Holiday Parks Near Burnham-on-Sea

Seven miles of flat golden sand run north from Burnham-on-Sea to Brean, backed by grassy dunes and finished off by the great limestone hump of Brean Down. Halfway along, a little white lighthouse stands on nine wooden legs, and out past it the Bristol Channel slips away so far at low tide that you’ll wonder where the sea has gone.

Most Burnham-on-Sea holiday parks sit in that strip between the resort and the Down, so the real choice is about location: stay by the shops and the Esplanade, or behind the dunes at Berrow and Brean?

Which Burnham-on-Sea holiday parks are closest to the beach?

Everything on our listings is within 20 minutes by car, and every site here welcomes pets. Tap a column heading to sort the table.

Caravan parks Burnham on Sea visitors book first

Lakeside Holiday Park

3 mins by car | sleeps up to 8 | pets welcome

Leave the car at the caravan park all week. Lakeside is a 10 minute level stroll from the High Street and the sands, which suits buggies and older legs alike, and on site there’s an outdoor heated pool, a beer garden, bar food and a takeaway, an adventure playground and a games zone, with bingo and quizzes some evenings. The caravans are mid range 12ft-wide homes with a double and a twin bedroom. Our guide to relaxing holidays at Lakeside has more.

Sandy Glade

8 mins by car | sleeps up to 11 | pets welcome

The biggest site on our listings here, with 51 holiday homes, and the largest accommodation sleeps 11. It’s just yards from the dunes. Facilities include an indoor swimming pool, water activities, a clubhouse with entertainment, a children’s club and the Next Gen Games Den, which is plenty for a family holiday when the wind gets up.

Sandy Meadows

8 mins by car | sleeps up to 8 | hot tubs | pets welcome

Next door to Sandy Glade and much quieter, Sandy Meadows is a lodge site where some of the luxury lodges have their own outdoor hot tub, and you can use the pool and clubhouse at the sister site whenever you want a bit of life. Shared facilities are listed as open from 1 March to 31 October.

Unity Beach

10 mins by car | sleeps up to 8 | hot tubs | pets welcome | fishing

If your kids measure a holiday in waterslides, this is the one. Unity Beach is the big entertainment resort at Brean Sands, with an indoor pool and toddler splash park, outdoor heated pools with slides, a gym, kids’ clubs and RJ’s, an American themed entertainment complex. New for 2025 came the Pavilion Theatre and the Wonkey Donkey bar and kitchen. The sand is a stone’s throw away, and Brean Theme Park is close by.

Rookery Manor Lodges

11 mins by car | sleeps up to 6 | hot tubs | pets welcome

Inland at Edingworth, among trees with long views, Rookery Manor is the calm pick for couples. Each home has an en suite master bedroom, a twin, an electric wood burner and enclosed decking with a hot tub, and beds are made up when you arrive. Need more room? Rookery Manor Cottages on the same estate sleep 8, with two en suite king size double bedrooms.

Riverside Holiday Village

13 mins by car | sleeps up to 8 | pets welcome | fishing

Formerly Purn, Riverside sits in the green belt at Bleadon, between Brean and Weston-super-Mare, with the River Axe flowing right through it. There’s a big clubhouse with a sports bar and beer garden, live shows at weekends and weekly quizzes. Guests rate it 4.7.

Cheddar Woods Resort and Spa

18 mins by car | sleeps up to 8 | hot tubs | pets welcome

On the slopes of the Mendip Hills, this is a spa break rather than a bucket and spade one, with swimming, climbing and football on site, a 5 star spa and private hot tubs in the Premier range.

What about Burnham-on-Sea Holiday Village?

Burnham-on-Sea Holiday Village is the big resort beside the River Brue, a few minutes from the seafront. Its own listings mention:

• two lakes for fishing and pedalos
• an indoor pool with a flume, plus an outdoor pool
• crazy golf and a climbing wall
• a completely flat 90 acre site

Burnham-on-Sea Holiday Village isn’t on our listings, though, and it’s dog free.

Burnham-on-Sea or Brean: where should you stay?

They share the same sands, but they feel very different. Burnham-on-Sea is a proper little seaside resort, with a promenade, a High Street, a pier and St Andrew’s church, whose 78ft tower leans because of poor foundations. Holiday parks in Brean Sands are strung along one coast road instead, with the dunes on one side, the theme park in the middle and Brean Down at the end. Families chasing pools and shows usually do best there.

Which park suits your break?

• Young children: Unity Beach for the splash park, or Sandy Glade for its children’s club.
• A stroll to the shops: Lakeside.
• Couples: Rookery Manor or Sandy Meadows, both quiet with hot tubs.
• Dog owners: the three sites at Berrow and Brean are closest to the dog friendly sands. See every dog friendly park.
• Hot tub breaks: Sandy Meadows, Unity Beach, Rookery Manor and Cheddar Woods. See every park with hot tubs.
• Big groups: Sandy Glade, with a home for up to 11.

The lighthouse on legs and Britain’s shortest pier

The Low Lighthouse

Head south along the sands from the Esplanade and there it is, a square white tower with a red stripe, perched on nine wooden legs on the foreshore. Joseph Nelson built it for Trinity House, and it was first lit on 1 December 1832. Children were already calling it the lighthouse on legs by 1859! It still flashes white every 7.5 seconds.

The pier

Built between 1911 and 1914, Burnham-on-Sea’s concrete pier is often called the shortest pier in Britain, though pier experts say it’s really a pavilion on legs.

Is it safe to walk out to the sea?

Not at low tide, and it’s the one thing every visitor needs to know.

The Bristol Channel has a tidal range of around 11 metres, among the biggest in the world, and at low tide the water can pull back more than a mile and a half, leaving soft, sinking mud between the sand and the sea. Somerset Council’s safety advice says never go out to the water line or into the water at low tide, and at Berrow and Brean you can only reach the sea safely about two hours either side of high tide.

• Check the tide times every day before you head out.
• Stay on firm sand at the top of the shore between mid and low tide.
• Never drive on the mud. The council warns even a 4×4 will get stuck.
• If anyone gets stuck, don’t go in after them. Call 999 and ask for the Coastguard.

Mud rescues are often carried out by BARB Search and Rescue, a volunteer charity founded in 1992 that keeps two hovercraft on call around the clock. Safety wardens patrol the sands from Easter to September, 10am to 6pm.

Where can dogs go on the sand?

Somerset Council’s dog rules split the seafront into zones:

• Between the jetty and the pavilion: no dogs all year, including the Esplanade steps.
• Jetty to the yacht club, and pavilion to Maddocks Slade: no dogs from May to September.
• North of Maddocks Slade to Brean Down: dogs welcome all year, under control or on a lead.

Brean Down, Brean Theme Park and Apex Park

Brean Down

The National Trust headland at the northern end of the sands rises to 97 metres, a long finger of limestone poking into the Bristol Channel. Climb up from the Cove Café and follow the ridge to the Victorian Palmerston Fort at the tip, past the site of a Roman temple, with views across to south Wales. Visit Somerset lists the café car park at £4.50 a day in high season, free for members, closing at 5.30pm. Keep dogs on a short lead near the cliff edges.

Brean Theme Park

Plenty of people still call it Brean Leisure Park. Brean Theme Park calls itself the UK’s largest free entry theme park:

• Entry is free, and you pay for rides with a wristband or a pay as you go Fun Card.
• Rides include roller coasters, a carousel and the Terror Castle ghost train.
• Congo Adventure Golf is 18 holes of crazy golf, paid separately.

Apex Park

Between Burnham-on-Sea and Highbridge, this 42 acre wildlife park was made from old flooded clay pits. Expect a fishing lake, a big play area, a skate park, an outdoor gym and a woodland trail round the water, with free parking. It’s perfect for a dry morning when the tide’s out.

Day trips to Cheddar Gorge and Wells

Cheddar Gorge is about 20 minutes away by car. A day ticket covers:

• Gough’s Cave, home of Cheddar Man
• the Museum of Prehistory
• the climb up Jacob’s Ladder to the lookout tower

Book by midnight the day before for 10% off. Then carry on through the Mendips to Wells, England’s smallest city. You’ll find the cathedral, the moated Bishop’s Palace and a market on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Getting there

• By car: leave the M5 at junction 22 and follow the signs. Burnham-on-Sea is a few minutes from the motorway.
• By train: Highbridge and Burnham station is served by trains between Cardiff and Taunton.
• On the sand: in summer you can park on Berrow and Brean sands (15mph limit) while wardens are on duty.

When’s the best time to visit?

Late spring and early autumn are hard to beat, with sites open, wardens on duty and quiet weekday sands. November brings something special, though: the Somerset Guy Fawkes carnivals, when huge illuminated carts parade through the streets, and in 2026 the Burnham-on-Sea procession is on Monday 9 November.

What to pack for a park holiday here

Sharing a caravan or lodge with another family keeps a short break cheaper.

Burnham-on-Sea and Brean holiday park FAQs

From the lighthouse on legs to the fort on Brean Down, Burnham-on-Sea holiday parks put all that sand on your doorstep. Browse everywhere to stay in Somerset, the wider South West England list or our Dawlish Warren guide down the coast, then book your break and save the first portion of chips for the Esplanade.