Stayed at a Holiday Camp

[computedshorty]

Never been to a Holiday Camp, we thought of giving it a try.

We did not want to go to a very big camp, near a large town.

So in 1960 we decided that Brixham might be the place, a small Holiday Camp outside of the fishing village, at that time there was no internet to see the places we had just to go by pictures in brochures.

We went in my old trusted A35 Austin van, I was wondering how the reception would like it parked in their car park.

We had chosen the Dolphin Holiday Camp, we knew nobody who had stayed there.

No worries there was an assortment of vehicles, and those staying there were just ordinary people.

We were taken aback to be directed to our chalet, that turned out to be just eight foot square, a bunk each side a pull down table and two wicker chairs, very very basic, we were tempted to go home, but we did stay, the club house was very good Entertainment, the food was good and the scenery around was breath taking, we enjoyed that holiday but did not go back again.

Our later Holiday Camps were better.

[GSJ57]

Ahh - Holiday Camps.... stayed at Maddiesons in Littlestone from 65 - 69. Warners in Ryde in 1971 (fondly remembered as the place I had my first kiss). One in Great Yarmouth in the early seventies .... think the name was Elmhurst ?? Also the above mentioned Dolphin in Brixham in 1976. Some great and not so great memories!

[computedshorty]

The camp was up dated. by the time you visited in 1976, then taken over by Pontins.

Dolphin Holiday Village was purchased by Sir Fred Pontin in 1961 along with sister camp St Mary's Bay & the nearby Wall Park. It became one of the original Pontins camps in the area. Based on a clifftop near Berry Head, Brixham in Devon, Dolphin was a lovely family orientated full board holiday place. With 331 chalets, some wooden & others brick built(some constructed uniquely), Dolphin was highly popular with families & adults alike. Offering excellent restaurant food & great entertainment for everyone it was an enjoyable place to visit. It was regarded as one of Pontins's best camps & there was even a yearly reunion club with many families meeting up at the same time each season. Sadly in Feb 1991 the main complex suffered a major fire, which destroyed the reception & ballroom area & badly gutted the restaurant/kitchen area, causing over 2 million pounds worth of damage. Although booking figures were as high as ever Pontins didn't rebuild the site. For years after the fire the camp was left boarded up & the site became derelict. It's believed because many chalets were so old a la Hi De Hi style, it was not feasable to rebuild the site & so Pontins were rumoured to have sold the land in 1995 to Manor Parks. Years passed by & a proposal arose to turn the site into sewage works. This was met with fierce protests from the locals & so the land remained unused. Until 2005 the derelict site was still there(and still owned by Pontins), the front gates were locked up, the complex partially fenced off, & the chalets all smashed in and burnt out. The land all overgrown & the remains of buildings were crumbling. Vandals and time passing destroyed what was left of great memories. As it stands today the former Pontins site has been demolished and houses are being built on it. This group is for people who want to chat and talk about their memories of Dolphin, and share photos and files. We currently have over 650 photos of Dolphin from over the years.

[skibiker46]

Hi Computedshorty

Is there any way I could see your photos?

A former worker from the Do;[hin.

[KidKruger]

I'm not sure if computedshorty still uses the forum, haven't heard from him for a while.

I think his wife was quite poorly and his own health was becoming a challenge.

I think about him often and hope that he's OK, he provided some lovely nostalgia on SE22 and very useful and informative history.

[skibiker46]

Of Course, thank you