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5 Best John Fowler Holiday Parks 2024
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John Fowler Holidays are a good choice if you want a good value caravan holiday or lodge park holiday in the UK. They've got 13 holiday parks including six in Cornwall, three in Devon, two in Wales and two in Somerset. John Fowler's Somerset park is sometimes counted as one resort as they are next door to each other.
We've picked out our top 5 John Fowler holiday parks after examining customer reviews, the cost of a holiday during school holidays, proximity to the beach, travel time from most of the UK and onsite facilities and activities. You can see our working here. Anyway, without further waffle here's our top 5 John Fowler Holidays: |
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1. South Bay Holiday Park in Devon (big park, beachside, indoor and outdoor swimming pools)
South Bay Holiday Park is described by John Fowler Holidays as one of its four 'Big Lively Parks'. The others are St Ives Holiday Village in Cornwall, Trelawne Manor Holiday Park in Cornwall and Sandy Glade Holiday Park in Somerset.
So, South Bay isn't the place for silence and isolation, but it is ideal for a good value holiday in a decent location.
It's one of only three John Fowler holiday parks right next to a beach, albeit down 100+ steep steps. The beach is dog friendly, so it's ideal for walks if you can cope with the steps.
It also scored well in our price comparisons and customer review comparisons. When we checked, it was a mid-table performer with customers (average of 4/5 across various review sites) and a mid-priced option when we compared the cost of a week's holiday for a family of four.
Onsite, you'll find indoor and outdoor swimming pools as well as minigolf, kids' clubs, evening entertainment and a restaurant.
As it's in Devon, it is up to an hour closer for most people than some of the Cornish holiday parks run by John Fowler. You may be grateful of that if you've already been driving for seven hours.
So, South Bay isn't the place for silence and isolation, but it is ideal for a good value holiday in a decent location.
It's one of only three John Fowler holiday parks right next to a beach, albeit down 100+ steep steps. The beach is dog friendly, so it's ideal for walks if you can cope with the steps.
It also scored well in our price comparisons and customer review comparisons. When we checked, it was a mid-table performer with customers (average of 4/5 across various review sites) and a mid-priced option when we compared the cost of a week's holiday for a family of four.
Onsite, you'll find indoor and outdoor swimming pools as well as minigolf, kids' clubs, evening entertainment and a restaurant.
As it's in Devon, it is up to an hour closer for most people than some of the Cornish holiday parks run by John Fowler. You may be grateful of that if you've already been driving for seven hours.
South Bay Holiday Park is one of John Fowler's 'Big Lively Parks'
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It scores 4/5 from customers and has a good range of entertainment
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2. Sandy Meadows Lodge Park in Somerset (posh accommodation, more expensive)
Sandy Meadows Lodge Park in Somerset came second when we compared customer reviews at all the John Fowler holiday parks. It averages 4.4/5 based on scores on Hoseasons, TripAdvisor and Google reviews.
However, there's a catch.
Sandy Meadows Lodge Park was the most expensive John Fowler holiday park when we checked prices for school holidays in 2024. During peak season it was £500-£700 more expensive than several other John Fowler sites for a week's holiday for a family of four.
The reason is that the accommodation is spacious lodges rather than caravans which can be a little bit cosy.
If you can afford Sandy Meadows Lodge Park then you get a resort which is a peaceful, but which also has access to the good range of facilities at Sandy Glade Holiday Park, which is next door. Options include an indoor swimming pool, table tennis, sauna, evening entertainment, a clubhouse and kids' clubs.
It's about 10 minutes' walk to the nearest beach, or perhaps a little longer with children in tow.
Sandy Meadows is easy to reach if you're coming from the Midlands so it's a good one for a short break. You can reach Sandy Meadows Lodge Park from Birmingham in about two hours, whilst some of John Fowler's Cornish resorts will take more than double that time to reach.
However, there's a catch.
Sandy Meadows Lodge Park was the most expensive John Fowler holiday park when we checked prices for school holidays in 2024. During peak season it was £500-£700 more expensive than several other John Fowler sites for a week's holiday for a family of four.
The reason is that the accommodation is spacious lodges rather than caravans which can be a little bit cosy.
If you can afford Sandy Meadows Lodge Park then you get a resort which is a peaceful, but which also has access to the good range of facilities at Sandy Glade Holiday Park, which is next door. Options include an indoor swimming pool, table tennis, sauna, evening entertainment, a clubhouse and kids' clubs.
It's about 10 minutes' walk to the nearest beach, or perhaps a little longer with children in tow.
Sandy Meadows is easy to reach if you're coming from the Midlands so it's a good one for a short break. You can reach Sandy Meadows Lodge Park from Birmingham in about two hours, whilst some of John Fowler's Cornish resorts will take more than double that time to reach.
The swimming pool at John Fowler's Somerset parks
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Hot tubs come with some of the accommodation at Sandy Meadows Lodge Park
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3. Trelawne Manor Holiday Park in Cornwall (indoor and outdoor swimming pools, drive to beach)
Trelawne Manor Holiday Park in Cornwall gives South Bay Holiday Park in Devon a good run for its money (see #1) for those who want a large and busy caravan site.
It gets similarly impressive customer review scores of 4.1/5. It's good value too - it was one of the mid-priced John Fowler holiday parks in our price comparison. It also has the option of upgrading to a lodge, which isn't something offered at South Bay.
There are indoor and outdoor swimming pools, including a flume. Sports include football, tennis, table tennis and crazy golf and there are playgrounds, sand art and pottery painting for children (some activities cost extra). There is somewhere to eat onsite and it's only half an hour's drive from The Eden Project.
The main downside with Trelawne Manor Holiday Park is that you have to drive to the beach. It's only 10 minutes so not exactly a big deal.
It gets similarly impressive customer review scores of 4.1/5. It's good value too - it was one of the mid-priced John Fowler holiday parks in our price comparison. It also has the option of upgrading to a lodge, which isn't something offered at South Bay.
There are indoor and outdoor swimming pools, including a flume. Sports include football, tennis, table tennis and crazy golf and there are playgrounds, sand art and pottery painting for children (some activities cost extra). There is somewhere to eat onsite and it's only half an hour's drive from The Eden Project.
The main downside with Trelawne Manor Holiday Park is that you have to drive to the beach. It's only 10 minutes so not exactly a big deal.
As the name suggests, Trelawne Manor is in the grounds of a stately home and it's got an outdoor pool
4. Cardigan Bay Holiday Park in Wales (quiet park, indoor/outdoor swimming pool)
If your priority on holiday is peace and quiet, then John Fowler's Cardigan Bay Holiday Park is a good place to start looking.
It muscled its way into our top 5 after being bought by John Fowler in 2022. It has been operating for many years under different owners and has built up a remarkably good reputation, with reviews of 5/5 on TripAdvisor. That is almost unheard of in the holiday park market.
It is one of four parks which are described as being 'quiet and relaxing' by John Fowler Holidays. Cardigan Bay Holiday Park doesn't have kids' clubs and loads of entertainment but there is a tropical themed swimming pool which has a retractable roof so it can switch from indoor to outdoor on a sunny day.
The lovely beach at Poppit Sands is a 10-minute walk from Cardigan Bay Holiday Park.
The main downside is that Cardigan Bay Holiday Park is much more expensive than most John Fowler resorts. It was the most second or third most expensive in our comparisons for 2024 holidays. A cheaper alternative in the 'quiet and relaxing' category is John Fowler's Perran View Holiday Park in Cornwall. It was about £300-£400 cheaper for a week's holiday for the dates we checked.
Cardigan Bay Holiday Park is on the Welsh coastline, so it's quite a long drive from most of England. Travelling from Birmingham will take you about four hours.
It muscled its way into our top 5 after being bought by John Fowler in 2022. It has been operating for many years under different owners and has built up a remarkably good reputation, with reviews of 5/5 on TripAdvisor. That is almost unheard of in the holiday park market.
It is one of four parks which are described as being 'quiet and relaxing' by John Fowler Holidays. Cardigan Bay Holiday Park doesn't have kids' clubs and loads of entertainment but there is a tropical themed swimming pool which has a retractable roof so it can switch from indoor to outdoor on a sunny day.
The lovely beach at Poppit Sands is a 10-minute walk from Cardigan Bay Holiday Park.
The main downside is that Cardigan Bay Holiday Park is much more expensive than most John Fowler resorts. It was the most second or third most expensive in our comparisons for 2024 holidays. A cheaper alternative in the 'quiet and relaxing' category is John Fowler's Perran View Holiday Park in Cornwall. It was about £300-£400 cheaper for a week's holiday for the dates we checked.
Cardigan Bay Holiday Park is on the Welsh coastline, so it's quite a long drive from most of England. Travelling from Birmingham will take you about four hours.
Cardigan Bay Holiday Park scores 5/5 from reviewers and has an indoor pool with retractable roof
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There's a playground onsite and a nice beach nearby, but the entertainment is limited
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5. Killigarth Manor Holiday Park in Cornwall (mid-sized park, indoor swimming pool, good reviews)
Killigarth Manor Holiday Park wasn't top of the table in any particular area of our comparisons but it is a good all-rounder.
For starters, it was one of the cheaper John Fowler holiday parks in our comparisons although Sandy Glade Holiday Park in Somerset and Sandaway Beach Holiday Park in Devon were a bit cheaper.
Overall, it was joint second place on customer reviews which is pretty impressive (4.3/5) and it has the option of upgrading to a lodge if you can afford it.
It's not the biggest John Fowler holiday park, but it isn't the smallest either and it has plenty to do. There's an indoor swimming pool, playground, crazy golf, tennis, gym and sauna.
It's only five minutes in the car from the beach - so it's not the nearest but it's also not the furthest. There's a public footpath which leads to a beach.
It's quite a hilly site, so perhaps not one if you've got mobility issues.
For starters, it was one of the cheaper John Fowler holiday parks in our comparisons although Sandy Glade Holiday Park in Somerset and Sandaway Beach Holiday Park in Devon were a bit cheaper.
Overall, it was joint second place on customer reviews which is pretty impressive (4.3/5) and it has the option of upgrading to a lodge if you can afford it.
It's not the biggest John Fowler holiday park, but it isn't the smallest either and it has plenty to do. There's an indoor swimming pool, playground, crazy golf, tennis, gym and sauna.
It's only five minutes in the car from the beach - so it's not the nearest but it's also not the furthest. There's a public footpath which leads to a beach.
It's quite a hilly site, so perhaps not one if you've got mobility issues.
You can upgrade from a caravan to a lodge at Killigarth Manor Holiday Park
Images are from John Fowler Holidays. Prices and review scores are correct at the time of typing.
