Dawlish holiday park celebrates 50th anniversary

Cofton Holidays opened in 1975 as a family-run business

A Devon holiday park has celebrated its 50th anniversary.

Cofton Holidays, near Dawlish, was bought and opened in 1975 by brothers George and Alf Jeffery.

The park said it celebrated with special anniversary events and entertainment, plus a look back at its history and an exclusive gin in collaboration with Exeter Gin.

Helen Scott, whose parents bought the park, said the way it worked had changed, including it being open all year, and offering more than just seasonal employment.

Ms Scott said: "We bought a farmhouse on the park in around 1980 and moved there and I would have been about eight years old."

She added it used to be "quiet" and "relaxing" over the winter and "busy summers".

"Now things have changed completely - we're open all year round.

"I think we recognised after so many years if we kept open all year round we could offer jobs all year round, rather than just summer seasonal jobs."

She added: "Our focus is looking at what we can do as a family business and we can decide what to invest into certain things and improvements that will make it better for our guests to come back year after year.

"Doing everything we can to keep the park sustainable... that's been very important to us for a number of years now.

She also said: "Patterns and the way people book has changed. I think they're booking more short break holidays.. Any sort of economic uncertainty will affect the way in which people book."

She explained that when people came to the park for a holiday and the weather was not good, there would be a mixture of reactions.

She said: "You get the hardened campers that are in a tent in the rain and loving it and walking around in their flip flops and not a care in the world. And you may get one or two that are a little bit down in the mouth when it's a wet holiday.

"I think I always did intend on coming into the family business... and all of us really have gone off and had other jobs and then come and brought those skills into the business, and I think that's been quite important to the business too."