Direct Holiday Homes

About the Area

The caravan is based on a level road which leads directly to the beach, where there is a beach bar. Also, on site there is a big show bar next to Reception. Parkdean Resorts hold regular varied entertainment here, and kids club and bingo nights etc etc. A full list of entertainment can be obtained from Reception.

Leisure passes can be obtained from Reception. There is a fee to pay for leisure passes for guests who are staying in a private caravan.

Also on Park there is an indoor swimming pool, jacuzzi, and an arcade, and an outside play area. There is a Nisa convenience store very near to the Park entrance. Most supermarkets also deliver to site (Waitrose, Morrisons, Tesco & Sainsbury etc).

Top tip re use of the indoor swimming pool. During busy school holidays etc, I suggest that you sort your leisure passes out as soon as you can on the day you arrive, if possible, then book your slots for the swimming pool straightway.

See below more info about leisure passes.

The beach at Challaborough Bay is a Blue Flag beach with daily Lifeguard cover in the summer season. There is plenty to do with kayaks, paddle boards, wetsuits etc, available to hire on site, they also run guided tours. Surfing and bodyboarding is also very popular.

Please note however that the Challaborough Bay beach, like so many beaches in the summer season in the UK, May – September, normal restrictions apply. So, during the season, dog lovers will need to please use the very beautiful Burgh Island causeway beach, which is not far away. It is wonderful, and dog friendly all year round, which is pretty unique and great. Dog lovers generally stay to the right on the causeway, non-dog lovers to the left-hand beach. Please avoid the centre of the causeway as much as possible, as large posh vehicles go up and down to Burgh Island to take guests backwards and forwards to the big hotel there.
This means of course that wheelchairs can go on that beach as well, as if the centre of the causeway can hold a car, it can certainly hold a wheelchair. However, the cliff path from the beach bar at Challaborough and the concrete ramp that goes down to the beach are both fairly steep, so electric wheelchairs pretty essential I’d say. We have seen mobility scooters and electric wheelchairs and push chairs on the cliff path and on the concrete ramp to the beach, but if in any doubt at all, please check out council websites for more info and or suggest approach your own disabled organisations that you are in touch with, for extra guidance.

I have managed the walks myself many many times sometimes with sticks after knee and hip operations but depends on individual disabilities and fitness levels of course.

There is a lovely doggy exercise area at one end of the Park not far from our caravan. Just follow the signs for the launderette then go over the little bridge and then turn left, where you will see the signposts to the doggy exercise area.

Entertainment/leisure passes for guests staying in private caravans are available from Parkdean Reception, which gives you access to the swimming pool, Show Bar/lounge, kids club and evening entertainment, etc.

The Waterfront Beach Bar serves food and drink all day and does not require passes. They do a ‘happy hour” drinks session, in the early evening at certain times, ask staff for further details.

The Venues Cafe is beside the main big car park above the Burgh Island causeway beach. It is next to the toilets and the wet suit hire shop. There is a disabled toilet there as well. If you haven’t got your disabled universal toilet key with you, go to the back of the building and shout hello as the council operative is usually in her workshop area there, and she can open the door for you. There is a gift shop next to the car park close to the slope that leads to the beach.

There is plenty to see in the local area if you want to explore

• Burgh Island, with dog friendly beach all year round, is a tidal island which you can see from Challaborough, you can either walk via the coastal path towards Bigbury or drive a short distance via rather narrow roads to the Bigbury sea front car park. Check times of tides online before setting off.
For walking on the coastal path up a hill, it is half a mile walk to the Burgh Island beach from reception, turn left. It is accessible using an electric wheelchair or a mobility scooter, we have seen both used. We have also seen pushchairs being pushed and pulled up the path. Please note though that the coastal path is not suitable for a manual wheelchair. The very beautiful Burgh Island is accessible at low tide via a large beautiful sandy beach, it is a causeway which at high tide is completely covered, leaving you to return via the Sea tractor if you want to. The centre of the beach on the causeway is electric wheelchair and mobility scooter friendly.

Large cars go backwards and forwards a lot, on the centre of the causeway beach to take guests to and from the hotel. Also, delivery vans use it as well to supply the hotel and the Pilchard Inn. The sea tractor is not wheelchair friendly.

The big hotel itself, on Burgh Island is very famous, as Agatha Christie used to write when staying in this beautiful art-deco hotel, and the island was known for its pirates and smugglers. You can walk around the island and there is an old pilchard lookout at the top, and the Pilchard Inn if you fancy a drink, or bar snack. Challaborough nestles on the Southwest coastal path route.

Other nearby places to visit are: -
• South Hams - Dartington, Ivybridge, Kingsbridge, Modbury, Salcombe, Totnes, Dartmouth Wembury
• Teignbridge - Ashburton, Bovey Tracey, Buckfastleigh, Chudleigh, Dawlish, Newton Abbot, Shaldon, Teignmouth.
• Plymouth - Historic Barbican, where the Pilgrim Fathers set sail for the new world. Plymouth Hoe, home to Smeatons Tower. Large selection of restaurants shops and bars. National Marine Aquarium. Dartmoor Zoo

Local Pubs / Restaurants: -
• Waterfront Bar & Restaurant on site
• Journeys End at Ringmore
• Pickwick Inn at St Annes Chapel
• Pilchard Inn on Burgh Island
• The Oyster Shack at Bigbury
• The Village Inn at Kingsbridge
• Church House Inn at Kingsbridge

Local Take Aways
• Bay Takeaway & Pizzeria
• Fryer Tucks (Licensed, with a dine in option).


The "Parking Eye in the Sky" is now working! So as soon as you arrive at the caravan, see inside boiler cupboard door, scan the QR code and enter your car details. Top tip – the little yellow bollards in main car park, these are from the parking system, if you have friends visiting you for the day, and they park in the main car park, please ask them to check all the parking signage, and read very carefully.


Please Note! There are currently no electric car charging points at the Challaborough Bay Holiday Park and there are no plans to install them. Please DO NOT charge your electric car on site.
The maintenance staff have been told to disconnect any leads to cars, that they may see, that are charging up to caravan electricity points.
So, if you have an electric car that will need charging during your holiday you will need to look on local council websites to find the charging points which the council have provided in the various towns in the area.


If you have any questions, please get in touch.

At-a-Glance Tick List