Skirlington Coast Holiday Park, Yorkshire – Review

By Dominic Picksley, August 2025

Is there a better sight first thing in the morning than the sun glimmering on the tranquil sea, blue skies overhead and the white cliffs of Flamborough dazzling in the distance?

That was the view that greeted us when we threw the curtains on the French doors open in our gold caravan at Skirlington Coast on our first-ever visit to the Unity Holidays-owned holiday park on the Yorkshire coast, just north of Hornsea.

A park such as this, with hundreds of caravans all neatly lined up alongside each other and spread across a large area – many privately owned and some just yards from an eroding coastline – with plenty of entertainment on site, would not be our normal destination for a summer break, but we took the plunge for a few days and were pleasantly surprised.

“A blessing”

It helped when we arrived at our St David holiday home (that sounds better than a caravan), perched right in the outer reaches of the park (far from the madding crowd, so to speak) with the aforementioned sea view, which delivered the wow factor when we entered through the main door.

“This looks better than some of the holidays houses we have stayed in over the years,” was my immediate response upon seeing a really classy ‘living room’ and well-equipped kitchen, that looked almost brand new.

The bedrooms were a little snug, but easily adequate for us (a family of four and a dog) and two toilets were definitely a blessing, especially with a couple of teenage children in tow. The ‘dog park’ located next to our ‘pitch’ also came in very handy for our furry friend.

There was a veranda-style balcony equipped with table and chairs where you could sit and listen to the pounding of the waves on to the nearby shore (down below), do some star gazing at night time, or even watch for some of the strange lights that have regularly been spotted over the sea in this area of the country (sadly none were forthcoming, only a rescue helicopter on one particular evening).

“Get physical”

During a holiday such as this one, you can head off up the coastline towards Bridlington, Flamborough Head (to view the seals or go rock pooling), travel further north to Scarborough and Whitby, even trek inland for a day out, or you could stay on site at Skirlington Coast.

There you can go for a swim (hour sessions can be booked each day), get physical in the gym, spend some money in the arcades, have a meal or a tipple at the Wonky Donkey pub and kitchen (very stylish, I must say), play in the park (there’s a couple for children, along with a football/basketball court) or go along to The Pavilion Theatre, where you can play bingo, take part in quizzes, watch some entertainment or even enter a talent show (the latter two in the evenings).

There’s also a small supermarket, a fish and chip shop, cafe, and a fishing lake, all contained within the resort, too, so you can understand why some people barely venture away from the park when you have all this entertainment ‘on tap’.

Views of the seals from Flamborough Head

“Eyes lit up”

Unity Holidays only acquired the resort late last year (when it was called Skirlington Holiday Park) and have already spent a fair amount of money in refurbishing the facilities (the interior of the Wonky Donkey looks mightily impressive) and have plans to transform the swimming pool into a water park (with slides, the staff member in reception excitedly told us) and create two new areas for more holiday homes, greatly increasing capacity.

Unity Holidays also own the old Brean holiday resort (complete with theme park), in Somerset, now called Unity Beach, and are also investing large sums of money there.

My daughter Amelia and I used the pool every morning during our recent stay at Skirlington, but her eyes lit up when she heard about the water park plans. There’s nothing like the added attraction of a slide or two to make things more interesting.

Rock pools

“Lovely beaches”

It was a shame you couldn’t access the beach from the park, but so much of the coastline has been eaten away by the sea, that it’s now not safe – and too high – to venture down from the edge of the park to the shore. Other lovely beaches are a short car drive away, like Fraisthorpe, Hornsea and even Danes Dyke (which was awash with seaweed), just up from Bridlington, so it wasn’t too much of a hindrance.

Skirlington Coast offered us more than a tantalising look into the world of UK coastal holiday parks… and we were not disappointed by what was on offer. It possibly helped that it wasn’t too busy there, but it’s certainly something we might try out again in the future.

Skirlington Coast, three miles north of Hornsea, offers self-catering caravans and lodges from £99, based on four people in their value caravan (bronze, silver, gold and platinum available), with pet and non-pet friendly options.
Touring and camping from £80 for four nights, based on a grass electric pitch for two people.
For more information:
Email – info.skirlington@unityholidays.co.uk
Telephone – 01262 411444
Website – skirlington.unityholidays.co.uk

All holidays include:
– All linen and beds made up on arrival
– Free swimming pool passes for the family
– Evening entertainment in the Pavilion Theatre
– Check-in from 4pm, check-out by 10am

images: Dominic Picksley