Shifting Gears: from trucks to tents

Leaving life on the road to becoming the owner of Meadow falls: A tale of adventure, hard work and passion for the outdoors.

Dave and Liz

Name - David Holman

Job Tile - Site Owner

Roles - Ground maintenance, Part time cleaner, general chit chatter 😉 

Home town - Knutsford, Cheshire.

Dave's early years were spent navigating the roads in his Scania 420 Topline, exploring cities like Gibraltar, Athens, and Rome. He passed his HGV Class1 at age 23 and worked for SJI Transport.  After several years of long haul and away from home, Dave decided to move back to base, where he took an office job for a courier company.

As luck would happen this is when he met Liz, started his own Parcel company and the family began. 

Travelling the open road

Both Dave and Liz had their own businesses and so snatching time together as a family was difficult.  Dave came up with the idea of buying a caravan to enjoy weekends away.to enjoy a change of scenery and experiencing the outdoors.  What started as brief getaways soon turned into a full-blown love for camping life.

Visiting many different styles of sites, some with huge entertainment on site, to small places with limited facilities.  Dave started taking pictures of Elsan tanks and saying “not seen one like that before” or “I wouldn’t have done that like that” 

So one night, with a few beers and a star filled sky, Dave said “I’m done with my business”.  The brain storming began and a decision to buy a campsite was made.

Finding a site, within a radius from home and price range was not easy.  But eventually something cropped up which sounded terrible on paper and looked even worse in reality.

That must be the one!

Jump forward from 2015 when the site was finally signed for to now is unbelievable.  Some days you have to pinch yourself to keep looking back at the photos to remind yourself of how far you’ve come.

Improving woks

Building pods, changing the shower block, upgrading all the site; road, pitches, electrics etc.  It’s been an absolute blast of Hard work and determination with blood, sweat and tears.

Daves favourite part of the job is meeting new people Despite Liz's playful reminder to get back to work, Dave enjoys engaging with guests, offering pointers to hidden gems and telling the secrets locations that only the locals are supposed to know about.

Assending Alum Pot

The range of activities available in Ingleton (The land of caves and waterfalls) is mind blowing.  Canyoning down the Ingleton Waterfalls trail; abseiling down Alum pot, travelling in a winch down Gaping gill, crawling through mud and squeezing through gaps; being underground for hours not worrying about the outside world.   An experience that Dave and his Owen have been able to enjoy together doing things they would never have even thought possible living in Knutsford.

The decision to uproot from Knutsford has proven to be life-changing, with Ingleton now

being the cherished home for the entire family. The village has warmly embraced the campsite and the family. Now deeply connected to the community, Dave is a contributing member of the walking football team and serves as a local parish councillor.

In the end, what started as a dream of a quieter life away from the business hustle has blossomed into the greatest achievement—a thriving family-run campsite, where guests aren't just visitors but friends of Meadow Falls.