The pool at Andrewshayes Holiday Park
As it was raining, it meant our pitch wasn’t ready, so we decided to try out the pool.It’s adults only from 8am to 9am, and from 9am until closing time (8pm or dusk) it’s a free-for-all. There is one changing area, and a shower, and a loo next to the pool. The pool used to be open-air but it’s now covered with a roof which retracts when it’s a sunny day.
As it was raining quite heavily by now, the roof was very useful. The roof enables the pool to be used all year round. There are no lifeguards on duty so no solo swimming is permitted, and children need to be supervised, whether in pool or from the side. There are lots of loungers and tables and chairs for spectators.
The games room and soft play
The pitch
There was a break in the rain and our pitch was ready. The friendly team member showed us to our pitch. It was an all-weather pitch with EHU – a level area on a sloping site. If you have a super-wide tent, then speak to the staff when you book, as you may need to avoid this type of pitch. The pitch was big enough for us to get our new Kalahari Elite 8 on, plus a side porch. Our car went just next to the tent.
The surface was all-weather, which is basically like astroturf. We needed to move some stones from the pitch before we put our new footprint down, and we also needed hard surface tent pegs to pitch out the bottom of the tent. Despite the heavy rain, there were no puddles on the pitch.
However, it did start to rain again pretty much as soon as we got the bottom of the tent pegged out, the heavens opened again. A guy called Dan came to help us get the tent up. The three of us got soaked! Never mind. Isn’t camping fun?
We soon dried out again, and the new tent was up! This was to be our home for the next four nights, and we were looking forward to exploring Andrewshayes Holiday Park, and seeing what East Devon had to offer for families on holiday.
The amenities
Andrewshayes Holiday Park has invested recently in new washing facilities, and it shows. Our nearest amenity block was more than adequate for us – lots of loos, showers, a laundry room, family bathrooms, and pot washing sinks with draining boards and bowls provided.
We never had to queue for the loo or for a shower. There was a free hairdryer in the shower area. A lot of thought seems to have gone into these facilities and we had no reason for complaint. Well done, team!
As well as the much-abused (by us anyway) swimming pool, there is also an outdoor play area, a games field, and a dog walking area. There is also a woodland walk, though we didn’t get time to do this.
The playground was behind the clubhouse, which is handy, and has a range of play equipment such as climbing frames, swings, and a huge seesaw
The clubhouse
The onsite clubhouse is owned and managed by Greg, and is suitably named Greg’s. It is open for lunches and evening meals. There is a programme of evening entertainment, such as vocalists, and quizzes.
We went in on our last night for tea and to join in the Dingbats quiz. The 9-year old loves Dingbats so she really wanted to go. It was curry night, so Dad had a beef something-or-other. One of the twins had a kids meal of sausage and chips, and the rest of us ladies had pizza. I tried the ham and mushroom and I was quite impressed. The prices were pretty reasonable too. Another thumbs up from us!
Some more great news – we won the quiz!
Meal times
Apart from Greg’s and the onsite shop, there are lots of places to eat and buy food in the nearby villages and towns. When camping, we tend to make our own meals, and shop daily for whatever we need while we’re out and about.
There is an ALDI in Honiton about fifteen minutes to the west, and a Tesco in Axminster about fifteen minutes to the east.
We made meals such as hot dogs and burgers with salad, or pasta and salad, and chicken wraps. We have recently bought a Tepanyaki grill and a single-ring induction hob which are working out pretty well for us. Our pitch had reliable EHU and we were able to run what we needed from it.
Why we recommend Andrewshayes Holiday Park
- The site is definitely family friendly. Not just in the way it’s laid out but also in the attitude of the staff and of others on the site.
- It’s quiet. Despite the number of families on the site, the noise was almost non-existent. We were on a pitch in the middle of the site away from the A35, so that helped, but there was little in the way of noisy campers or music blaring out. We slept very well
- It’s in a convenient place. Just off the A35 gives easy access to East Devon and to West Dorset.
- There’s plenty to do. Certainly more than other campsites we’ve stayed. The pool is a fantastic free facility which can be used whatever the weather.
- There are caravans to hire that have hot tubs. Just saying.
Photos of Andrewshayes Holiday Park
Days out from Andrewshayes Holiday Park
There are lots of family-friendly things to do in East Devon and Dorset, all a short distance from Andrewshayes. In fact, we did a few of them while we were there. These included………
You can also look for Devon days out inspiration on http://www.flipflopsorwellies.co.uk/
Disclosure – we were guests of Andrewshayes Holiday Park. All opinion is our own.
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We stayed at Andrewshayes last month and had a lovely time too – our boys loved the pool so much! Looks like you had a great visit, loved following your instagram takeover!
Thanks! Yes we had a very good visit. Glad you enjoyed it too
No problem. It’s been great to see where others have been going too #MondayEscapes
This has made me very excited about our visit to Andrew Hayes in a few weeks. We’re bringing our own caravan – Tin Box. Sadly she doesn;t have her own hot tub. Maybe we can borrow one 🙂 #MondayEscapes
Tin Box NEEEEEEDS a hot tub. Surely it’s easy enough to put one in her, no? 🙂
I followed your take over on instagram and you looked like you had such a great time. The location and facilities look fantastic. My kiddies would love that pool…..#mondayescapes
Thanks! Was great to have some support on Instagram. It was a lovely site and the pool made it even better. Thanks for visiting!