A FLINTSHIRE couple who closed down their holiday park have launched a new wedding venue business at the site.

Halkyn Castle Wood closed its doors as a holiday park before Christmas after over 20 years due to the increasing costs of running a seasonal touring holiday park.

The owners, Vanessa Warrington and her husband, Karl, have instead "diversified" their business - reopening the site as a wedding venue.

“We were sad to close our seasonal holiday site that has been open for over 20 years, but the hike in electricity costs in particular made the business hardly profitable,” Vanessa said.

"We love our 47 acres of woodland and still want to share it with those people who love nature, so we are going to be offering a few exclusive wedding weekends each year and other events.”

Vanessa and her husband Karl had their wedding in the woods back in 2006 and have thought about offering other couples the opportunity to celebrate their love in the stunning woods for many years.

The Leader: Vanessa Warrington and her husband, Karl, celebrated their wedding at Halkyn Castle Wood.Vanessa Warrington and her husband, Karl, celebrated their wedding at Halkyn Castle Wood. (Image: Vanessa Warrington)

There is a large grass clearing perfect for a marquee, car park, shower block and fire circle areas for toasting marshmallows. There is also a glamping area with bell tents, one that will be decorated as the bridle bell tent.

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They also have local accommodation providers nearby who will offer different types of places to stay. They have lined up some local caterers, someone to provide a bar and even the gin distiller from the nearby Halkyn village.

“It’s important to me that I use local businesses wherever possible and try to be as environmentally conscious with what we offer," Vanessa said.

"We are also incredibly open-minded and creative, and will endeavour to cater for all quirky or individual requirements. We run forest school, bushcraft, and wellbeing sessions in the woods in the week and would love to host weddings on some weekends. We might even be able to do some activities with the guests - that would be a wedding to remember!”

Vanessa is a member of Flintshire Tourism Association and chair of IMPIO Outdoor Learning Network.

Karl and Vanessa are no strangers to organising events. They founded Castlewood Rocks, family music festival back in 2015 and have raised over £20,000 for charities including Northeast Wales Mind, Blood bikes Wales, Walton Centre, Guide Dogs for the Blind and Wales Air Ambulance.

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“Karl is a musician and manages the bands, music, sound and lights as well as doing the landscaping and maintenance on site, while I work on the organising, creativity and detail," Vanessa said.