Unity @ Brean

[Robtel]

We are going to Holiday Resort Unity at Brean late September early October for the Country Western theme week (and a bit). Booked on a hardstanding pitch on Brown Field. I've never been to this site before although visited general area a long while ago.

Anyone got any general info about the site and the C & W week?

Thanks
Robert

 

[GeorgeandAde]

Hi Rob.
Never toured at Unity,but we did own a static there for a couple of years.
If your looking for a site with plenty of entertainment then this is for you.
Clubs,bars,shops,childrens playgrounds,swimming pool(in leisure park).
You have the beach just across the road and major supermarkets in Burnham-on-sea about 10 minutes drive away.
The Country and Western scene is certainly a sight to see and very enjoyable watching all the cowboys/cowgirls and indians dressed up.
Adrian

 

[Parksy]

Hi Robert, we've visited Unity lots of times and been there during part of the C&W festival although that wasn't the reason why we went.
The pitches are of a good standard and are of a good size, taps and grey water drains are on every couple of pitches and the brown field has a mixture of seasonal tourers and holiday visitors like yourselves.
The site is signposted with brown tourist signs from the motorway and is next to Brean Leisure Park which forms part of the complex.
The site entrance is on the right along Coast Road (look out for the concrete cow at the entrance

) and there is a pull in area before you reach the entrance barrier so that you can book in at reception which is on your right.
You will be given a bar code ticket for the entrance and exit barrier and a welcome pack with details of facilities, entertainment etc. Be careful not to hit the barrier with the caravan when you go in, somebody always seems to manage to do this.
The brown field is straight ahead past the statics and this field is normally the quietest with spotless heated shower / toilet blocks in common with those on the rest of this large but very well run holiday park.
As far as the C&W festival is concerned the brown field is furthest away from the Tavern next to Brean Leisure Park which can be walked to using the tunnel under the road at the end of the site.
By far the best way to visit the entertainment is to use the free site land train which does regular round trips between the venues and the respective shower blocks on each field with times shown on a blackboard.
If the weather is bad the site use a mini bus (also f.o.c.) but you can have a lot of fun riding back to your camping field on the land train with the cowboys and cowgals who are often dressed up in elaborate costumes with guns and stetsons.
Most seats in the tavern are pre-booked as early as 12 months in advance ( these cowboys are a determined crowd) but sometimes the other less popular part of this venue is opened up with separate C&W entertainment on offer.
To be sure of a seat in the Taven you will need to book ( a cost item) and turn up really early but once you are there the crowd which is exclusively adult are friendly and you should have a good time.
You will not see many children on site during the C&W festival because they should be back at school and they are not allowed into the Tavern anyway.
There are many clubs, pubs and entertainment venues along Coast Road and during the C&W music festival the entire area resembles Dodge City with numerous stalls selling cowboy gear, covered wagons rolling up and down the road and rootin tootin cowboys and their dames wandering around and drinking in the many bars, all of which stage C&W musical entertainment.
There are often red Indians and their squaws around so avoid getting scalped and make sure that you come back with all of your hair.
I'm 100% certain that you will enjoy your stay at Holiday Resort Unity as it calls itself nowadays, it's a great holiday park for tourers, campers and static caravans and if you get tired of riding the range there is golf, bowls, swimming and many other activities that you can take part in.

 

[GeorgeandAde]

Dam......forgot to mention the squaws..ha ha

 

[Parksy]

Dam......forgot to mention the squaws..ha ha

They are the ones that Colonel Custer who parks his t/a caravan near to the Seagull corral where he runs a stall has to watch out for

I forgot to mention, there is a regular bus service to and from Burnham or Weston Super Mud outside the gates of Unity which is handy if you have a free bus pass.
The bus trip to Wells from Burnham via Cheddar to view the famous cathedral and to visit the small market on a Wednesday is very nice.

 

[Robtel]

There are often red Indians and their squaws around so avoid getting scalped and make sure that you come back with all of your hair.

I'm afraid the Indians have missed getting my hair by a good number of years Parksy!!. Wouldn't be worth the effort for what little I've got left.

Thanks to all who have replied, lots of useful info there. Going to go and look out my stetson and six gun now

Robert

 

[Sproket]

So i take it's a family outing

 

[Robtel]

So i take it's a family outing

Like it Sprocket

 

[Parksy]

Have a great time y'all and watch out for them pesky varmints

 

[Gagakev]

Looks like I'm a bit late for this one!!!
Went there back in August, have to totally agree with the rest who have replied (saves me typing it all out again)!!!
We were on hardstanding on yellow feild,and even though it was peak the wardens were working relentlessly to keep every thing in order.
Go for it Rob, only wish i could fit in the Cowboy week, have a great time.

 

[Surfer]

The reports I have heard about Uniyty have not been favourable with caravans being crowed on top of one another. Our friends cut short their stay there and left 3 dasy early. I have no personal experience of the site myself.

 

[Parksy]

The reports I have heard about Unity have not been favourable with caravans being crowed on top of one another. Our friends cut short their stay there and left 3 days early. I have no personal experience of the site myself.

Unity is not a five van certified site Surfer, it is a very large commercially owned and run holiday park which houses a mixture of static caravans, tourers, tents, large coach sized motorhomes so perhaps your friends who left don't enjoy staying on such large commercial sites, not everybody does.
The site has been operating for 50 years and it started with three caravans in a corner of a field of cows. I can say from personal experience that pitch sizes are generous with adequate space between units to ensure fire safety and a degree of privacy but what one has to bear in mind is that Unity is probably one of the most popular touring destinations in the South West and it can seem crowded at times such as the during Country Music festival and in peak holiday periods.
Unity couldn't be compared to sites owned and operated by the clubs, for example, because it's a totally different experience and for those who (quite reasonably) enjoy sitting in or around their caravan on a quiet site with good scenic views a stay at Unity is probably not something that they would particularly enjoy.
The site has recently been awarded four stars by the English Tourism Council who reported that on site standards are very good so they must be doing something right.
I have no connection with Unity in any capacity whatsoever other than as a satisfied customer who would not hesitate to re-visit this holiday park, I've been in November to visit the Somerset Carnivals ( not so crowded then) and during the Unity Gold breaks where adults (over 50) can enjoy discounted ten night stays at Unity.
Read more about Unity here -there are some competitively priced breaks available at the site which i.m.h.o. is better run with larger better laid out pitches than almost any other comparably sized commercial site that I've stayed on.

 

[waffler]

Parksy's philosophy is right. We had a bad experience there two years ago. Summed up by two examples: a neighbour emptying his cassette at the grey water point! A threat of violence in the shop because the the assistant refused to sell cigarettes to a 7 year old and his father was offended!

 

[Surfer]

Our friends went on a bank holiday so I guess bad behaviour and overcrowding is acceptable at that time of the year, however our relations, unknown to us, went there about 3 weeks ago and booked in for 10 days. They normally use Warren farm up the road. They also told us it was the worst holiday they have ever experienced with the neighbours from hell next to them. They also mentioned that in comparison to Warren Farm they felt very crowded in. Maybe it is okay at certain times, but would not be our choice if staying in the area. Hopefully the OP will have a great holiday with no issues and prove me wrong.

 

[Parksy]

Parksy's philosophy is right. We had a bad experience there two years ago. Summed up by two examples: a neighbour emptying his cassette at the grey water point! A threat of violence in the shop because the the assistant refused to sell cigarettes to a 7 year old and his father was offended!

This is not the first time that I've heard of the disgusting practice of visitors to Unity emptying cassette toilets in grey water drains which are on almost every second touring pitch at that site.
As for the threats of violence, Unity employs security staff who are trained to local authority standards and I'd imagine that the person making threats would have been shown off the site if the shop staff reported it.
Both instances were actually caused by people staying at the site and not by the site itself, we never go there (or anywhere similar) in high season and avoid the chav element and low life types who can be found on any large commercial site in the country at peak times.

Our friends went on a bank holiday so I guess bad behaviour and overcrowding is acceptable at that time of the year, however our relations, unknown to us, went there about 3 weeks ago and booked in for 10 days. They normally use Warren farm up the road. They also told us it was the worst holiday they have ever experienced with the neighbours from hell next to them. They also mentioned that in comparison to Warren Farm they felt very crowded in. Maybe it is okay at certain times, but would not be our choice if staying in the area. Hopefully the OP will have a great holiday with no issues and prove me wrong.

We've also stayed at Warren Farm, another good commercial holiday site but a bit further away from the other sites, shops, bars etc in on Coast Road.

Warren Farm is just as crowded as Unity as can be seen by the pictures on their website, there are less things to do for families with children than at Unity but the pitch prices are less expensive so you pay your money and take your choice. Warren Farm is a nice site, well run and friendly but it's still commercially owned and bears zero resemblance to any sites to do with the two main clubs and neither do any of the other commercially owned sites in Brean.
These are not places to visit for a quiet peaceful break with idyllic views!

If your relatives stayed on Unity 3 weeks ago Surfer they must have been there over the August Bank Holiday period which might explain why the site seemed crowded.
Did your relatives complain to the site warden about their neighbours from hell? Unfortunately all commercially owned and operated holiday sites throughout the UK can attract people who have bought a caravan as opposed to caravanners, we steer well clear of such commercial sites no matter where they are during peak times for this reason.

 

[Robtel]

Thanks for all the info on this site. The large commercial holiday resort type of site is not one that we normally choose but we are going primarily because of the Country & Western theme that runs in the area at that particular time. There is a wide selection of bands playing, not only on the site, but in other venues all around. We've been going to Country Western festivals in different areas for many years, but this will be the first time at Brean, and find the vast majority of people who attend these are friendly and well behaved, posing no problems to neighbours etc (always exceptions to every group though). I would imagine that most people who are going at this particular time, (late Sept/early Oct) will be genuine Country fans going specifically for the festival, kids will be (should be) back at school so hopefully things shoud be o.k.
I will report back on my return. Thanks again for the information.
Robert

 

[Parksy]

.................... a neighbour emptying his cassette at the grey water point! ............................

As a result of Waffler's information I contacted Holiday Resort Unity earlier this week via email to let them know about the emptying of a toilet cassette at a grey water point.
Marketing and Administration manager Claire Wall replied that she has spoken to site wardens about this bad practice and they report that this is a very rare occurrence.
Unity management are now looking at signage options and the possibility of adding a further disposal point on the Yellow touring field.
Claire thanked me for bringing this matter to their attention and added that as a family owned and operated resort a good guest experience is top priority and any reported incidents will result in firm action.
Claire went on to say that Unity will continue to improve the service that they offer.
I have no connection to this site other than as a normal paying regular customer but I can vouch for the fact that Unity is one of the best run commercial sites that we've visited and I knew that when I contacted them about this matter my comments as a one of their customers would be taken seriously.

 

[Gagakev]

.................... a neighbour emptying his cassette at the grey water point! ............................

Marketing and Administration manager Claire Wall replied that she has spoken to site wardens about this bad practice and they report that this is a very rare occurrence.

Mmmmm.................... makes you wonder now, what with this post and this one !!!!!

 

[Robtel]

Returned safely from Unity without encountering any tomahawk wielding indians so thought I would post my impressions of the site.
Plenty of parking space at the entrance before the security barrier to park and check in at Reception which only took a couple of minutes. Entry and exit from the site is controlled by a bar coded ticket. Drove up through the site to the Brown Field and was met there by an exceptionally friendly and helpful warden, he took time to explain the lay out of the site, where all the facilities were and gave us the choice of the available pitches. He even stopped by our pitch on his golf buggy about 15 minutes later just to check everything was o.k.
The pitch was hard standing with its own hook up, water and waste point. £177 for 10 nights including use of the site entertainment facilities.
Toilet and shower block was kept spotlessly clean for the duration of our stay. No kids or dogs with us but I did notice a large enclosed childrens play area and signage indicating a dog walk area. Each touring field has its own team of wardens who seemed to be on duty from 8am till 10pm. There was a security patrol driving around through the night. The site is a mixture of static vans, seasonal touring pitches, some tents for hire and touring pitches, a very large site - I would estimate about 1500 statics and other pitches in total.
The entire site is flat and level, the touring fields look a bit featureless - not a lot of trees or shrubs breaking them up. To me this had the effect of making them look even busier than they were especially when viewing them from a distance. For example although where we were was relatively empty the field adjacent was pretty busy, when viewed from our pitch it looked as though the vans were really cramped together yet when you walked through that field they were no closer than on most other sites.
No problems with noise or such but then I wasn't expecting there to be at that time of year.
The site describes itself as a "Holiday Resort" and I think that accurately describes what they are trying to provide. If you have kids and are looking for an all singing and dancing site near the beach then this is worth considering. If you are looking for a quieter more relaxed time then perhaps not, or at least not in high season. Certainly not a site I would choose personally in August but no doubt it suits a lot of people.