My Time So Far........

Hi, and welcome to Whitby Holiday Park.

My name is Kayleigh and I work in Reception. You will see me sat behind my desk in front of the door as you walk past reception. I have worked at Whitby Holiday Park now for two and a half years and have loved every minute.

I remember my first day back in April 2011.  I started two weeks before Easter so you can imagine how busy it was in the office with last minute touring and accommodation bookings being taken.  So much for a nice gentle introduction into the world of holiday makers!!  As I arrived I was greeted by the other girls in reception and by Sue, the General Manager (who you’ll always see walking round the park making sure that everything is alright).

No time for talking as it is a busy day so once all the introductions are made it’s time to sit down and learn the ropes!!  First thing on the job list is learning the booking system, a frightening thought for some but after an hour of hard study and a few attempts at making a booking, I was ready to answer those phone calls (as the phone had been ringing none stop!)  10 minutes later and my first booking was done!  I had just enough time to get that first booking filed away before I was on to my next one.  Before I knew it I was being told that it was time to hand over to the warden as it was home time.  I could not believe how fast the day had gone.

Before I knew it my first week as a receptionist at Whitby Holiday Park was over and I couldn’t wait to see what the next week was going to bring.

Then Easter arrived along with an influx of touring caravans, motor homes and people who had booked stays in our static caravans.  So my first busy week/ weekend after only two weeks of being here, nothing like being thrown in at the deep end!!  It had also given nice weather for the whole of the Easter holidays so I was just about ready for whatever was to be thrown my way.

12 noon arrives and so does the first touring caravan, followed by at least three more.  So one by one we got them all checked in and directed to their pitches.  Next up was a static, but unfortunately it was not quite ready,(plus check in time for accommodation is not until 4pm) so they went for a wander and I think ended up in the club house for a cheeky afternoon pint!!  The rest of the day continued without any problems and by the time it was time to go home, just about everyone was in.

On Easter Sunday we had a fun / sales day where there was activities held outside on the green for all the kids (big kids included) as well as stalls to raise money for the Great North Air Ambulance, and stalls advertising what static caravans we had on site for sale at the time.  Again the weather was lovely so as you can imagine the site was full of people not only staying on the site, but there were plenty of people walking through on the Cleveland Way walk heading either to Robin Hoods Bay or Whitby.

Before I knew it the Easter holidays were over and the park went quiet for a couple of weeks before the first of two Bank Holidays hit us!!

By this time I had settled in nicely and was getting along well with all my colleagues and was starting to get to know some of the owners and seasonal tourers on site.

Then summer was upon us and it was constantly busy for the full six weeks with people passing through the office all day asking questions and getting booked up for later in the year.

It wasn’t long before it was the end of the season and time to say bye to all the touring customers and seasonal pitch owners with a gothic themed party in the club, where there was plenty of dancing, drinking and eating done!!

With one year over it was time to start getting the office and park ready for next season.  Winter is a busy time in the office and with it being my first one I was not sure what to expect, but still every day the phone was ringing with people wanting to make bookings for next year already!

So last years bookings and paper work were being filed away making room for those who were already planning ahead and for the paper work that was to come.

The 1^st March was soon upon us and it was soon back to business as usual.  I had now been here a year and was looking forward to seeing what this next year had in store at Whitby Holiday Park.

I soon discovered that many of those coming to stay on the site were returning customers and I was slowly starting to recognise some of those that come all the time, (because there is that many of you!)

We had a good start to the year weather wise which is unusual for March and April which meant that you all wanted to visit on the same days!  Some of you we had to unfortunately turn away as we could not fit you on as all of our touring pitches and static caravans were full!(Which is a good thing for the park!)  But you all came back in droves the following weekend.

Unfortunately by Easter the weather had turned and that seemed to be it for the rest of the year.  It had seemed we had had our summer at the beginning of the year.  However, it didn’t seem to stop you all ringing up and booking your stays with us!  Although the weather wasn’t very nice, everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and there was laughter heard throughout the park (and not just from the office!!) 

We started the summer by joining in with the rest of the country to celebrate the Queen’s Golden Jubilee.  We decorated the park and all of you dressed up in your finest fancy dress to see who would be crowned the best dressed Queen in our fancy dress competition which was held in the club.  As I remember a fun night was had by all and a winner was crowned.

As this was to be the summer of the Olympics, we held our own little mini Olympics, where the kids in kids club did all sorts of mini athletics out on the green and kept all the adults entertained.

With summer well under way it was soon time for the annual Whitby Regatta, which meant that once again the park was full.  By 2pm on the Monday afternoon everyone was lining the cliff top in anticipation for the Red Arrows who were soon to be doing their last display.  It only took one person to point them out in the distance before the usual ooohhhs and aahhhs could be heard all along the cliff top.  Yet another amazing display by the red arrows which was unfortunately to be their last at the Whitby Regatta.  By 10pm everyone was again lining the cliff top waiting for the firework display to begin, and what a way to end a brilliant weekend!!  And thankfully the weather even turned out nice!!!

With the height of summer pretty much over and done with, the seasonal tourers were packing up their motor homes and tourers only to return back for a weekend break now that the kids were back to school.

September arrived and what a change from the last few weeks.  Although the park was still busy, it was certainly a lot quieter!!

September was soon over and done with and we were into our last month for you tourers.  October arrived with great anticipation as all staff, static  caravan owners and seasonal tourers were all looking forward to the end of season party.  Christmas was the theme for this year and as you can imagine there were some fantastic costumes.  We had everything from pantomime characters, to Santa’s little helpers and even the Christmas Turkey!!!  Yet again another fantastic night was had by all.

Once everyone had recovered from this, it was soon time again to get those Goth costumes out as the main annual Goth weekend was soon upon us!!  Now if you haven’t been to Whitby for this weekend I recommend that it is something that you do.  Not only is it a fantastic and busy weekend, but some of the outfits that can be seen around the town are absolutely amazing!!  You cannot even begin to imagine the cost and effort that people put into making these outfits!!  Absolutely spectacular!!

And once again it was soon time to close the touring field for another year (because the weather was that bad) and was time to start getting things ready for another fun filled year at Whitby Holiday Park!!

You might all think that once you have all gone it is a quiet time in the office!!  How wrong can you be!!  For us, this is when the work really starts going.  We have to sort through all the paper work from the year just gone; get all the paper work ready for the year to come; and of course get any maintenance work done that cannot be done through out the year.  All of this is being done whilst still answering the phones and taking your bookings for next year!!  So not only is it a busy time, but it is also a stressful time for everyone in the office!!( Which is why we all look so tired when it is time to reopen the park in March!!)

With Christmas and New Year out of the way it’s a hectic couple of months making sure that everything is in order and finished before we open.

And before we know it the 1^st March is upon us and its time to do it all again…………..