Toilet Blocks. Isolate yourself and contact the office by phone or email to make us aware of the situation.
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Booking Terms & Conditions:
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In light of the UK government's current advice and due to the ever changing circumstances surrounding the coronavirus and the challenges that come with it, we understand that our customers may need to make changes to their travel plans because of it.
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We are still open for you to enjoy your holiday with us and our normal booking terms and conditions are still applicable.
However, as an option and to try and help our guests through this uncertain time, for new and existing bookings with an arrival date on or before 12th June 2020 if you contact us at least 48 hrs prior to your arrival date, we are happy to provide a credit note valid for use on a new booking taken within the next 24 months.
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As small family business we really do appreciate your support in these difficult times. We are working hard to look after our guests and team and hopefully we can all come together and get through to better times ahead. Best wishes to all and stay safe.
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This page remains under constant review, due to the rapidly changing circumstances, please check back regularly for any updates.
