Auchenlarie Holiday Park overlooks gorgeous Wigtown Bay with views across to the Isle of Man. There are pitches for motorhomes, tents and tourers. Facilities include three bars, a restaurant and takeaway, and a function suite with daily entertainment. These are complimented by an indoor heated swimming pool, sauna, solarium, gymnasium and amusement arcade with a soft play area. Adjacent to reception is a shop and 24-hour launderette. Auchenlarie also boasts several outside play areas and six courtyard cottages, with hot tubs, which were added in 2009. Owners, Marshall and Helen Swalwell, tell us more...
How long have you been running your campsite? We purchased Auchenlarie in January 1986, followed by another site, Anwoth, in 1993. These were both combined with the courtyard cottages in 2009 to become part of the Swalwell Holiday Group.
How did you first become owners of the site? We knew a couple who owned and ran a caravan park, and enjoyed the lifestyle, so we decided to purchase a park ourselves.
Tell us a little about your site and how it first began Auchenlarie started in the 50s, and was family-owned by farmers. One of the first customers had a double-decker bus which they used like a modern-day motorhome! Eventually, 23 acres of farmland was converted to a caravan park with central toilet blocks, a shop, an office, and, more recently, an entertainment complex, amusement arcades and restaurant. At this time the park was licensed for 247 units (136 were statics).
When we purchased Auchenlarie, we set about connecting drainage to all caravans (only 50 were connected when we arrived). Since then, the park has grown to the current size (487 licensed pitches), and every building has been razed to the ground and rebuilt.
What did you do before becoming the owners of this site? My (Marshall) history is working for ICI for 10 years, as a convenience store owner for 13 years, and running the Swalwell Holiday Group for the past 36 years. Today, my wife, Helen, and three sons, Paul, Neil and Robert, are all partners in the business, and in high season we employ 70 staff.
What do you like about being a campsite owner? Being a park owner is the most rewarding and fulfilling task I have ever undertaken. I may slow down soon but I's sure will always be involved in Auchenlarie, Anwoth and the courtyard cottages.
What are the main challeng
