We are delighted to announce that Wimbleball Lake has received a Bronze award in the ‘Active and Sporting Experience Award’ category at this year’s Bristol, Bath and Somerset Tourism Awards which took place at the Apex Hotel in Bath on Thursday 15 November.

This year’s awards, sponsored by Bristol Airport, saw records broken, with a 30% increase in entries over last year. Wimbleball was shortlisted for the Active and Sporting Experience Award, alongside two other finalists – itself a significant achievement. 

Somerset based organiser Nell Barrington said, “Last night I was just so excited and proud to be celebrating with these amazing tourism businesses. The number of entries this year has increased by nearly a third so the competition was really tough and it was great to see so many turn out in force to celebrate their achievements. My congratulations goes out to them all.”

Wimbleball Lake, nestled in the rolling hills of Exmoor National Park, is managed by South West Lakes Trust. Attracting over 250,000 visitors per year, Wimbleball provides a prime opportunity for people from all walks of life, ages, abilities and interests to engage with the great outdoors, in turn benefitting health and wellbeing.

With a popular campsite, outdoor activity centre, footpaths, cycle trails and play area on site, the whole family can be active outdoors. South West Lakes Trust have been proactive in making improvements around the lake, to ensure Wimbleball remains a strong draw within the increasingly popular Exmoor.

An adventurous, active day out at Wimbleball could involve exploring the lake by kayak, boat or board. Try an activity on or off the water for the very first time, shoot an arrow or swing through the trees on the high ropes course.

 Luke Hoather, Wimbleball Lake Centre Manager, said,

“Wimbleball’s success is down to the hard work, passion and good will of the whole South West Lakes Trust team. Their determination and drive to deliver a great customer experience make it what it is today. I am honoured and proud to call them my colleagues and friends.”

Phil Timings, Head of Sport and Recreation, said, “At South West Lakes we are passionate about helping people from all walks of life to get active outdoors and benefit from a healthy and active lifestyle. Over recent years we have aimed to make it easier and more accessible for everyone to try something new or develop their skills on a regular basis. Achieving this award shows that the hard work of the team at Wimbleball Lake has really paid off!”

As an entrant in the Bristol Bath and Somerset awards, Wimbleball will now be considered for any matching categories in the South West Excellence awards, the ‘grand finale’ for businesses across the South West, in February 2019. A full list of winners is available here.