Parkdean Resorts has sold Devon's Ruda Holiday Park to John Fowler Holidays!

John Fowler Holidays is the new owners of Ruda Holiday Park in Devon

We've been recommending Ruda Holiday Park in Devon for a long time - it featured in our guides to Devon's best holiday parks and our guide to Parkdean's glamping resorts. 

The resort has been getting solid reviews of about 80% for some time, thanks in part to its location next to a lovely beach. It's a large resort covering about 300 acres and has about 800 caravans and pitches (according to recent news reports).

So, we were beyond interested when we found out this week that Parkdean Resorts has sold Ruda Holiday Park to John Fowler Holidays.

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​at Ruda Holiday Park

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What can you tell me about John Fowler Holidays?

John Fowler is a pretty big name in the UK holiday park market - but it's certainly not as well known as Parkdean Resorts. 

Parkdean has more than 60 resorts around England, Wales and Scotland whilst John Fowler now has 14 resorts in Devon, Cornwall, Somerset and Wales.

Which? carried out an interesting comparison of holiday park brands last year. John Fowler scored exceptionally well in that study (77%) and was some distance ahead of Parkdean Resorts (68%), Haven (69%) and Center Parcs (69%).

Much like Parkdean, John Fowler Holidays has some small and quiet resorts as well as some bigger and busier ones. It calls these 'Big and Lively Parks'. You can read the full comparison in our main guide to John Fowler Holidays, but the larger ones include:

• South Bay Holiday Park in Devon
• St Ives Holiday Village in Cornwall
• Trelawne Manor Holiday Park in Cornwall
• Sandy Glade Holiday Park in Somerset.

Ruda Holiday Park qualifies as another 'Big and Lively Park' because of its decent range of facilities, including the Cascades Tropical Adventure Pool, which has a decent waterslide.

Ruda Holiday Park is now one of John Fowler's 'Big and Lively Parks'

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What if I've already booked a holiday at Ruda Holiday Park with Parkdean Resorts for this year?

Don't panic!

Parkdean Resorts has contacted us to say that:

• your booking details haven't changed
• you will be contacted by Parkdean Resorts to confirm that your holiday will go ahead, 'under the ownership of John Fowler Holiday'
• any payments you've already made will be passed onto John Fowler Holidays
• 'Any outstanding holiday balances will need to be paid to John Fowler Holidays rather than Parkdean Resorts'. John Fowler Holidays will be in contact with details on these.

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What will happen to Ruda Holiday Park now that it's got new owners?

We don't know all of the plans but we are pretty optimistic. 

Here's a quote that Cathie Higgs from John Fowler Holidays, as reported on the Devon Live website: 

“Ruda has a history of creating unforgettable experiences, and we are honoured to continue its legacy. Our focus will be on preserving its unique character, while enhancing its quality to ensure it remains a top destination for our customers.

“As a local business we are passionate about delivering first-class holiday experiences, Croyde is one of the UK’s most beloved holiday destinations — we’re really proud to be part of its future and can’t wait to get started.”

It's also worth saying that we've found John Fowler Holidays are often some of the best value caravan holidays around. They often score well in our county-by-county guides to the best holiday parks in the UK. 

Several individual parks also get very positive review scores including:

1. Cardigan Bay Holiday Park, Wales – 4.8/5 on TripAdvisor and 4.6/5 on Google reviews = 94%
2. Llanrhidian Holiday Park, Wales – 4.6/5 and 4.7/5 = 93%
3. Sandy Meadows Lodge Park, Somerset - 4.5/5 and 4.7/5 = 92%
4. Killigarth Manor Holiday Park, Cornwall – 4.3/5 and 4.5/5 = 88%
   
   

It also has experience of purchasing other holiday parks, such as Cardigan Bay Holiday Park in 2022.

We wish John Fowler Holidays the very best of luck!