Lappa Valley, the award-winning visitor attraction at St. Newlyn East in Cornwall, has added an accessible adventure golf course to its range of facilities so that visitors of all abilities can now fully take part in a day out with their family and friends.
Previously known as the Lappa Valley Steam Railway, the current owners Keith and Sarah Southwell took over the attraction in 2014, since when they have continually invested in improving its facilities.
The attraction now features enhanced accessibility for visitors with physical disabilities and those with neurodiversity. In the latest update, the old crazy golf area has been replaced by a brand-new and larger adventure golf course that has been specially designed so that it is fully accessible by wheelchair users. It is also the first fully accessible facility of its type in Cornwall and one of only a few that are currently available in the UK.
On the new golf course, each hole has a separate wheelchair-friendly, step-free entrance and exit. The fairways are also wide enough to facilitate ease of movement while players attempt to get the ball into the elusive hole.
To get to the adventure golf course, visitors take a narrow-gauge train built on the track bed of one of Cornwall's oldest railway lines, St. Newlyn East to a former lead and silver mine at East Wheal Rose where there are Lappa Valley's facilities and attractions. As well as the mine's original engine house and chimney towering over a lake with a fleet of swan pedalos, there are two more miniature railways, other outdoor activities, and a play area.
Lappa Valley's indoor soft play area is in The Engine Shed, which houses a café and party rooms and was opened in 2021. It also has a full-size Changing Places toilet that provides visitors with severe disabilities a facility that they can use in safety, comfort, and dignity.
The railway that transports guests to and from the heart of the action can currently accommodate two wheelchair users per trip, but there are plans to increase that to five later this year.
Six-year-old Teddy from Perranporth was invited to be the first person to try out the new facility. Daisy, Teddy's Mum, said: “To be able to take part in activities like this is great. Sadly, there are not many places where we feel welcome, and Teddy often feels left out. With all the facilities and accessible activities at Lappa Valley, this is somewhere that we feel very welcome and included.”
Keith Southwell from Lappa Valley, which was named the Large Visitor Attraction of the Year at the recent Cornwall Tourism Awards, said: “Generations of families have enjoyed making special memories and having great fun at Lappa Valley over the past five decades. We're passionate about ensuring that this continues and, importantly, everybody, irrespective of ability or challenges they may face can also be part of that. We want all our visitors to feel welcome at Cornwall's secret world of play and trains.”
For further information about the facilities and attractions go to www.lappavalley.co.uk
