Skipsea Sands is a holiday park run by Park Resorts, situated on the East Yorkshire coast ten miles south of Bridlington. There are mainly static caravans on site but there is also room for tourers and tents. This article is based on a weekend stay in June 2010.
Caravans - There are three grades of caravan; gold, silver and bronze. These vary in price and have different levels of furniture, fixtures and fittings, for example; gold caravans contain a flatscreen tv with dvd player and freeview, whereas silver and bronze just have a colour tv. Older model bronze caravans are the only ones that allow pets. Fully accessible caravans are available in all three grades, but electric wheelchairs are considered unsuitable due to size and weight. Travel cots and highchairs can be hired.
Inside a silver caravan and the living area is light and quite well designed. There are a few large mirrors around which help make it seem more light and spacious than it actually is. There is a small tv in the living room area and a rounded off triangular table set into one of the two seating areas. The kitchen has a gas cooker and microwave oven. The fridge is tiny. A door to the right leads to two bedrooms: one twin with very narrow beds; the other a small double including a small double wardrobe. There's a reasonable amount of cupboard space given the room available. In the bathroom are toilet, sink and good sized cabinet, shower and two doors which makes for a lot of door clashing in this area.
Although not immaculate, it's clean and well maintained. Gas and electricity use is included in the price of the holiday.
Site Layout - There are five areas to the park: South Field, which has 185 caravans; North Field, with 386 caravans; West field, with over 200; Farm Field with 70 and Touring, with 90 pitches. There's a dog walking area around the touring pitches.
There are two children's play areas, but the quality of equipment available for young children is disappointing. One consists mainly of an assault style course which is great for older children but not for little ones, and two swings for older children. In the other play area where there are meant to be two toddler swings one has a broken safety bar and one has gone. There's a climbing frame and slide but again, a bit big for toddlers, certainly nothing for very young children in the play areas.
Next to one of the play areas is a duck pond with lots of birds around.
At the entrance behind the reception is the Entertainment Complex which houses eating and drinking areas, amusements, swimming pool, bowling alley and sports activities.
Opposite reception is the caravan sales shop and behind here is a shop, a launderette an amusements arcade which includes a pool table and soft play area. Behind this area on what used to be the way to the beach, there is a club and a chip shop. The fish and chips from here are reasonably priced and tasty.
Entertainment - There are various 'Kid's Club' activities for children of different ages. For under 5's there is Sparkle's Corner every morning in the show bar. It's quite basic, a member of staff and a box of toys seems to be about it. After Sparkle's corner, there is Sparky's Crew for 5 to 11's and later on activities for teenagers. Sparky and Sparkle are rabbits and staff dress up and do meet n' greets at lunchtimes. There is something going on all day long for children of different ages. A few examples from the leaflet; Quiz time with the Krew, Festival of Football, table tennis, Sparky Crew Disco, Chocolate Party. There are no childminding activities, the welcome pack states that all children under 8 must be accompanied by an adult at all times.
There are three bars; the show bar which was where most of the children's entertainment takes place, the Pavillion and Sports bar. There are various visiting cabaret acts, karaoke, disco's, family shows, competitions etc going on. There is bingo in the early evening and the night ends with a disco. Through the Sports bar is a restaurant area which serves traditional pub grub.
The Pool - There is an indoor swimming pool. It's quite big although not very deep, 1.5 meters at the deep end. It's rectangular but with a shallow step in area to the side where there is also a fountain and a small jacuzzi area. Between 12 and 1 each day there is a 'happy hour' when floats and inflatables are given out.
In this area there is also a sauna and steam room and there is a seating area for family members who want to look on. Upstairs there are sunbeds and a gym.
There is a water sports programme which includes activities such as raft building, snorkelling, water walkers and hover craft races. As well as priced activities such as these there are classes such as aqua baby, aqua ball, and water polo included in the swimming cost. There's a booking system for all of these activities.
Other Facilities - There is a sports hall and a bowling alley. There are lots of sporting activities available, at a price. Wi-Fi access is available for a fee.
What's Around - The main attraction in this area is the coast. Cliffs run along the coastline which has suffered extensive erosion in the last few years with part of the road between Skipsea and neighbouring Ulrome having fallen into the sea. There used to be direct access to the beach from the park, but it has been blocked off and warning signs placed there. To get to the beach you need to walk out of the site and down the road for ten minutes, past some cliff edge buildings and caravan parks/campsites to find access.
Some parts of the cliff have been shored up with ugly concrete blocks and along the beach towards Hornsea the sea has pulled some of these defences down. At one point a road leads up to and overhangs the edge of the cliff. There are some houses right on the cliff edges which are dangerously close to dropping off the edge, but brave people still inhabit them.
There's a slightly dilapidated feel to the area; beach rubble, an abandoned amusements arcade, graffiti.
The beach itself is quite a narrow strip of sand and pebbles, the cliffs are boulder clay so full of pretty rocks and fossils. The clay makes the sea seem quite muddy, so paddling is preferable to bathing. There are still some wartime defences visible - a 'pill box' sits on the cliff top overlooking the beach.
Apart from a trip to the beach you really need a car to visit attractions in the surrounding area. The village of Skipsea is a couple of miles down the road and home to some castle remains. The seaside resort of Hornsea is about six miles south and Bridlington is 15 minutes drive North. Cruckley Animal Farm is about 15 minutes away by car. Hull is about 40 minutes away.
Prices - Prices are variable according to type of accommodation and time of year, special offers pop up all the time. To give a rough idea, three night breaks in July are currently available from £159.00 GBP, (around $250), and 7 night Summer breaks have been reduced from £564.00 GBP, ($880), to £459.00 GBP, ($718.00).
Conclusion - It's a pleasant enough place to stay, although there are drawbacks. Good weather makes it much better. The beach is interesting, certainly dramatic, but not ideal for bathing. Although there are a lot of cheap or free activities for children there are a lot of small extra charges that pop up here and there. For more details visit the website at http://www.park-resorts.com/holiday-parks/yorkshire/ skipsea-sands/