Ruda Holiday Park, Croyde

We stayed at Ruda Holiday Park in Croyde, North Devon, using our campervan on the Croyde Burrows touring area across the road from the main holiday park. It turned out to be one of those places that surprised us — we expected to enjoy the break, but we ended up really loving Croyde.
The location is the big attraction. You have Croyde Bay, the village and some beautiful North Devon countryside close by, while Ruda itself has the facilities you would expect from a large family holiday park. We particularly enjoyed being able to leave the campervan behind and explore Croyde on foot.
Our stay included everything from thick sea mist on arrival to breakfasts at the park, lunch at The Thatch, evenings in Croyde and a walk towards Baggy Point. By the end of the trip, Croyde had become somewhere we’d genuinely like to return to.

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Quick Summary

Location	Croyde, North Devon
Park Operator	John Fowler Holidays
Accommodation	Caravans, lodges, touring & camping – we stayed at Croyde Burrows in our campervan
Swimming Pool	Yes
Entertainment	Yes
Restaurant / Bar	Yes
Takeaway / Chip Shop	Yes – food outlets and takeaway options
Shop On Site	Yes
Good for Families	Yes – beach, pool and plenty to do nearby
Good for Older Visitors	Generally good, although some walks around Croyde and towards Baggy Point can be more challenging
Dog Friendly	Yes
Beach Nearby	Yes – Croyde Bay
Nearest Town	Croyde
Bus Access	Bus stop outside park
WiFi	Not tested as we used mobile data
Our Rating	★★★★★

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Accommodation

We stayed on the Croyde Burrows touring area, across the road from the main Ruda Holiday Park. Our campervan pitch was a good size with electric hook-up, with plenty of room for the van and our large awning.

The toilet and shower block serving our area was the weakest part of the stay. It felt quite dated, and the shower drainage wasn’t great — water from the neighbouring cubicle could actually run through ours.

However, we noticed that the main touring and camping area at Ruda had a much newer toilet and shower block, so hopefully the older facilities at Croyde Burrows will eventually receive similar treatment.

Despite that, we were very happy with the size and position of our pitch, and Croyde Burrows made a good base for exploring Croyde on foot.

Facilities

[Describe swimming pool, entertainment, playground, sports, activities.]Ruda is a large, well-equipped holiday park with pretty much everything you could need for a family stay. There’s an indoor swimming pool, children’s activities and entertainment, play areas, a well-stocked shop and plenty of places to eat and drink.

One of the biggest attractions, though, is the location. The park sits right beside Croyde Bay, so you can walk straight down to the beach. Surfing and bodyboarding are a big part of life here, and the beach access is one of Ruda’s biggest attractions.

There’s also plenty happening around the main entertainment complex, while the quieter Croyde Burrows touring area across the road gives you the best of both worlds: a more traditional camping feel but with the facilities of a large holiday park close by.

Food and Drink

Ruda had a good choice of food and drink, both on the park and immediately outside it. Around the main complex there were several options, including pizza and fried chicken, along with the main bar and entertainment venue.

One of our best-value finds was breakfast on the park. We had a very good full breakfast which was surprisingly inexpensive for a holiday park, and it even included a Costa coffee. We certainly weren’t expecting such good value.

There were also several independent food outlets just outside the park, giving you even more choice without having to drive anywhere.

Croyde village is within walking distance and has pubs, cafés and restaurants of its own. We had an excellent meal at The Thatch — definitely more of a holiday treat than our bargain breakfast, but we thought it was worth it.

One thing we discovered was that food service on the park could finish earlier than we expected, so it’s worth checking serving times rather than assuming you’ll be able to eat later in the evening.

That combination is actually another big plus for Ruda: you’re not captive to holiday-park food. You can use the park, the independent places outside or walk into Croyde.

Things To Do Nearby

[Nearby attractions, beaches, towns, days out.]For us, one of the best things about staying at Ruda was that we didn’t really need to go anywhere else. Croyde itself gave us plenty to do for a few days.

Croyde Bay is also a major surfing destination, and the surf culture is a big part of the atmosphere around the village. There are surf shops and places offering equipment and lessons nearby, while the beach itself is right on Ruda’s doorstep. Even if you don’t surf, it adds to that relaxed, outdoorsy feel that we liked so much about Croyde.

We walked into Croyde village several times, including one evening for a meal. Walking back afterwards by torchlight was great fun and became one of those simple holiday memories we weren’t expecting.

Baggy Point is also close by and well worth the walk. We followed the coastal path towards it and enjoyed some fantastic views across the bay – although some of the cliff-edge sections weren’t quite as popular with Elaine!

For more serious walkers, there are coastal footpaths that continue towards Woolacombe, around four miles away depending on the route. That’s more of a proper walk than an evening stroll, but it gives you another option without taking the car.

There are plenty of other North Devon places within reach, including Ilfracombe and Barnstaple, and Ruda would make a good base for exploring further afield.

The funny thing is that we didn’t want to. We visit lots of places where we’re constantly heading out to find something else to do, but Croyde was different. Between the beach, village, walks and atmosphere, we were quite happy just staying around Croyde.

Getting there and Map

North Devon always seems to us to take longer than expected once you’ve left the M5, but the journey to Croyde is generally straightforward and the roads are easy enough for most of the way.

The final approach through Croyde village can be a little trickier. Some of the roads are narrow and there can be lots of pedestrians walking along them, particularly when the village is busy, so it’s worth taking your time if you’re driving a campervan, motorhome or towing a caravan.

That said, there’s no reason to be overly concerned about the approach. Open-top buses regularly travel through Croyde, and we saw some very large touring units at the holiday park, so bigger vehicles clearly make the journey.

Once we’d arrived, one of the advantages of Ruda was that we barely needed the campervan at all. The beach, Croyde village, food outlets and coastal walks were all accessible on foot, which meant we could set everything up on our pitch and leave it there for the duration of our stay.

Our Thoughts

[Your personal opinion, who it is good for, whether you would return.]Ruda turned out to be one of the surprises of our summer. We expected to enjoy Croyde, but we didn’t expect to like it quite as much as we did.

For us, the biggest attraction was the location. Having Croyde Bay, the village, Baggy Point and the coastal paths all within walking distance meant that once we’d set up the campervan and awning, we barely needed to move it again. We could walk to the beach, go out for a meal, explore the village or head off along the coast straight from the park.

Our pitch at Croyde Burrows was a good size with electric hook-up and suited us really well. The biggest negative was undoubtedly the dated toilet and shower block, particularly the drainage between the shower cubicles. Hopefully those facilities will eventually be brought up to the standard of the much newer block we saw in Ruda’s main touring area.

Food was another pleasant surprise. We had a very good and remarkably inexpensive breakfast, complete with Costa coffee, while the combination of park food, independent outlets outside and places to eat in Croyde meant we were never short of choice.

But what really made the holiday was Croyde itself. There’s a relaxed, slightly surfy atmosphere about the place that we loved. Some of our favourite moments were also the simplest – walking into the village, coming back by torchlight after an evening meal, spending time on the beach and walking towards Baggy Point.

There are plenty of other places to explore in North Devon, including Woolacombe, Ilfracombe and Barnstaple, but unusually for us, we didn’t feel any great urge to leave Croyde and go looking for somewhere else.

Despite the dated touring facilities, we’d still give our overall stay ★★★★★ because we enjoyed the location and experience so much.

Would we return? Absolutely. In fact, Croyde is one of those places where we came home already knowing we’d like to go back.