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Which Parkdean Resorts Has The Best Beach? 2025 Guide
Easy access to a decent beach is a major factor for us when we are planning a visit to a UK holiday park.
Ideally, we want a beach within walking distance as it makes the whole day a lot simpler. I would rather not be piling children into a car and then finding somewhere to park if there's an option to put on a towel and a pair of Crocs and waddle back to the lodge or caravan.
We've whittled down the 66 Parkdean Resorts in the UK to choose five which a) have direct access to a nice beach and b) are decent parks with good reviews from customers.
Ideally, we want a beach within walking distance as it makes the whole day a lot simpler. I would rather not be piling children into a car and then finding somewhere to park if there's an option to put on a towel and a pair of Crocs and waddle back to the lodge or caravan.
We've whittled down the 66 Parkdean Resorts in the UK to choose five which a) have direct access to a nice beach and b) are decent parks with good reviews from customers.
1. Ruda Holiday Park and Challaborough Bay Holiday Park in Devon - outstanding water cleanliness
Challaborough Bay Holiday Park and Ruda Holiday Park are both top notch choices if you want a Parkdean Resorts site in Devon next to a beach.
Challaborough Bay gets slightly better review scores of 83% whilst Ruda scores 77% from customers (we calculated this by adding together TripAdvisor and Google Review scores).
However, Ruda Holiday Park gets a place in our top five thanks to its outstanding beach. Don't get me wrong, Challaborough Bay is a great beach but Ruda just about edges it for me. Both have lifeguards at peak season and both are good for watersports.
The beach is particularly close if you camp or bring your own motorhome/caravan to Ruda Holiday Park. The caravans are set back a little bit further than the camping and touring area.
It's also worth considering water quality when you are planning a beach trip in the UK. After all, you want to be the only thing floating in the sea when you enthusiastically dive in. The best data available is from the Environment Agency, which tests water at more than 400 locations around England from May to September (there are also similar schemes in Wales and Scotland run by different organisations).
Each beach is given a rating of zero, one star, two stars or three stars for the cleanliness of its water. In the case of Ruda Holiday Park and Challaborough Bay Holiday Park, the local beaches both get the top rating of three stars.
Challaborough Bay gets slightly better review scores of 83% whilst Ruda scores 77% from customers (we calculated this by adding together TripAdvisor and Google Review scores).
However, Ruda Holiday Park gets a place in our top five thanks to its outstanding beach. Don't get me wrong, Challaborough Bay is a great beach but Ruda just about edges it for me. Both have lifeguards at peak season and both are good for watersports.
The beach is particularly close if you camp or bring your own motorhome/caravan to Ruda Holiday Park. The caravans are set back a little bit further than the camping and touring area.
It's also worth considering water quality when you are planning a beach trip in the UK. After all, you want to be the only thing floating in the sea when you enthusiastically dive in. The best data available is from the Environment Agency, which tests water at more than 400 locations around England from May to September (there are also similar schemes in Wales and Scotland run by different organisations).
Each beach is given a rating of zero, one star, two stars or three stars for the cleanliness of its water. In the case of Ruda Holiday Park and Challaborough Bay Holiday Park, the local beaches both get the top rating of three stars.
The beach near to Parkdean's Ruda Holiday Park is understandably busy in summer
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Challaborough Bay is another outstanding beach next to a Parkdean Resorts holiday park
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2. California Cliffs Holiday Park in Norfolk - indoor and outdoor pools
If you fancy a Parkdean Resorts holiday in East Anglia with a decent beach then I would choose California Cliffs. The other good option is Kessingland Beach Holiday Park but California Cliffs just about edges it for me. Of course, California Cliffs also sounds a bit more glamorous. You might like to tell your friends that you are visiting California for your holidays and then tail off when you finish the sentence.
The two parks are tied on review scores of 82% (4.2/5 on Google Reviews and 4/5 on TripAdvisor). That puts both of them in the top third of all the Parkdean Resorts in the UK.
California Cliffs is a few miles down the road from Great Yarmouth and is a lot less tacky. Instead, you get a nice wide open beach.
The beach directly outside the resort isn't tested for water cleanliness by the Environment Agency. However, the two beaches along the coast at Hemsby and Caister both score two stars out of three, meaning they are considered 'good' for water quality (see the latest ratings here).
California Cliffs is a mid-sized resort by Parkdean's standards. There's a playground, sports court, minigolf as well as indoor and outdoor pools.
The two parks are tied on review scores of 82% (4.2/5 on Google Reviews and 4/5 on TripAdvisor). That puts both of them in the top third of all the Parkdean Resorts in the UK.
California Cliffs is a few miles down the road from Great Yarmouth and is a lot less tacky. Instead, you get a nice wide open beach.
The beach directly outside the resort isn't tested for water cleanliness by the Environment Agency. However, the two beaches along the coast at Hemsby and Caister both score two stars out of three, meaning they are considered 'good' for water quality (see the latest ratings here).
California Cliffs is a mid-sized resort by Parkdean's standards. There's a playground, sports court, minigolf as well as indoor and outdoor pools.
California Cliffs is next to a typically wide open East Anglia beach
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3. Grannie's Heilan' Hame Holiday Park in Scotland - excellent sea views
Parkdean Resorts has eight holiday parks in Scotland but Grannie's Heilan' Hame Holiday Park is particularly good for beach fanatics. It also has the best name, but that's probably less important.
The layout of the park is exceptionally good for beach fans. Unlike a lot of holiday parks, Grannie's Heilan' Hame Holiday Park is long and thin so a huge number of the park's caravans and lodges have a sea view.
The beach has a long band of sand, but it's also a good choice if you like exploring in rock pools. You'll find quite a few people out with nets and buckets at low tide.
Grannie's Heilan' Hame Holiday Park also has an indoor swimming pool, a mini golf course and a sports court. It isn't the biggest or busiest Parkdean Resorts but it's a good choice if you want to stare out to sea and potter about on the beach.
The layout of the park is exceptionally good for beach fans. Unlike a lot of holiday parks, Grannie's Heilan' Hame Holiday Park is long and thin so a huge number of the park's caravans and lodges have a sea view.
The beach has a long band of sand, but it's also a good choice if you like exploring in rock pools. You'll find quite a few people out with nets and buckets at low tide.
Grannie's Heilan' Hame Holiday Park also has an indoor swimming pool, a mini golf course and a sports court. It isn't the biggest or busiest Parkdean Resorts but it's a good choice if you want to stare out to sea and potter about on the beach.
Lots of caravans and lodges overlook the beach at Grannie's Heilan' Hame Holiday Park
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The beach is good for rockpooling at low tide
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4. Trecco Bay Holiday Park in Wales - huge park with swimming pools and three beaches nearby
Trecco Bay Holiday Park holds a solid claim as being the UK's biggest holiday park.
According to my calculations, there are 2079 caravans at Trecco Bay whilst the largest Haven holiday park is Devon Cliffs with about 1600 caravans (see our guide to the five biggest Haven resorts).
It is certainly fair to say that it's a whopping great holiday park.
If you stay at Trecco Bay you get direct access to three different beaches including Newton Beach, Trecco Bay and Sandy Bay. 'The third one is a very short walk whilst the areas are overlooked by the resort. All of the beaches are sandy and are big enough to accommodate the considerable number of visitors that stay at Trecco Bay Holiday Park at peak times of year.
The good news is that both Trecco Bay and Sandy Bay score the maximum three stars for water cleanliness from Natural Resources Wales, which is the Welsh equivalent of England's Environment Agency. That data is based on tests carried out from May until September, although I doubt many people are rushing into the sea off Wales in October.
It's fair to say that Trecco Bay Holiday Park is quite compact. It has dozens of neat rows of caravans, rather than it being a sprawling site with lots of woodland and lakes that you would get at a Center Parcs resort. There are pros and cons to this design. On the plus side, you can get around quickly - the farthest point is only 10 minutes walk from the beach. The down side is that it doesn't have as much of a leafy feel as you get at some holiday parks.
You can read more about the facilities at Trecco Bay in our guide to the best holiday parks in Wales.
According to my calculations, there are 2079 caravans at Trecco Bay whilst the largest Haven holiday park is Devon Cliffs with about 1600 caravans (see our guide to the five biggest Haven resorts).
It is certainly fair to say that it's a whopping great holiday park.
If you stay at Trecco Bay you get direct access to three different beaches including Newton Beach, Trecco Bay and Sandy Bay. 'The third one is a very short walk whilst the areas are overlooked by the resort. All of the beaches are sandy and are big enough to accommodate the considerable number of visitors that stay at Trecco Bay Holiday Park at peak times of year.
The good news is that both Trecco Bay and Sandy Bay score the maximum three stars for water cleanliness from Natural Resources Wales, which is the Welsh equivalent of England's Environment Agency. That data is based on tests carried out from May until September, although I doubt many people are rushing into the sea off Wales in October.
It's fair to say that Trecco Bay Holiday Park is quite compact. It has dozens of neat rows of caravans, rather than it being a sprawling site with lots of woodland and lakes that you would get at a Center Parcs resort. There are pros and cons to this design. On the plus side, you can get around quickly - the farthest point is only 10 minutes walk from the beach. The down side is that it doesn't have as much of a leafy feel as you get at some holiday parks.
You can read more about the facilities at Trecco Bay in our guide to the best holiday parks in Wales.
This is one of three beaches that are easy to access if you are staying at Trecco Bay Holiday Park
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The local beaches to Trecco Bay Holiday Park are sandy and have plenty of space at low tide
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5. Barmston Beach Holiday Park in Yorkshire - outdoor swimming pool
Our final pick is one of Parkdean Resorts' four Yorkshire holiday parks.
Barmston Beach Holiday Park is our choice if a decent beach is top of your list. There are cliffs along the front of the park, but you can access the beach by walking a couple of minutes from the northern end of the resort (that's the left hand side if you are stood in the park and looking out to sea). The beach is mostly sand, with a bit of shingle.
Barmston Beach Holiday Park doesn't have an indoor swimming pool, but there is a heated outdoor swimming pool with a slide. I would suggest you might want to pick a sunny week!
The resort also has a soft play area, restaurant with entertainment and a playground.
The Environment Agency don't test the cleanliness of the swimming water at the beach directly in front of Barmston Beach Holiday Park. However, the two beaches either side of the resort at Skipsea and Fraisthorpe both get a rating of two stars out of three, meaning they have 'good' quality swimming water from May to September.
Customer review scores for the park are 4/5 on TripAdvisor or 4.2/5 on Google Reviews. That gives it an average of 82%, which is in the top third amongst all of Parkdean Resorts' holiday parks around the UK.
Barmston Beach Holiday Park is our choice if a decent beach is top of your list. There are cliffs along the front of the park, but you can access the beach by walking a couple of minutes from the northern end of the resort (that's the left hand side if you are stood in the park and looking out to sea). The beach is mostly sand, with a bit of shingle.
Barmston Beach Holiday Park doesn't have an indoor swimming pool, but there is a heated outdoor swimming pool with a slide. I would suggest you might want to pick a sunny week!
The resort also has a soft play area, restaurant with entertainment and a playground.
The Environment Agency don't test the cleanliness of the swimming water at the beach directly in front of Barmston Beach Holiday Park. However, the two beaches either side of the resort at Skipsea and Fraisthorpe both get a rating of two stars out of three, meaning they have 'good' quality swimming water from May to September.
Customer review scores for the park are 4/5 on TripAdvisor or 4.2/5 on Google Reviews. That gives it an average of 82%, which is in the top third amongst all of Parkdean Resorts' holiday parks around the UK.
Barmston Beach has easy access to a gorgeous part of the Yorkshire coastline
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The resort doesn't have an indoor pool, but the beach makes up for it
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