Family Caravan holidays at Haven, Burnham-on-sea

Family Caravan holidays at Haven, Burnham-on-sea

I can’t imagine a caravan is everyone’s cup of tea when it comes to your family holiday. But I have always loved them. Ever since I was little and my Granda owned his own, in Castlerock – so staying in a caravan has always held a certain amount of excitement for me.Β 

Over the years, every family holiday we have ever goneΒ on has been a caravan holiday. I sense a theme! We are drawn to them for a multitude of reasons. We love the self-catering holiday vibe, the range of facilities that are available on-site, as well as fun places to visit around the holiday village, too.Β 

Family Caravan Holidays in Somerset

Burnham on sea, Somerset

Caravan Holiday in Burnham-on-sea Holiday village

This summer we revisited Haven’s Burnham-on-Sea Holiday village in Somerset. For me personally, I prefer to visit different places on each of our family holidays. But when we were planning our summer holiday for 2018, the kids begged and pleaded to go back to Burnham-on-Sea, with Haven Holidays. So who was I to argue!

Haven Holidays

Burnham-on-Sea is pretty easy to get to, even for us non-drivers. We flew into Bristol and took an Uber to Burnham – simples. The cost of the uber cost us Β£63 because we needed a 5 seater vehicle – so pretty pricey but it was our only option of travel to get to the holiday village.Β 

Caravan Accommodation at Haven in Somerset

Being a larger family, we always go for the Prestige 3 bedroom caravan and I have to say, of all the caravans we have stayed in, this year’s was the nicest. It had more high points than low e.g it had less storage, which would deal with. and the gas cooker made cooking incredibly difficult for a family of five. But it had 3 bedrooms {1 double & 2 twin single bedrooms}, and it also came with two toilets {one with a shower} – which was a lovely surprise. The living space was also really lovely, too. The corner sofa, in particular, was incredibly comfy!

Burnham on sea, Somerset

As caravan holiday parks go, Burnham on Sea always has lots going on. From daily activities – that you can book via their website or directly with one of their staff at the Activity desk {which is based just inside the arcade}. There are two swimming pools; one outdoor & one indoor.

Haven holidays

Haven Holidays

The indoor pool is decent enough. It has a lovely baby section, a few water tipping buckets, a giant water tap that gushes out water and a single slide. There is a mushroom, but sadly they don’t use that during the general swim because according to staff, it’s only used for the activities. Much to my children’s disappointment.Β 

There are also two parks. One small one at the main reception of the village and one just behind the arcade.Β 

Burnham-on-sea, Somerset

Burnham-on-sea, Somerset

Haven Holidays

The outdoor pool is a lovely feature. My children loved getting a chance to swim in it this year. The only downside was that it closes at 5 pm every day. The main indoor swimming pool also closes – for general swimming – at 17:45 pm.Β It would’ve been nice to have the pool open a little later because there’s nothing quite like being able to cool off in the pool on a hot day or evening.Β 

Activities at Burnham-on-sea

There are loads of fun activities to book during your stay at any Haven resort. From pedalo boats – super cute flamingoes & cars {we had ducks follow us, during our time on the water, which was very cute}. There are the High ropes, Bungee trampoline, Segway fun, Aquajets, Turbo Paddlers, Learn 2 bike and so many more.

I have written a separate post about the activities we got involved in, during our stay at Burnham-on-sea, Haven. So if you’re interested in getting your kids involved, do pop over for a read, see what they’re all about, how much they cost and so forth.

{Click the image below to be taken to the post}.

AquaJets

There are also free activities on-site, that you still need to book your children in for. These are the Nature Rockz activities and range from making bird nest boxes, to going on a bug hunt and even making whatever your imagination desires, at the Recycled Creations activity – which we did.Β 

Haven Family Holiday

There are also other paid-for activities, such as the Pic & Paint section {which is based inside the arcade}. Annabelle loved hanging out here as she did some sand art, got a few hair braids and even a glitter tattoo! The hair braids are Β£4 each, same as the glitter tattoos and the sand art pictures, cost Β£4 for A5 size, Β£5 for an A4.Β 

Burnham-on-sea, Somerset

Burnham-on-sea, Somerset

Burnham-on-sea, Somerset

Entertainment at Haven, Burnham-on-sea

The entertainment available for the children {and adults} on site is really good. From morning Character breakfasts in the Mash & Barrel, to shows with the Funsters – there really is loads to keep you & your family happy & entertained. The kid’s entertainment in the evenings, from 6 pm, is so much fun. My youngest daughter, who is 5yrs old absolutely loved it. Lots of dancing, jumping around, games etc. Enough to get them tired out and ready for bedtime!Β 

There is also the on-site arcade, which is full of fun arcade games and they even have a mini-bowling alley!

Haven Family Holiday

Haven Family Holiday

Eating at the Holiday Village

As I mentioned previously in this post, this was our second visit to this Holiday village and we thought, after two years {maybe} the food on site would have improved? Sadly, this is not the case. This isn’t a paid post, this is just something I feel I need to share with my readers if you do ever visit the holiday village in Burnham.Β 

Don’t bother with Mash & Barrel

The food in the Mash & Barrel is bad. There is no sugar coating that and even though we have only ever eaten in there a few times, each time ordering something different from the menu – everything was falling under the same umbrella of ‘not good.

I took my son in there for breakfast one morning, paid Β£10 for two portions of what were meant to be ‘light & fluffy pancakes with bacon rashers and maple syrup. What was served up almost made me snigger – but I remained a grown-up {just about} and my son and I just looked at each other. Now, sadly my phone was back at the caravan charging, so I have no photos to share. But the pancakes were not fluffy, nor were they light. They were flat {as a pancake!} and tasteless and the bacon rashers were bacon pieces.Β Thank god for the maple syrup!Β 

Avoid the chip shop too!Β 

The chip shop on site is another place we have eaten in. Once when we visited back in 2016 and again when we were there at the beginning of July this year. The food hasn’t got any better there either, which is such a shame. Shockingly tasteless chips, overcooked sausages and the gravy & curry are so far from what chip shop curry & gravy should taste like.Β 

Papa Johns for the win!

The Papa Johns pizza place on site is a bit of saving grace. The food isn’t bad at all – a tad on the expensive side, but edible! If you are there, you need to try their warm cookies – AMAZING!Β 

During our week, we did a food shop at the local Tesco, with the intentions of cooking our meals. But due to a gas cooker in our caravan, that took 1hr & a half to cook anything, we had to eat out. Thank goodness for The Lighthouse, which is a delicious bar & restaurant just across the road from the main entrance of the holiday village. Really gorgeous food {you must try their carvery on a Wednesday & a Sunday – be sure to book it though!}. It also has a great park outside for the kids which they have actually added to since we were there last.Β 

Burnham-on-sea, Somerset

The Holiday village, overall…

The caravan park, overall, is gorgeous. It’s really clean, has a beautiful big lake at the opposite end of the park.Β  A lovely sized park for the children to play in, which we did pretty much every evening, right up until the sun went down.Β 

Burnham-on-sea, Somerset

This Caravan Holiday village, for us, is very loved. It’s nice being able to revisit somewhere we know – which can give it a more ‘home away from home sort of feel. The kids also love having other fun attractions nearby, whether they be in Animal Farm Adventure Park in Berrow {post coming soon} or Weston-Super-Mare.

There is a bus stop inside the holiday village that is very frequent and super handy – it cost Β£13 for 5 of us {return} which is the standard fare for a group of 5. Very reasonable, I think. Some of the Coaster buses that come along are open top, which made Annabelle very happy!Β 

Burnham-on-sea, Somerset

The shop on site is handy, it closes at 8 pm during the week and 9 pm during the weekend. During our stay there they had no bread for 3 days – which I think was an issue with their supplier. However, with the number of people staying on-site, compared to the size of their delivery that they finally got. I think they need to order more in the future. Not having access to bread & milk for almost half our stay wasn’t very good. Thank goodness for the local Tesco!Β 

Burnham-on-sea, Somerset

Are there any changes I’d like to see in the Holiday village?

Yes, actually, there is. It would have been nice to have both swimming pools open for longer. The indoor pool closes at 5:45 pm and the outdoor pool closes at 5 pm. Now, I can understand wanting to divert people from the free on-site activity into the bar and arcades – I get that. But having the pools open for longer is certainly something we would have liked to see.Β 

I’d also say…better on-site food. If those prices are going to be charged, at least have the food measure up. I don’t think I need to say any more on that, really.

Lastly…

And that’s it. That’s the only downside of our Haven holiday. Which, can you really class the pool closing early as a downside? Not really, no. Because the kids still got to swim every.single.day! In fact, I think we practically lived in our swimwear for the entire week! However, not having that option – during a heatwave especially – to cool off in the pool in the evenings was a bit of a shame.Β 

Haven Family Holiday

Burnham-on-sea, Somerset

Burnham-on-sea, Somerset

Burnham-on-sea, Somerset

Burnham-on-sea, Somerset

Burnham-on-sea, Somerset

All in all, we had an amazing week with the most incredible weather! The south of England is always great for sunshine – or it has been in our experience, anyway! Burnham-on-Sea, it was amazing to see you again, we made so many new memories and we are looking forward to seeing your Cala Gran Holiday village for the first time in Summer 2019!Β 

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Haven holidays - uk travel



13 thoughts on “Family Caravan holidays at Haven, Burnham-on-sea”

  • I have to admit I am not the biggest fan of caravan holidays but that’s probably because we always go out of season and I’ve been ill. The aqua jets look amazing

    • Aww, it sounds like you have had bad luck when your caravan holidays have come around. We absolutely love them! The Aqua jets were loads of fun, according to the kids! I do wish they’d have some for the adults too, though! πŸ˜‰ x

  • I have fond memories of staying in caravan parks when I was younger! At the time they seemed so boring to me but now I’d do anything to go back and do it all again! x

  • We love a caravan holiday and went to Haven in Hopton last year – I do love the Haven holiday parks. What a shame the food on site isn’t up to standard though.

  • I think, sometimes, we put too much pressure on going somewhere new all the time. I think its great that you’ve found somewhere the whole family loves that you can back to again and again and know that there is something for everyone there!
    C x

    • You are SO right and this is actually something I have felt during the summer holidays – trying to find new places to explore! This adventure farm is a real gem, though!

    • It was Butlins for us when I was wee – but it’s all the same thing, I think! lol! They are SO much fun & really family focused too, which is the appealing thing. The caravan was lovely! The nicest we’ve had, I think x

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