luxury holiday homes

MSP CELEBRATES SCOTTISH TOURISM AT BERWICKSHIRE HOLIDAY PARK

Posted on May 14, 2025

MSP RACHAEL HAMILTON flew the flag for Scotland’s tourism industry (on 24 March) when she visited a popular Borders holiday park.

MSP Rachael Hamilton championed Scotland’s tourism industry on 24 March with a visit to Cockburnspath Holiday Park in Berwickshire during Scottish Tourism Month. Situated between Berwick-upon-Tweed and Dunbar, the park boasts a scenic backdrop of the Lammermuir Hills.

Ms Hamilton was welcomed by park manager Zoe Dixon and business owner Frank Maguire, who guided her on a tour of the extensive grounds. Cockburnspath Holiday Park is part of the Meridian Parks group, founded in 2009 by Mr Maguire’s father.

The MSP learned about the park’s tranquil setting, which offers families the opportunity to own a holiday home while preserving local wildlife and flora. Ms Hamilton also viewed luxury holiday homes, available from under £20,000.

Mr Maguire highlighted the park’s role in sustaining local businesses without impacting housing stock or property prices. “Tourism is vital to the Borders economy, and it’s fantastic to see how this park supports local jobs,” said Ms Hamilton. More information is available on the Cockburnspath Holiday Park website.

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

SOUTH WEST TOURING SUCCESS

Posted on May 17, 2024

DISPLAYING RECENT AWARDS at the Wareham Park (from left) park managers Adam and Nicky Wake, plus family members Sarah Birch, Tony Birch, Chrissy Bracey and Ben Bracey.

The South West’s top destination for campers and the owners of motorhomes and touring caravans has been officially named as Wareham Forest Tourist Park near Poole. The family-owned business was awarded the top gold accolade against fierce competition in the Camping and Caravanning Park category of this year’s South West Tourism Excellence Awards.

Judges announced their decision at the glittering awards ceremony at the Great Hall of the University of Exeter, attended by finalists and sponsors from the tourism and hospitality industry across SW England. Lynmouth Holiday Retreat near Exmoor beat hundreds of other parks to take the silver accolade in the Camping and Caravanning Park category of the South West Tourism Excellence Awards.

The family-owned business is one of four award-winning holiday parks in Devon, Somerset and Cornwall owned by the family’s 35-year-old business, Coast & Country Parks. The group’s parks provide not just pitches for tents, touring caravan and motorhomes but also luxury holiday homes to own and to rent.

Ian James said everyone was delighted that Lynmouth Holiday Retreat had been singled out by judges as one of the South West’s top destinations for people seeking a perfect rural escape: “What makes us especially proud is that the South West Tourism Award judges looked not just at the quality of our facilities, but also at the high standards of hospitality we provide.

“Delivering this is largely in the hands of our park team, and they deserve a big share of the credit for their crucial role in creating a warm, welcoming and friendly atmosphere,” said Ian.

THE PET POUND

Posted on May 17, 2024

Longstanding Hoseasons partner Hemsby Beach Holiday Park has always been pet-friendly, but owners Richardsons Leisure Limited started to understand the real value of investing in the pet pound in 2018. It was at that point that Chief Executive, Greg Munford, took the conscious decision to increase the number of pet-friendly units at the park from 24 to 44.

Since then and boosted by significant increase in pet ownership during Covid, Hemsby Beach has steadily increased its pet-friendly offering, so that today a total of 116, or 31%, of the park’s 391 luxury holiday homes and lodges welcome guests’ four-legged friends. But it’s not just the number of pet-friendly units that have increased - the quality of those units has markedly improved too, so much so that they are now some of the best the park has to offer, with nearly half featuring a hot tub.

GIVING PEOPLE the chance to be with their pets on holiday obviously comes with a financial benefit.

BOOKINGS UPLIFT
It’s not a surprising strategy when you consider recent Hoseasons stats showing that owners who take a pet see an average 46% uplift in booking volume vs locations that don’t accept a pet. But Greg says gone are the days when pet-friendly meant sectioning off a few shabby chalets on one corner of the park and expecting people to embrace the experience.

“Our purpose is to create an environment where customers can holiday with family and friends and create memories that last a lifetime. For an increasing number of people that means having their pets with them, and that shouldn’t mean having to compromise on the quality of their holiday experience – quite the opposite in fact, which is why we’ve made the changes and investments we have and why we take our approach to looking after pets and their owners so seriously.”

One example of this is the £10k Richardsons Leisure recently spent on decking gates for its pet-friendly lodges and luxury holiday homes – something that was requested by pet owners keen to maximise security for their pets and in turn enhance their own holiday experience. The park also provides dog-friendly areas in its restaurant and entertainment venues and shares information with guests about the best dog walks in the area, as well as a list of useful contacts including local vets, pet shops and other services.

RICHARDSONS LEISURE recently spent £10k on decking gates for its pet-friendly lodges.

PAYING DIVIDENDS
It’s an approach that is clearly paying dividends in terms of bookings, with Hoseasons data showing that the park saw a 24% increase in pet bookings last year compared to the year before, and a massive 106% increase compared to 2 0 1 9. Greg says being pet-friendly also leads to wider benefits for the park beyond the bottom line.

“Giving people the chance to be with their pets on holiday obviously comes with a financial benefit, but it also really adds to the happy, relaxed atmosphere on park too.” Hemsby Beach Holiday Park is part of Hoseasons’ Go Active Breaks+ Collection and sits just 350 yards from the golden sands and rolling dunes of Hemsby Beach. Greg says the national market insight he gets from his long partnership with the brand has been invaluable in making investment choices.

“Obviously Hoseasons provide us a good number of bookings, but the true added value comes from their sector expertise and commercial acumen, both of which make all the difference when considering large-scale investment in specific accommodation types and the right accommodation mix,” says Greg. “The scale they operate at means their data is second to none when it comes to spotting trends and advising owners accordingly.”

GREG MUNFORD, TOOK the conscious decision to increase the number of pet-friendly units at the park from 24 to 44

FIVE OUT OF FIVE FOR WATERSIDE

Posted on October 27, 2022

FIVE OUT OF FIVE FOR WATERSIDE

WATERSIDE HOLIDAY GROUP scored top marks in a Which? holiday stay survey

 

Waterside Holiday Group has come up trumps in a survey of the UK’s best value holiday parks by consumer champion Which? The company, which operates holiday parks in Dorset and Cornwall, scored 87 per cent in a survey of more than 2,200 stays.

Waterside Holiday Group scored five out of five stars in every category, including quality of accommodation, facilities, and value for money. Visitors highlighted their appreciation for the company’s choices of luxury caravans, as well as accommodation features including widescreen televisions and private hot tubs.

Dave Bennett, CEO of Waterside Holiday Group commented: “We are thrilled to have received such an incredible score as part of a renowned nationwide survey, which reflects genuine visitor reviews. “We have invested heavily in all our holiday parks to ensure we offer a five-star holiday experience to our guests, with exceptional quality accommodation, facilities, and customer service.

I would like to thank everyone at Waterside Holiday Group for their hard work in helping us continually achieve excellence across our parks.” Waterside Holiday Group has made multiple enhancements to its parks over the past two years, including introducing a range of luxury holiday homes with hot tubs and updated dining areas across sites.

The company has also continued committing to sustainability improvements across its parks, including the creation of natural habitat areas using native plants and species, introduction of beehives and installation of solar panels.