History

historie2

"Already in 1936 my grandmother Faro de Keuninck received guests at the farm ‘Welgelegen’ in Cadzand-Bad, as soon as the grass of the meadows was long and dry enough to mow”, tells grandson Pieter de Keuninck. “And even in those days she already made ice cream of cows’ milk for the guests. Later on, my dad helped on the farm and the camping site during the summer. In wintertime he worked at the smithy in Oostburg.

After the war, Welgelegen gradually became less of a farm and more of a camping site. It kept its green character, but Farm Welgelegen became Park Welgelegen. In 1985, Pieter de Keuninck and his wife Ria Vranckx took over the camping site of his father. “Tranquility, space and nature. Openness and freedom. They have always been and always will be the main characteristics, although part of the camping site is now transformed into a Bungalowpark.”

Fourth generation owner, Jonathan de Keuninck, took over the park on 21 December 2017. On the one hand, it was a moment of joy, happiness and a lot of beautiful memories. On the other hand, the takeover created a moment of relief and tension but it also took a great deal of courage.

It’s a new beginning as proud owner of a beautiful park on a magnificent location. “As new businessman, I have several future plans, which I would like to carry out with the guests”, says Jonathan. Obviously in the beginning with small steps but eventually with great leaps.

I’d like to maintain the company’s identity which includes customer-friendliness, personal approach, excellent hygiene, peace and quiet. These issues remain high on our priority list.”

Park Welgelegen and Faro Greenpark go hand-in-hand, like land and sea in their beloved region. On the north side, both parks are safely sheltered by the wide strip of dunes. In the south, both parks meet the friendly polder countryside with its squiggly little dikes, creeks and pollard willows.