private gardens

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

FAMILY PARK TAKES TOP HONOURS

Posted on February 15, 2023

FAMILY PARK TAKES TOP HONOURS

GARETH ROWLAND and his daughter Kelly, centre, plus members of the park team receive their top park award

The family owners of Holivans, a holiday park near Mablethorpe, in Lincolnshire, are celebrating after being crowned as the county’s leading provider of park holidays happily coinciding with their 70th anniversary celebrations. The long-established business scooped the top gold accolade at the Destination Lincolnshire Tourism Awards in the Camping, Glamping and Holiday Park of the Year 2022 category.

Today it provides more than 172 pitches including luxury lodges with private gardens and hot tubs, holiday caravans to rent and own, glamping units, and pitches for touring caravans, motorhomes. Facilities include indoor and outdoor activities for youngsters, plus the park’s popular Tow Bar where families can relax over drinks and enjoy evening entertainment.

“We are immensely proud to have achieved this gold award from Lincolnshire Tourism, not least because we were up against so many other superb parks in the region,” said managing director Gareth Rowland “It is especially important to us as judges were looking not just at the quality of what is provided, but also the standards of service and hospitality on offer to guests. “Delivering this is in the hands of our friendly and hard-working staff team who always go the extra mile for customers, so they must also take a big share of the credit.”

SIMPLY THE BEST

Posted on April 27, 2022

SIMPLY THE BEST

Willow Park is the perfect place to relax and enjoy retirement…

WILLOW PARK IN BURNHOUSE, North Ayrshire is a select development of 26 homes

Willow Park in Burnhouse, North Ayrshire proves the point that you don’t have to be big to be beautiful, writes Jane Herbert. This select residential development of just 26 park homes spread over 3 acres of picturesque Scottish countryside was purchased ten years ago by Mr and Mrs James. The couple, originally from Yorkshire, have family connections in the industry but were keen to forge their own path.

At the time, Willow Park was newly developed but only had four residents. Mr and Mrs James spotted the potential and duly invested in their first park. Willow Park Manager and ten-year park resident, Cathy Gillingham, picks up the story. “Right from the beginning, the James’ had the philosophy that if something is worth doing, then it’s worth doing well,” says Cathy.

HAPPY PLACE

“When they started the business, they said they wanted to build the best residential park in Scotland. And really, I think they’ve achieved that. “Willow Park is full now and has completely thrived in the time they have owned it. But more importantly, everyone on the park is happy. It’s a lovely, friendly community that we’ve built and the residents – and the owners – really look out for each other.” Willow Park’s location is perfect for the over 50s age group. Situated within the rolling Ayrshire countryside, the site offers glorious 360 open views of the scenic Burnhouse Hills.

The development lies within the tiny village of Burnhouse, just one mile from the larger traditional Scottish village of Dunlop. The park’s enviable location means that residents have the very best of both worlds – peaceful country living, combined with easy access to all the attractions of the sea and nearby cities. “It’s so quiet and rural here, it’s easy to think that you could be in the middle of anywhere,” laughs Cathy, “but the funny thing about Willow Park is that it’s twenty minutes – literally – from everywhere!”

“The park is 20 minutes from the scenic west coast and its beautiful beaches and tourist spots like Prestwick and Troon. Dunlop, which is just a couple of minutes away, has a train station and it takes twenty minutes to travel into Glasgow Central Station. We’re also twenty minutes from Glasgow Prestwick Airport for anyone wanting to travel further afield.” It’s easy to see why Willow Park’s location makes it a truly popular choice for retirees and those who want a better work / life balance as they get closer to retirement.

The James’ also pride themselves on keeping an immaculate park. Residents are responsible for the upkeep of their own private gardens, but communal areas are really well kept by their contracted gardener, and Mrs James, herself, ensures that there are plenty of flower borders and hanging baskets to brighten up the grounds. “All the homes are nicely spaced out,” says Cathy. “No-one overlooks each other, and every home has a private parking space and there’s lots of communal parking too. Each resident is given a remote-control key fob to operate the secure electric entry gates to the park.”

EACH HOME ON WILLOW PARK benefits from a private parking space, as well as communal parking.

ALL BUDGETS

With most plots ranging from 40-50 feet in size, there are some magnificent luxury homes on Willow Park including an Omar Middleton and Manor Park White House that are both currently for sale. The owners are keen, however, that there are homes for all budgets on the park and work with a variety of manufacturers according to customer’s wishes, and also what stock is available to order at the time.

Owing to the park’s popularity, the James’ sought to expand Willow Park into an adjoining field that they own. With residential planning permission still sometimes difficult to acquire, the couple have chosen instead to focus their investment on an adjacent development of an additional 20 homes that will be for holiday use. This is sure to be a big boon for the area, which is as attractive to tourists, as it is for residential home owners. “We’re really excited about the holiday development,” says Cathy.

“The new park – as yet un-named – is also going to be for the 50+ market which means it will perfectly complement Willow Park. The residents have all been involved in the decision-making process about the facilities that will be chosen for the new holiday park. Top of the list at the moment is a bespoke coffee shop and gym space that owners from both parks will be able to access. The plan is to have chairs and tables around a feature duck pond, which will be a lovely place to meet and chat, as well as make some new friends.”

SECOND LOCATION

Work on the holiday park next to Willow Park is due to start this year, and it will hopefully open in 2023. The James’ are also developing their second, smaller residential park which is located in Yorkshire. Manor Park, Flockton, which is equidistant between Wakefield and Huddersfield, was acquired two years ago and has 20 homes on site. Owing to the timing at the start of lockdown, the couple haven’t yet been able to start any refurbishment work on the park, but the plan is to replace the older homes with newer models as they become available.

“It takes time to build a community like Willow Park,” says Cathy. “But it’s such a positive place to live. Residential parks are brilliant for my age group. Our park is a really safe and friendly environment. No issues, no crime. “Everyone who lives here, loves it. Willow Park really is the perfect place to relax and enjoy your retirement in Scotland.”