Big Sky Brisley campsite near Dereham wins Caravan Club award

The Caravan and Motorhome Club has just handed Big Sky Brisley - at Brisley Hall Farm between Dereham and Fakenham - its New Sustainability Award, beating out 19 other sites.

It follows the campsite winning a gold award from the group Green Tourism earlier this year.

Sally Whales, who has co-owned the with her partner Neville Middleton site since 2020, said: “A big aim from the start that loving living here, loving Norfolk, that I did not want to make a detrimental impact on the area or the environment.

“These awards are really rewarding for the effort we have put in, for how hard we tried, they recognise how we have improved sustainability in this part of Norfolk.”

Site photo of Big Sky Brisley in Dereham (Image: Vanwolf Photography)

All of the site’s pitches are south-facing, which has helped to create corridors for wildlife through trees, hedges, and flower planting, with special wildlife areas and no-mow zones.

Willow trees have been partially coppiced to increase the number of different plants and animal species that inhabit them, and hedges are left uncut during nesting season.

Bat and bird boxes have been installed on the site. Solar and LED lights are used and all cleaning products are eco-friendly. The campsite also uses only organic supersoil fertiliser.

Sally Whales who has co-owned the site at Brisley Hall Farm since 2020, along with her partner, Neville Middleton (Image: Supplied)

Ms Whales said: “Certainly our visitors are telling me more about what they have seen when here, and the reports we get back, little signs that we are hopefully helping."

The campsite has raised money for Alzheimer's Research UK and Marie Curie Nurses through the sale of its free-range eggs, and has created a public footpath for people to use.