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5 Best John Fowler Holiday Parks 2021

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 12 holiday parks including six in Cornwall, three in Devon, one in Wales and two in Somerset. John Fowler's Somerset park is sometimes counted as two resorts 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:

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. 

It also scored well in our price comparisons and customer review comparisons. When we checked, it was the joint second most popular with customers (average of 4.1/5 across various review sites) but 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.
Swimming pool at John Fowler South Bay Holiday Park
South Bay Holiday Park is one of John Fowler's 'Big Lively Parks'

2. Sandy Meadows Lodge Park in Somerset (posh accommodation, more expensive)

Sandy Meadows Lodge Park in Somerset was the clear winner when we compared customer reviews at all the John Fowler holiday parks. It was averaging 4.4/5 when we looked at scores on Hoseasons, TripAdvisor and Google reviews. 

However, there's a catch. 

Sandy Meadows Lodge Park was the most expensive John Fowler holiday park by some way when we checked prices for school holidays in 2022. During peak season it was £400-£500 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.

Anyway, 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. 

It's 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.
Sandy Meadows Lodge Park
The swimming pool at John Fowler's Somerset parks

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 about 4.1/5. It's good value too - it was one of the cheaper 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, although it's only 10 minutes so not exactly a big deal. 
Trelawne Manor Holiday Park in Cornwall ​
As the name suggests, Trelawne Manor is in the grounds of a stately home and it's got an outdoor pool

4. Perran View Holiday Park in Cornwall (quiet park, indoor swimming pool)​

If your priority on holiday is peace and quiet then John Fowler's Perran View Holiday Park is a good place to start.

It is one of three parks which are described as being 'quiet and relaxing' by John Fowler Holidays and it's popular with customers. When we checked, it was scoring 4/5 on average across various review websites.

It doesn't have the same range of kids' clubs but it does have an indoor swimming pool, crazy golf, tennis courts and a play area for kids.

One downside is that it isn't right by the beach but it's only a 10 minute drive and it is a good area for beaches. Another thing to consider is that it was one of the more expensive John Fowler holiday parks in our price comparisons. It is also towards the west of Cornwall so the drive to get there is pretty long.
Perran View Holiday Park in Cornwall
Perran View Holiday Park is a good choice if you want a quieter place to stay

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 (4.1/5) and it has the option of upgrading to a lodge if you can afford.  

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 also only five minutes in the car from the beach - so it's not the nearest but it's also not the furthest. There's also a public footpath which leads to a beach. 

It's quite a hilly site, so perhaps not one if you've got mobility issues.
John Fowler's Killigarth Manor Holiday Park
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.

Other guides from the Holiday Park Guru

Holiday-Park-Guru-Don't-Blame-Us-Disclaimer: All the information on this page is accurate, as far as we know. However, facilities at holiday parks change so please check with the park before booking.