Andrewshayes Holiday Park : REVIEW
Every year we like to plan a road trip in our campervan. I always think there is something special (and adventurous) about moving on every two or three days, and owning a campervan has given us the opportunity to do just that. It means that we can pack up and head to our next destination quickly and with ease. It also allows us to visit many wonderful places in a short amount of time, and this year we have been lucky enough to visit Pembrokeshire, Scotland, Dorset and York up to now. When we were asked if we would like to stop at Andrewshayes Holiday Park in East Devon, we didn’t need any persuading, and decided to plan our Summer road trip around our stay in East Devon.
Andrewshayes Holiday Park
Andrewshayes is an award winning holiday park. It is a family run campsite on the edge of the Blackdown Hills near Axminster in East Devon. The holiday park is also a few miles from the Jurassic Coast, meaning you can enjoy the best of both worlds of a countryside and coastal break.
The site offers self-catering holiday homes, and pitches for touring caravans, tents, motorhomes and campervans. For those of you who are not seasoned campers and want to try something a bit different, there are also two brand new glamping pods available to hire.
Facilites
The holiday park is a small, family friendly park with great facilities for the kids. The site boasts a great children’s playground (top of our three year old’s wish list) a heated swimming pool with a retractable roof (free to use), a baby and toddler soft play room, a games room and sports field. What I loved is there is so much space to enjoy the fresh air and countryside, there is a designated dog walking area (for those of you who have pooches) a large sports field, and a private woodland walk.
Our Stay
Our journey, although long, was relatively smooth and we arrived at the holiday park in good time to set up in the sunshine. On arrival we were greeted with a warm smile, provided with the park information and directed to a good sized pitch near to the wash facilities (perfect for our 1am toilet runs with the little ones!) The pitch was a great size, and offered stunning views of the countryside.
The wash block was great. It was really clean with hot water, a hairdryer, and a family room available – perfect for us. There is also a laundry room with a washing machine and tumble dryer and a microwave and freezer, which I can tell you is really useful if you need to warm milk, sterilise baby items or arrive late and want to heat up food.
During our stay we had a day where we experienced torrential rain, but the facilities at the park proved a lifesaver. We were able to splash in the covered heated pool, and let the little man crawl around in the soft play area without rolling around in the mud and puddles.
During the evening we decided to sample the food at Gregs cafe on site rather than attempt to cook on the camping stove in the pouring rain. Gregs cafe also has a takeaway service offering a choice of food including Steak, pizza, fish and chips and burgers. The takeaway is open in the evening from 5.30pm and did get busy. The dining area has recently been refurbished and looked stylish and modern. The food was delicious, a reasonable price, and great portion sizes – so much so we didn’t have room for desert.
Things to do in the area
There is so much to do in East Devon you will be spoilt for choice. The park has a great information room with an abundance of leaflets and posters to inspire you.
The Jurassic Coast is a few miles from Andrewshayes Holiday Park; with Seaton, Charmouth, Sidmouth, Beer and Lyme Regis only a short drive away. West Bay (for all the Broadchurch fans) is also about 30 minutes drive away.
We stopped by at Charmouth beach where we found lots of sand and pebbles, beautiful beach huts, cafe and shops where the girls bought a fossil or two. The Charmouth Heritage Centre should be your first stop if you want to find fossils, and if you are in the area for a day or so, there are organised fossil finding walks.
There are so many family friendly days out in the area from adventure parks, wildlife centres and parks nearby.
Claire over at Tin Box Traveller recently headed to The World of Country Life – an award winning all weather attraction in Exmouth where you will find a mix of animals, museums, play areas and entertainment – find out more over at Tin Box Traveller.
The Seaton Tramway is a nearby attraction featuring a narrow gauge electric tramway running from Seaton To Colyton. Find out more over at Dais Like These when they spent a day on the Seaton Tramway during their stay in Devon.
Charly over at PodcastDove enjoyed a fun day out at Crealy Adventure Park. Crealy Adventure Park is a great family day in out in Devon, set in 100 acres of countryside with over 60 rides and attractions.
We headed out to Wildwood Escot for the day and I can totally recommend a visit – we enjoyed a really lovely day out meeting otters, wolves, birds of prey, exploring the Anglo-saxon village and getting lost in the maze.
For more inspiration for days out and things to do in Devon, head over to www.flipflopsorwellies.co.uk
Our Verdict
We enjoyed a lovely family friendly stay at Andrewshayes Holiday Park. There is something for everyone here, and there is so much to do on site whatever the weather. All of our little ones absolutely loved the pool and the play park, and having the option of a cafe and takeaway on site is a real added bonus. There is so much to do and see in East Devon, three days just didn’t seem long enough….we will just have to return!
For more information, and how to book – head over to www.andrewshayes.co.uk
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I’m really impressed by the sound of the facilities – perfect with kids especially in a less than sunny summertime.
3 days is never enough! Hope you go back soon, it sounds amazing x
My little one would love all the activities, especially the pool. Amazing !
Great review, thank you for sharing my blog link. Yes there’s so much to do in the area, you must stay for longer next time!
We really liked Andrewshayes on our visit too! We have monstrous weather and the pool was awesome. Thanks for including our trip to Abbotsbury Swannery!
This sounds like it has great facilities for kids. Moving on every couple of days is definitely a big advantage of having a camper van. #explorerkids
Sounds like a great bolthole for kids! We’ll definitely check this out. Andrewshayes sounds like it could be a great spot for us. We stayed in South Devon recently and it was beautiful so it’s time for a change. Popping over from #ExplorerKids x
Oooh I’m super jel, that looks like a lovely holiday park. One day it is my dream to own a campervan. Sarah #ExplorerKids
It has been our dream for so long too, one day you will get that campervan!!!!!!
It sounds like a really lovely holiday park. I love the facilities, and it’s great to see a covered pool. It’s not been a great summer for weather has it
Looks like a fab place
Super! We have occasionally looked for a dog-friendly and well-equipped campsite on/near the Jurassic Coast and never quite found one to our liking. Looks like this one slipped under the radar because we were looking for Dorset, not Devon. Thanks for the tip and greetings from Daisy to Otis! #ExplorerKids
p.s. I think my kids would prefer the mud and puddles to the soft play area 😀
I love how you just pack up and set off. No stupid airports or anything to worry about! This sounds like a great place to stay with kids as well! The little pods are really common in our favourite campsite in Austria, that wouldn’t take you too long to get to, honest! 🙂
I love the look of those glamping pods! Holiday parks are great for getting back to nature, aren’t they – in a way that’s more comfortable than camping! We’ve mainly stayed in holiday parks in France and other European countries, but this does look tempting.
We had a great time at Andrewshayes too – our boys absolutely loved the pool and the playground, and our dog had a blast on the dog field!
The facilities were great, something for everyone (and the little pooches taking a holiday!)
Your son looks so happy in that play area! The glamping pods look like they’d be amazing inside. I may have grown up camping in a tent, but I’d definitely be happy to stay in one of those things.
Thanks for stopping by and commenting! We may have a van- but I would never say no to stopping in a glamping pod either! They looked lovely!
This is such a great review. The place has so much to offer. It is very kids friendly and everything is there without you having to worry about hot water for the shower. I like that it is all inclusive and you don’t need to pay extra to use the facilities. It makes it all the worth while.
I really like how you also added other blogger’s recommendation of the surrounding site seeing too. Great job! I’d love to own my own caravan too – one day. 😉
Thanks for linking up with us on #ExplorerKids Linky. x
Thanks so much that is so kind of you. It was such a lovely site and you are right about the all inclusive activities. It really does make a difference particularly in the school holidays when prices seem to go sky high! Thanks for hosting explorer kids #2
Oh this looks brilliant, I love the fact that the campsite itself has stuff to do if it is raining, this is always the thing that I struggle with when we’re camping, we have to pack up and drive to somewhere to find something for the children to do. I was very jealous when I saw you tweet about heading here, glad it lived up to expectations!
Thanks for linking up to #familytraveltips
Nat.x
The pool looks fabulous! And I love those beach huts!
The facilities look great and the location is perfect to explore Seaton, Charmouth, Sidmouth etc.Thanks for linking up to #familytraveltips I really like the look of the pods!