Haven Thornwick Bay Holiday Village in Yorkshire: Our Review Of A Fantastic Coastal Resort

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Haven Thornwick Bay
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Customers love Haven Thornwick Bay - but what did we think?

Thornwick Bay is one of the newer holiday parks to fall under the Haven name. It had a previous life with a different company but Haven bought it about 10 years ago and have revamped it and put their own stamp on it.

We were very keen to visit, as Thornwick Bay often ranks as one of the best on customer review scores from Haven's range of about 40 resorts. It was also the only Yorkshire holiday park run by Haven that we hadn't already visited. Finally, we were intrigued by its tag line of a 'Country Park by the Sea', which is a little different to other Havens.

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Living up to expectations

Having visited Haven Thornwick Bay ourselves, we can see why it is so popular and highly regarded. Admittedly, our visit coincided with lovely sunshine but nonetheless we could see that this was a special place with a lot of charm. 

The first thing to say is that Thornwick Bay Holiday Park is not quite on the same scale as Primrose Valley, which is another Haven holiday site (read about our visit). As a result, the facilities are not quite as big and spectacular. However, you do have access to a nice indoor swimming pool as well as a good choice of restaurants and a few other activities.

We got to know Haven Thornwick Bay much quicker than when we visited Haven Primrose Valley

Also, keep in mind that many of those facilities at Primrose Valley will cost you extra, so you may find it easier to budget without the temptation being there! 

Here's a selection of the activities and places to eat that we found at Thornwick Bay Holiday Park.

We found this decent playground at Haven Thornwick Bay Holiday Park

We could tell that Haven have invested a lot of money at Thornwick Bay since opening it in 2016

The swimming pool is in this building

This is what the pool looks like inside (this is an official photo, I didn't take any photos inside the pool)

Chuckle Brothers fans might like to hire one of these to explore the site

We found a few places to eat at Thornwick Bay, including this chippy

Anyone for a Chinese?

This is the main onsite restaurant. It was popular when we visited.

Owners have access to this building (but we didn't)

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Thornwick Bay Holiday Park's excellent location

The thing that really made us fall for Haven Thornwick Bay Holiday Park was the location, which sits a about 300 - 400 metres back from the cliff edge. A good number of caravans have a sea view but it's worth noting that it is quite a distant sea view with fields in front of the caravans.

The beach itself provides a real contrast with the beaches at Haven's other Yorkshire holiday parks. Haven Reighton Sands and Haven Primrose Valley are both next to huge great sandy beaches that go on for miles. These are great for dog walking or flying a kite and you certainly won't be short of space - but they can be a bit windy and the sea is a long way away at high tide.

Meanwhile, Haven Blue Dolphin is next to a beautiful stretch of beach but you can't access it from the high cliffs.

Thornwick Bay has a very different vibe altogether. The beach is a rocky cove on one side and a slightly sandier beach on the other that looks like something out of Enid Blyton. 

I figured out quickly that this sign led to the beach (Ed: no sugar, Sherlock)

More signs to help you avoid getting lost at Thornwick Bay Holiday Park

The beach is split into two halves

This stonier section has a rustic Cornish vibe to it

This side of Thornwick Bay is a sheltered spot with rough sand (and a couple of swimmers if you look closely)

I adore these sort of rustic beaches, as they tend to be sheltered and have a really adventurous feel to them. They aren't for everybody, of course, and I completely understand those who prefer a beach that is easy to access and which has parking, ice cream shops and minigolf courses next door. Go for one of our beachside holiday parks if that's your preference!

I also appreciate that many people much prefer golden sandy beaches, rather than shingle, rocks and slightly rougher sand. It's certainly not easy if you have young children with pushchairs.

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Green space and things to do at Thornwick Bay Holiday Park

Besides the beach, we also enjoyed the green space in front of the caravans. I considered having a go on the adventure course, which is a bit like an outdoor gym, but concluded that it looked too much like hard work. 

Feel free to wake up at 5am to run round this field

The caravans at Thornwick Bay are fairly close together but the site has quite a few nice green spaces, which you don't get at every holiday park (take note, Skegness and Ingoldmells seafront). It doesn't have a huge number of trees but the patches of grass give it a very nice feel, particularly when it is also surrounded by rolling hills. 

In fact, one of the things that I really liked about Thornwick Bay when we visited, was that it sits almost in isolation with greenery in all directions. It is much more common for holiday parks to be crammed in between two other holiday parks, but this setting is much more relaxing and scenic.

There is lots of green space surrounding Haven Thornwick Bay

It's always nice when a holiday park leaves some space empty for ball games

Upgrading to a caravan with a balcony is money well spent in summer, in my opinion

In summary, we think Haven Thornwick Bay is really lovely and it's just the sort of place we look for in a holiday park. However, I would say that it's not for everybody. 

If you want a cliff edge view, then you would be better to stay somewhere such as Haven Hopton in Norfolk where caravans are right on the edge. Thornwick Bay can only offer you a distant sea view. 

You won't get a cliff edge view at Haven Thornwick Bay

Also, if you want a sandy beach for making sandcastles or enjoying hassle free beach days out, then this is not the one for you. Go for Haven Reighton Sands or Haven Primrose Valley instead.

Finally, I would say that if you want non-stop entertainment such as climbing walls and high ropes then Haven Primrose Valley would be a better choice for you. 

If none of that bothers you then I would put Haven Thornwick Bay at the top of your holiday shortlist.

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Most of the photos on Holiday Park Guru are original photos that we’ve taken ourselves from our own visits to 100+ holiday parks around the UK. Please don’t use them without permission.