Doniford Bay and the Wonders of Watchet. (Haven Holidays in general)

Member Name: fruitcake

Product:	Haven Holidays in general
Date:	10/07/00 (1732 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A good family holiday with something for everyone.

Disadvantages: Difficulty in finding something to eat that's not a burger.

Doniford Bay is a Haven Lively Park, situated a few miles along the coast from Minehead, in Somerset.

On arrival, you are free to make use of the park facilities until caravan and chalet keys can be collected at 4pm. Accommodation is clean, but fairly basic. All pots, pans and utensils are provided, should you wish to spend your break cooking, (there is an on-site launderette for the really domesticated), but if you like to kick-start your day with a cuppa, take your own mugs as the cups supplied are tiny.

Prices around the site are as you’d expect from a place catering for families – extortionate - but I was surprised to find that the small general store could compete with my local supermarket on most items, and I was reliably informed that it carried the best stock of Pokemon Trading cards known to man.

The kids are going to be kept busy by the Tiger Club – for 5-10 year olds, and T-CO, for 10-14 year olds. There is also the Pirates Fun Palace - an indoor soft play park, and a penny arcade. Close to the beach, there is an adventure playground, go-karts, bumper boats, crazy golf and a fantastic all-weather sports facility.

The ‘beach’, and I use this word very loosely, is actually a steep, rocky cliff all the way along the coastline. There are, however, two swimming pools, supervised by qualified lifeguards - an indoor one with small flume, and an outdoor one, heated, with around a dozen sun-loungers on the side.

During our stay in early June we were very lucky with the weather, though this wasn’t much of a priority for me or my husband – while everyone else tried to acquire a golden tan, we were in the bars trying to acquire a beer-belly.

We met some wonderful people in Dixies, with its bowling alley, and big screens showing MTV all day. The atmosphere was very laid back, apart from when the daily quiz was held. Every afternoon at around two o’clock, we’d
huddle protectively round our entry forms, and the cut-throat atmosphere got more and more aggressive as the week wore on. The major drawback to Dixies was the fact that it was adjacent to the pool – beer tastes very strange when you’ve got the strong smell of chlorine up your nose.

Bordering Dixies on the other side was The Harlequin Bar. Like Dixies, it was open all day, but was used mainly on an evening by everyone, when each night it played host to a cabaret that was never less than acceptable, and very often quite good. There were also plenty of chances for holiday-makers to get up on stage and show their star potential, or more usually, completely embarrass themselves. The entertainment was finished each night with a disco, DJ’ed by a guy who definitely seemed to have a Britney Spears fixation. As well as the essential bar, the walls of the Harlequin were lined with booths and kiosks selling souvenirs, ice creams and burgers, all at the usual inflated prices.

The food outlets were the one thing that really let Doniford Bay down. Choice of meals ran from burgers and chips … to burgers and chips, and if eating meat is not your thing – forget it, the campsite shop will be bereft of cheese-and-onion pasties by the fourth day of your holiday. To find proper sustenance, you’ll have to leave the site and head for Watchet, just a five-minute drive away. Walking from Watchet harbour along the main street, we bypassed the first tea-shop on the left, and made for the second one instead, where we found a wide variety of snacks and main meals. We were later told by a Doniford Bay barmaid who lived in Watchet that we had made the right choice, and that we should avoid the local Chinese take-away at all costs too. She also warned us that two of the lads who worked at the camp, and were new to the area, had been mugged in Watchet one evening, so be careful – it’s obviously not called Watchet for nothing!


We did have a great time in Doniford Bay though, the adults and the children. We had such a laugh that we’re going back in September – with a stash of cheese-and-onion pasties – and I’d honestly recommend it to anyone.

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