This holiday was taken during a very wet half-term in May. Bideford Bay park site is near to the village of Bucks Cross a few miles between Bideford and the famous picturesque village of Clovelly. The park is in a good location for visiting the delightful coast and villages of North Devon.
This is a large park, surrounded by trees and in a beautiful location. However, although the park is on the coast, it’s a rugged 20 to 30 minute walk to the sea. Some of the chalets and caravans do have sea views but ours unfortunately did not.
We had a silver, three-bedroom caravan which was lovely and clean and had all essential items including the gas fire which was well used as early mornings and evenings were very cold. The small welcome pack of essentials was very useful, especially if you arrived after the shop closed at 7pm.
The staff were helpful and the information pack given to us on arrival was sufficient. We had been informed that bed linen was included but this was not in our caravan. However, after a phone call, it was delivered within the hour. Parking near to your caravan was difficult at times, especially if you return late in the day.
Bideford Bay provides lots of activities for children depending on age during the day, but evening entertainment is mostly bingo or talent shows. My children enjoyed the amusement arcade and spent lots of their money on the air hockey table.
The manor house where the entertainment takes place, and which houses the café and restaurant is in an old building which frankly could do with being refurbished, it is very dated and not very comfortable for a night out .
I also found eating and drinking out at the manor house not very good value. A watery cup of hot chocolate for over £2 was too expensive and the children also complained at the price of the Slush Puppy drinks.
The outside areas such as the adventure playground in the trees and the outside pool look great but unfortunately the pool remained closed throughout our stay despite one day being very warm and ideal for swimming.
The indoor pool was in a beautiful location but only allowed in 25 people at any time. Families have to queue to use so the children were often disappointed on many occasions. It would be much better if there was a booking system as we certainly had difficulty accessing the pools which was one of the attractions of the site.
We have been to a variety of caravan holiday parks as a family and returned to a few but we feel disappointed by Bideford Bay. We had a lovely break in North Devon, despite the weather, but this was due to the wonderful area and not the Park Resort.
Ann Lloyd and her family were guests of Park Resort.
For further information on Park Resorts 37 self-catering holiday parks in England, Scotland and Wales, current prices and bookings call 0871 200 2010 or log on to www.park-resorts.com