SALOME MUNOE takes a trip to a Holiday Park in Devon

I HAVE  happy memories of Enid Blyton-style holidays with my brother and cousins at my uncle and aunt's caravan on the Norfolk coast; all that fresh air and those empty sandy beaches to explore.

As children, we were blissfully unaware of living in basic conditions.

To us, it was great fun.

Caravans have moved on since then, as I discovered when I took my family to Haven's Devon Cliffs Holiday Park near Exmouth. Our three-bedroom caravan, aptly named Vogue, had a fully-equipped kitchen, two bathrooms and a spacious open-plan lounge-cum-dining room.

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It's no wonder that Devon Cliffs is Haven's flagship park. Set above a sandy bay with direct access to the beach, the views are spectacular and there is no shortage of things to do. Its startling array of facilities include adventure golf, indoor and outdoor pools, tennis, fencing and archery. If you fancy a bit of pampering, it also has a luxury spa.

My two stepsons, Trey, nine, and Justin, five, couldn't wait to try out the pool with its waterslides and mini jet-skis. Seven-year-old Sahara preferred the more sedate turbo paddler, which is like a funky pedalo.

The boys also enjoyed the climbing wall and the mini-football academy. Most activities are around £5 a session.

Sahara loved Annabel Karmel's Creative Kitchen where she was in her element icing and decorating the biscuits and cupcakes she made. It was messy but great fun. She also enjoyed the stories and games at the weekly teddy bears' picnic with camp mascot Bradley Bear. For an extra £5 it included a healthy packed lunch in a cute wicker box.

I was keen to try out the newly-revamped spa. The £25 Spa Experience gave me three hours to enjoy the foot baths, indoor and outdoor spa pools, sauna and monsoon shower. I also treated myself to the Lomi Lomi Hawaiian full body massage, a soothing treatment that made me want to chill out on the loungers on the roof terrace for the rest of the afternoon.
The only downside of Devon Cliffs was that the on-site shop was a bit pricey and limited in choice, which meant we had to venture out to the local supermarket for provisions.

We treated ourselves to a few meals at the park's restaurants, including fish and chips, hand-thrown pizzas at Papa John's (they can also be delivered to your door) and a more posh sit-down meal at Sonny Jim's with its pretty terrace.

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We were never short of things to do in the evenings with talent shows, discos, international circus acts, comedy routines and live bands.

Particularly good fun was a children's version of The X Factor and a pantomime show featuring Bradley Bear and friends.

With so much to do in the park, there was little time to explore the surrounding countryside. We did, however, manage to fit in some scenic walks along the coast and a trip to World Of Country Life, an amusement park next to Devon Cliffs with educational and interactive attractions including a safari deer train, lamb and calf-feeding for the children and vintage cars and bikes for the grown-ups.

It was really refreshing to spend quality time with my family and we had plenty of good old-fashioned fun; just like I did all those years ago.

THE KNOWLEDGE:
Haven Holidays (0871 230 1900/ www.haven.com) offers four nights in a two-bedroom Superior caravan (six sharing) from £99 (offer valid for stays from March 22).

First Great Western (0845 700 0125/ www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk) offers return rail fares from London Paddington to Exmouth from £24 per adult, £12 per child.

Devon Tourism: 01392 332828/ www.visitdevon.co.uk