A FIVE-STAR CAMPSITE BY GEORGE!
“THIS is fantastic,’’ shouted George as he tore around our holiday home. “It even has a hot tub.”
Having just checked in at our five-star beach lodge at Crealy Meadows Holiday Park in East Devon, my seven-year-old was losing no time in checking it out.
As his mother, Stella, is not much given to the muddy realities of camping on a rainy August Bank Holiday, she was equally delighted with our stylish, spacious and very comfortable base for the weekend.
Carpeted and double-glazed, with an ensuite master bathroom and two twin bedrooms, it can accommodate up to eight.
Glamping is available and visitors with their own tents are welcome. We tried not to feel superior – not to mention warm and dry – at the thought of those struggling with pegs, poles and canvas, as we stashed the wine in the freezer. Turning on the “log” fire and reaching for the TV remote, we collapsed on the sofa.
We’d arrived late but as soon as the weather relented, we were splashing about in the hot tub.
After breakfast we ambled across the spacious campsite to stock up from the small but well supplied shop. Then to Crealy Adventure Park, where more than 60 rides and attractions awaited us, including Vortex rollercoaster, the dinosaur trail and a log flume. Our favourite was the Aqua Blasters pool where we spun in an inflatable boat, squirting giant water pistols at fellow adventurers.
There are plenty of places for hot meals and snacks, plus baby-changing and toilet facilities. After lunch we were charmed by the Victorian merry-goround, before upping the pace around a mini-Grand Prix track in electric F1 cars. Exhausted and happy, we enjoyed dinner in the brand new, fully-licensed, Scandinavian-style Clubhouse.
Super-friendly staff hold a quiz every evening – one of a variety of family events. With more rain next day, the multiple indoor soft play centres proved popular – there’s even a rollercoaster for tots.
And when we asked George (inset with dad) for his verdict, he declared it was “Crealy brilliant!”