LARGO LEISURE PARKS

Posted on May 14, 2025

Putting the needs of their customers at the heart of their business is the philosophy of Largo Leisure, owner and operator of half a dozen award-winning Scottish holiday parks. Largo Leisure Parks was founded in 2003 when it acquired its first holiday park in Scotland, Sauchope Links Park in the East Neuk of Fife.

Over the years, three further parks joined the portfolio: one more in Fife - Letham Feus Holiday Park, and two in Perthshire - Loch Tay Highland Lodges, and Braidhaugh Holiday Park. In March 2022, Largo Leisure Parks was acquired by Limerston Capital.

Perthshire’s Cruachan Farm Caravan and Camping Park was acquired in 2023 and in 2024, Campsite Glen Holiday Park, close to Glasgow, joined the group, making a total of six parks. Each Largo Leisure park has its own unique characteristics and offers a varied choice of holiday accommodation to rent and own including self-catering glamping, wooden cabins, cottages, deluxe beach huts, premium lodges, and caravans.

With a 50/50 split between holiday home rental and ownership across the portfolio, all parks share a common theme, providing luxurious accommodation in stunning natural surroundings. Considered a flagship park of the group, Loch Tay Highland Lodges is situated on the private Milton Morenish Estate in Killin, Perthshire.

ONE OF TWO LUXURY Loch Tay Highland Lodges that are available for holiday rental at Loch Tay.

Acquired in 2006, the park offers an exceptional base for a holiday in one of the most beautiful parts of Scotland. Visitors can choose from the widest variety of accommodation: from camping and glamping in Geodesic domes and wooden pods, to Scandinavian-built holiday lodges, and two luxury large self-catering houses that can sleep up to eight and ten guests respectively.

“Our two luxury houses in Loch Tay are the epitome of luxury holiday homes and the flagship rental accommodation at our parks,” says Rachel Mabbs, Commercial Director at Largo Leisure Parks. “Both properties are perfect for large gatherings of family and friends. Loch Tay House boasts a hot tub for up to ten people and superb views of the Loch from its balcony.

We added the architect-designed Mill House in 2020. This stunning four bedroom home also offers a large hot tub, and a secluded, tranquil setting in amongst pretty woodland with scenic mountain views. Mature, private gardens, fire pits and the finest fixtures and furnishings complete both houses.” Whatever accommodation they choose, guests staying at Loch Tay Highland Lodges can take advantage of a host of activities that showcase the best of the park’s natural setting.

From archery, hill walking, bird watching and golf, to canoeing, boat hire and stand up paddle boarding courtesy of the on-site activity provider, In Your Element, Scotland After an active day out on the water or out and about in the countryside, it’s time to enjoy the waterside setting and delicious Scottish delicacies of The Boathouse Kitchen & Bar.

BEACH HUT accommodation with wood-fired hot tub at Sauchope Links Park.

Elsewhere in Scotland, 2024 saw two large developments within the Largo Leisure group. Their seaside holiday park, Sauchope Links, benefited from an £800k investment in July to create eight new holiday home pitches and five new units. Sauchope Links offers an innovative mix of accommodation including one bedroom beach huts and glamping pods, with a few offering hot tubs.

The park’s enviable setting, moments from the idyllic fishing village of Crail, and just ten miles from Scotland’s home of golf, St Andrews, means that Sauchope Links is also a popular choice for holiday homeowners. The park offers a variety of new and used lodge-style homes for sale including those from leading manufacturers such as Willerby and Prestige.

In September 2024, a £350k development at Braidhaugh Holiday Park in Crieff saw the introduction of 14 new caravans. The project was a key part of ongoing investment from Largo Leisure’s owners, Limerston Capital, demonstrating their commitment to enhancing Scottish tourism and supporting local economies.

Nestled on the banks of the scenic River Earn, on the doorstep of the historic market town of Crieff, Braidhaugh is an ideal base for a self-catering countryside holiday. “Previously, we only had contemporary lodges and glamping pods at Braidhaugh,” explains Rachel Mabbs.

PET-FRIENDLY holidays are encouraged at Largo Leisure Parks.

“Since the site was already popular for its hard-standing touring pitches, we decided to landscape this area and expand our accommodation choice with some more traditional caravan units to cover a greater range of price points. The park now offers four new rental units: two 2-bedroom caravans, and two 3-bedroom caravans. One of each size is pet-friendly accommodation also.”

As part of the same re-development, ten new caravans for holiday home ownership were also added to the park. Further expansion is also planned. “During the development work, our team worked closely with the David Bellamy Conservation Scheme to help sustain the many animal, bird and plant species in the grounds,” says Rachel Mabbs.

“The work included the planting of native trees and hedgerows, as well as maintaining areas of wildflowers to provide new and protect existing wildlife habitats.” With parks situated in some of the most beautiful parts of Scotland, Largo Leisure embraces their commitment to the environment wholeheartedly.

Recycling facilities encourage greater responsibility for guests and staff at all the parks, and many of the glamping accommodations offer wood fired hot tubs that are greener and more sustainable. They are also more in keeping with the natural surroundings.

RETREAT LODGES AT SAUCHOPE LINKS PARK.

“Each park page on our website promotes the local wildlife, historical sites and other local attractions in the area. We’re also planning to create wildlife guides for each of our parks to point out the many animals and birds which can be seen from our parks and in the local area,” explains Rachel Mabbs. The organisation is also keen to give back to the wider community.

Through their active partnership with the charity ‘Give us Time’, Largo Leisure donates much-needed respite breaks to UK military families facing difficulties. During 2023 and 2024, a total of 58 breaks were pledged, offering a chance for families to reconnect and enjoy quality time together away from the pressures of daily life.

Encouraging guests to switch off and unwind is at the heart of the Largo Leisure business model. The parks offer an enticing choice of accommodation, much of it pet-friendly, and first-class facilities – no big, noisy entertainment venues here. Moreover, it’s the tremendous natural beauty of their locations that is the big attraction.

Expanding their parks so more people can enjoy Scotland’s magnificent countryside, is key to Largo Leisure’s future development. Most recently, the group has responded to the opportunity – and challenge - of increasing last-minute demand by introducing flexible arrival days and two-night weekend stays with a late check-out on a Sunday. No visit is too short for guests to appreciate Scotland’s natural splendour.

Largo Leisure
01567 820323
www.largoleisure.co.uk

: LOCH TAY also features Geodesic glamping domes and pods.

: LOCH TAY HIGHLAND LODGES was acquired in 2006 and is considered the flagship park of the group.

: BRAIDHAUGH HOLIDAY PARK in Crieff has a beautiful countryside setting on the banks of the scenic River Earn.

: RACHEL MABBS – Commercial Director at Largo Leisure Parks.

: A £350K DEVELOPMENT at Braidhaugh Holiday Park saw the introduction of 14 new caravans in September 2024.

: LUXURY LOCH TAY HOUSE sleeps up to ten guests and offers a large hot tub and superb views of the Loch.

REAPING WHAT THEY SOW

Posted on October 25, 2023

REAPING WHAT THEY SOW

Jane Herbert meets the personalities behind the thriving Beston Group...

YAXHAM WATERS HOLIDAY PARK in Norfolk offers a stunning setting for holidays

On a cold winter’s day in the mid to late nineties, Timm Hay and Steve Johnson stood on a hill overlooking a rather tired-looking Beeston Regis Holiday Park on the North Norfolk coast wondering how to buy it!

At that time, Beeston Regis comprised 60 acres with 120 static caravan plots and roughly 400 tent and tourer plots, with a handful of hook-ups and a very old-fashioned shower block that hadn’t much changed from the original 1950s. The owner had sadly passed away, and the bank had taken control of the site.

On face value, it didn’t look like much of an investment but to Timm and Steve, Beeston Regis offered the ideal opportunity to cement their burgeoning business partnership. “We were young and keen,” says Steve. “Having done some research, Timm had discovered that Beeston Regis benefited from Section 17 of the 1960 Caravan Site Act.

“This was at a time when park owners, usually landowners, were required to apply for planning for the use of their land when used for six months of holiday use and six months grazing rights for cattle,” Steve continues. “The permission was granted if the local council didn’t reply within six months, which became deemed as unconditional planning permission with no time constrictions.”

TIMM HAY AND STEVE JOHNSON, the founders of The Beeston Group.

INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
Timm’s inside knowledge from his first job as a planning consultant for a holiday park specialist in London came in very useful when he realised that this was the case at Beeston Regis. Says Steve: “Uncovering the Park’s unutilised planning permission was a pivotal moment for us. This was extremely valuable, and so we just had to find a way to buy the Park.”

Timm and Steve had found their first joint investment. Beeston Regis Holiday Park is now a thriving park with 300 holiday bases and 190 camping and touring plots. Moving forward, the duo soon expanded into another small park which they later sold at a profit, and also added Cliff House Holiday Park in Dunwich to their portfolio.

At the same time, they undertook a major project to build The Hollies, a 30-acre park in Kessingland, Suffolk, on former farmland and a derelict house. Timm invested in five further parks which he still owns: four in Norfolk - Gold Coast and Hazelbury Holiday Parks in East Runton, Yaxham Waters Holiday Park and Mundesley Holiday Village: as well as New Hall Lodge Park in Dovercourt, Essex.

Over time, the eight parks co-owned by Timm and Steve all came together under the one umbrella of The Beeston Group. Today, with just under 800 lodge and static caravan plots, 750 camping and touring plots, and around 150 self-catering units, The Beeston Group is wholly concerned with holiday home ownership and rental, camping and touring. “With large holiday park groups owning a big percentage of the holiday parks in the UK, we really try to set ourselves aside,” explains Steve.

GUESTS STAYING AT CLIFF HOUSE Holiday Park have access to the lovely beach below

“We pride ourselves on offering great holidays in superb locations, mostly on the beautiful East Anglian coastline, and many of our parks offer guests direct access to the beach. Most importantly, however, the majority of our customers know us as Steve and Timm. As business owners and operators, the personal touch is very important to us.” The Beeston Group employs around 160 staff who support Steve and Timm across the individual parks.

Cliff House Holiday Park is considered the flagship of The Beeston Group. The scenic lodge plots take full advantage of the Park’s enviable location on the idyllic Suffolk Heritage Coast and it is considered to be one of the top locations in East Anglia to own a holiday lodge. The 30-acre park is situated on the cliff top between the popular coastal towns of Southwold and Aldeburgh.

Visitors benefit from the stunning heath and woodland surroundings, as well as direct beach access below. Cliff House Holiday Park has won many accolades, including East of England Park of the Year in the National Tourism Awards, as well as numerous regional awards and The David Bellamy Gold Award for conservation many times. Since purchasing Cliff House Holiday Park in February 2000, The Beeston Group have invested heavily.

At the centre of the Park is the eponymous Cliff House, a large Victorian property built originally as a merchant’s house, and later owned by the family of the famous Aston Martin racing driver Jock Horsfall. Cliff House is currently being renovated to a high standard at a cost of £1.5 million. “We’ve very excited about the development of Cliff House,” explains Steve.

“It’s a lovely historic building and the careful renovation is taking around two years. When it’s finished, the nine-bedroom house will be rented out to single parties of up to 18 people for family gatherings and the like. “The rooms are to be named after James Bond films, and the house will feature a ‘secret room’ hidden by a bookcase containing a casino for the guests!” The Park’s existing popular bar and restaurant has also been extensively renovated since opening in 2010.

It’s named ‘The 12 Lost Churches’ in recognition of the tragic destruction of 12 local churches during three major storms over a period of 100 years during the 1100: 1200’s when Dunwich was actually the capital of East Anglia. With updates to their portfolio of parks an ongoing project, Timm and Steve are keen to ensure that any developments are as sustainable as possible.

“We use ground heat source pumps to heat our bar and restaurant,” says Steve. “We also have banks of solar panels dotted around all our parks and electric car charging points. Staff can choose to opt into a salary sacrifice scheme to buy or lease new electric vehicles. All our parks are also very active in conservation projects. For example, this year our teams have installed 50 bat boxes and 100 bird boxes across our developments.”

Mundesley Holiday Village has also received significant investment since it was acquired by Timm. Originally built in the 1930s, Mundesley was one of the first holiday camps on the North Norfolk coast. The holiday village now boasts luxury accommodation including lodges, bungalows, cottages and barns (some with hot tubs). The site occupies a prime clifftop spot with a beautiful beach just a short walk away.

THE PURPOSE-BUILT HOLLIES Camping & Leisure Resort in Kessingland, Suffolk

Guests staying at Mundesley are spoilt for choice with the outstanding beauty of the local countryside, as well as the excellent on-site facilities that include a games room, gym, sauna and spa. The Park works closely with Hoseasons and is pretty much full all-year-round. Despite the challenges of doing business over the last couple of years that have affected all industries, Steve is quietly confident that The Beeston Group’s ethos continues to stand them in good stead for the future.

“There’s no doubt that the conflict and cost of living rise have had a knock-on effect,” says Steve. “Customers are definitely being more cautious with their spending but that gives us even more incentive to renovate and refurbish our Parks so that our product is the absolute best that it can be. We already offer great quality and excellent value to our guests and holiday homeowners. Continuing on that path, we hope to share many more years of success together.”