Practical Caravan - Top 10 Specialist Parks

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'Best For' Caravan Parks

Full information about the following parks can be found in the January 2004 issue of Practical Caravan. For back issues telephone 08456 777812. Admission Price and Opening Times were correct at the time of publishing. Please check for latest information before visiting.

Holiday Parks

Devon
BEVERLEY PARK
	Address	Goodrington Road, Paignton, Devon TQ4 7JE
	Tel	01803 843887
	Website	Click here
	Open	All year
DESCRIPTION Beverley Park is a lovely site whose facilities are pristine. It regards its guests as friends, not customers – about 50 percent return, year after year. On arrival, don't expect to shuffle off and find a pitch. You'll be allocated one and a member of staff will lead you there on a golf cart. But try hard to keep your eyes on the road: the site is on a rounded headland above Paignton, so you'll be distracted by stunning views across the bay to Torquay and out over the Channel.

Devon
FINLAKE HOLIDAY PARK
	Address	Chudleigh, Newton Abbot, Devon TQ13 0EJ
	Tel	01626 853833
	Website	Click here
	Open	All year
DESCRIPTION Finlake Holiday Park lies at the end of a long drive that climbs through tree-dotted Devon parkland. Its address is Newton Abbot, but it feels like a remote settlement in a forest clearing. Yet it has everything. Through the reception, you'll sweep down a curving road towards the leisure complex, fitted snugly into a steep-sided valley. Beyond it, the wooded Devon hills recede into the distance.

Cornwall
HENDRA HOLIDAY PARK
	Address	Newquay, Cornwall TR8 5AY
	Tel	01637 875778
	Website	Click here
	Open	March-November
DESCRIPTION Hendra Holiday Park, in Newquay, is in one of Cornwall's – and therefore the country's – premier vacation areas. The competition locally is intense, so what does Hendra offer to win over customers? First of all, it must be one of the closest sites to the town centre – half an hour's walk, or a couple of minutes by taxi or bus. So if you want to make use of Newquay's many attractions, you're very well placed.

Lancashire
HOLGATES CARAVAN PARK
	Address	Middlebarrow Plain, Silverdale, Nr Carnforth, Lancashire LA5 0SH
	Tel	01524 701508
	Website	Click here
	Open	22 Dec - 7 Nov 2004
DESCRIPTION The only decision you'll face if you stay at Holgates Caravan Park is how much time to spend enjoying the superb range of on-site facilities and how much exploring the lovely countryside round about. The park lies eight or so miles west of the M6, overlooking Morecambe Bay. It is set on a gentle hillside – touring pitches to the left, all hardstanding, with water and drainage. There are acres of turf, with oak and silver birch. Rows of boulders separate pitches and approach roads. The pitches, toilet blocks and children's play areas are pristine. Security is excellent. You get a swipe card for the barriers on signing in

Devon
LADY'S MILE HOLIDAY PARK
	Address	Dawlish, Devon EX7 0LX
	Tel	020 8778 7155
	Website	Click here
	Open	Mid-March-early November
DESCRIPTION The owners of Lady's Mile Holiday Park have not only developed the site over many years, they built it – the toilet blocks, the launderette, the play areas, even the hugely impressive leisure complex. That's right, laid the bricks, poured the concrete, installed the plumbing. Park management doesn't come more hands-on than this.

Hampshire
SANDY BALLS HOLIDAY CENTRE
	Address	Godshill, Fordingbridge, Hants SP6 2JZ
	Tel	01425 653042
	Website	Click here
	Open	All year
DESCRIPTION Sandy Balls combines the feel of an upmarket rural village with the benefits of an exclusive country club. Like many a village, it has a nice pub, supermarket, Italian restaurant, gift shop, information office, amusement arcade, children's playground and launderette. Even a square complete with bandstand.

North Yorkshire
ST HELENS-IN-THE-PARK
	Address	Wykeham, Scarborough, North Yorkshire YO13 9QD
	Tel	01723 862771
	Website	Click here
	Open	All year (except mid-January-mid-February)
DESCRIPTION St Helens-in-the-Park (the 'park' being the Wykeham estate of Lord and Lady Downe) lies in undulating country six miles behind the North Yorkshire coast. Although the site is hilly, clever terracing has ensured all but a handful of its 250 pitches are level. Many are gravel, but during high season these are reserved for seasonal customers. The rest are grass. All have electricity hook-ups, some with their own water taps.

Cumbria
STANWIX PARK HOLIDAY CENTRE
	Address	Greenrow, Silloth-on-Solway, Cumbria CA7 4HH
	Tel	01697 332666
	Website	Click here
	Open	All year except Christmas Day
DESCRIPTION Stanwix Park, on Cumbria's north-west coast, not only gives access to the Lake District, the Solway Firth and Scotland, but also to delightful, but little known, Silloth, Maryport and Carlisle. Not that you need to travel far for entertainment. What started as a standpipe in a field after WWII is now a superb holiday village, with a balanced blend of apartments, statics and touring pitches.

North Devon
STOWFORD FARM MEADOWS
	Address	Berry Down, Combe Martin, North Devon EX34 0PW
	Tel	01271 882476
	Website	Click here
	Open	1 April-31 October 2004
DESCRIPTION Stowford Farm Meadows is just that – a farm, surrounded by fields. Built up by its owner, it is now a wonderful resource for all those committed to touring caravans. There are no cabins and no statics. Just acres of touring pitches. But in addition to this there is a caravan maintenance facility that comes complete with its own website (www.caravanfaultfinder.co.uk), which has helped thousands of you pinpoint the stuff that's upsetting you, and they also hope to develop the caravan sales area. Imagine, enjoy a holiday, get help with technical problems and consider your next upgrade. Talk about one-stop shopping!

Norfolk
WOODLANDS CARAVAN PARK
	Address	Holt Road, Upper Sheringham, Norfolk NR26 8TU
	Tel	01263 823802
	Email	Click here to email
	Open	Mid-March-end of October
DESCRIPTION Caravan parks fall into two distinct groups: those that offer a range of physical activity, usually in a large leisure complex, and the quiet, country-oriented ones. Woodlands Caravan Park, a few miles south of the North Norfolk coast, however, manages to offer the best of both worlds. As you turn off the Holt to Cromer road, you will see the Woodlands leisure centre: large indoor pool with spa and huge kids' paddling pool, fitness centre, sauna, steam rooms, solarium and sunbeds.

Holiday Parks

Full information about the above parks can be found in the January 2004 issue of Practical Caravan. For back issues telephone 08456 777812. Admission Price and Opening Times were correct at the time of publishing. Please check for latest information before visiting.

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