goodwins-leisure-parks

The People Who Pull In Without Booking - And Why Cliff Top Keeps Delivering It

Fri, 11 Sep 2026 09:41:05 GMT

Six to ten people every summer weekend. They pull in, they see it, and they ask if there's room.

No booking. No phone call ahead. Just a drive along the coast, a glance over the hedge, and something that makes them slow down and turn in.

Tammy, who works for Simon, has seen it happen so many times it barely surprises her anymore. "We like people to book," she'll tell you. Then she'll pause. "But."

That but says quite a lot.

What People Are Actually Looking For

It's worth thinking about what's happening when someone pulls into a caravan park they've never been to, on a road they were just passing through.

They're not looking for a brochure. They're not comparing facilities. They're not thinking about the entertainment programme or the Wi-Fi. Something else made them stop. The view, maybe. The feeling of the place. The fact that it looked quiet and right and - this sounds simple, but it matters - like somewhere you could just be for a bit.

People talk about wanting a complete chill out. That's the phrase Tammy uses, and it's the right one. Not stimulation. Not activity. Not a packed itinerary. Just space, and quiet, and a bit of sea in front of you.

Cliff Top, near Hornsea on the East Yorkshire coast, is on a clifftop. That sounds obvious, but it isn't a given. The sea isn't somewhere in the distance. It's there. Front pitches face straight out to it. Some of the pitches that used to be front pitches - well. They've gone. The cliff edge isn't decorative. It's real, and the sea is very close, and on a clear morning there's nothing between you and the horizon.

That's what people are seeing when they slow down and turn in.

The Walk-In Isn't an Accident

Here's the thing about a place that gets 6–10 unplanned visitors on a summer weekend. That doesn't happen to bad caravan parks.

It doesn't happen to parks that look tired, or feel unwelcoming, or have a barrier across the entrance and a sign that says strictly no arrivals without a confirmed booking. It happens to parks that look - from the road, in three seconds, before anyone's spoken to anyone - like the answer to whatever the person in the car was looking for.

Cliff Top is a touring park. Electric hook-up. A view. Pitches that vary from right at the front, where you get the full thing, to further back, more sheltered. No bar. No pool. No entertainment. What it has is the coast, the quiet, and the kind of atmosphere that comes from people arriving because they wanted to be there, not because they booked six months ago and couldn't get a refund.

Most of the walk-ins, once they've seen the pitch and been shown around, they stay. Not all of them - sometimes there's no room, and that's that - but most of the ones who ask end up staying.

Whether to Book or Whether to Chance It

Now. If you're reading this and you're thinking about Cliff Top, you're probably doing one of two things. Either you're planning ahead and want to know you've got a pitch when you arrive. Or you're wondering whether it's worth just driving up and hoping.

The honest answer is: book if you can.

Summer weekends fill up. The front pitches especially. If you want the pitch you want, the straightforward way to get it is to ring ahead and sort it out before you set off. It's not complicated. The parks are run by real people, not a booking portal with twelve steps and a credit card surcharge.

But - and here's that word again - if you're nearby, if you're passing, if you had a different plan and it fell through, it's worth pulling in and asking. Especially midweek. Especially if you're happy with wherever they can put you, rather than a specific pitch.

The point isn't that Cliff Top is the kind of place that's always half-empty. It isn't. The point is that it's the kind of place that, if there's room, will find a way to fit you in properly.

The Kind of Place That Sells Itself

Simon and Tammy have stopped being surprised by the walk-ins. But they haven't stopped being pleased by them.

There's something in that, I think. When someone turns up without being marketed to, without being funnelled through a booking funnel, without a loyalty scheme or a special offer or a sponsored post that put Cliff Top in front of them at exactly the right moment - when they just pulled in because it looked right - that tells you something about the place that no amount of copywriting can manufacture.

It looks right because it is right. Peaceful. Stunning, on a good day. The kind of place you come back to, once you've found it. Most people who stay once come back. Not all of them, but most.

That's, I think, the short version of what a walk-in actually is. Not a lucky accident. Just the park doing what it does - for someone who happened to be passing.

Interested in a touring pitch at Cliff Top? Ring us on 07412 840095 ; we're happy to talk through what's available and when.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to book in advance for a touring pitch at Cliff Top?

We'd always recommend booking ahead for summer weekends - pitches fill up, and the front-row sea views go first. That said, if you're nearby and want to chance it, it's worth ringing ahead or just pulling in and asking. Midweek and off peak there's often more flexibility.

What facilities does Cliff Top caravan park have?

Electric hook-up pitches, clean facilities, and a clifftop location with direct sea views and beach access nearby. There's no entertainment programme or bar on site - the view and the quiet are the point. If that's what you're after, it tends to be exactly right.

How do I get to Cliff Top caravan park in East Yorkshire?

Cliff Top is on the East Yorkshire coast near Hornsea. The easiest way to find current directions is via goodwinleisureparks.co.uk or give us a ring on 07412 840095 and we'll point you in the right direction.

Can I arrive without a booking?

Sometimes, yes. Six to ten people do exactly that on a busy summer weekend - they pull in, ask if there's room, and we fit them in if we can. It's not guaranteed, and we can't always promise the pitch you'd ideally want. But if you're passing and you see the place, it's worth asking.

Is Cliff Top suitable for families and couples?

Both, yes. It's a quieter park - there's no kids' entertainment or pool - so it suits people who want to be somewhere peaceful rather than somewhere busy. Families who want space and a sea view, couples who want a break from the usual. If you want Haven-style facilities, we'd say honestly that's not what Clifftop is. If you want the coast and the quiet, it usually delivers.

Written by Simon Goodwin, owner of Goodwin Leisure – six family-run holiday parks across East Yorkshire. Simon's family has been in the business since the mid-1970s, three generations deep. No commission salespeople, no corporate overhead. If you've got a question, you'll likely get Simon on the phone. Find the parks at goodwinleisureparks.co.uk or call 07412 840095 .

You Can Leave the Car at Home

Fri, 04 Sep 2026 09:55:52 GMT

Someone has to drive home. That's the bit that decides the evening before it's started.

You find somewhere decent to eat. The food's good, there's a decent wine list, and for a couple of hours it actually feels like a proper night out. Then the bill comes, and one of you has been on the water since seven o'clock, and the car's three streets away, and you're back.

It's not the end of the world. It's just - it's not quite the break you had in mind.

Ten Minutes on Foot

Springfield is our park just outside Hornsea on the East Yorkshire coast. Atwick Road, right on the edge of town. It's not on the clifftop, it's not the one with the sea views right outside the window. What it has, and what not many caravan parks in this area have, is this: you can walk into town.

Ten minutes, maybe a bit more if you take it slowly. Into Hornsea, the shops, the seafront, somewhere to eat, somewhere for a drink afterwards. Ten minutes back. The car stays where you left it.

Tammy works in reception at Springfield and grew up knowing the park - her mum and dad have been guests on Simon's parks for the best part of thirty years before that. She has a word for the pace of the place. Manana, she says. Nobody does anything before ten o'clock. You wake up when you wake up. You wander when you feel like wandering. And if wandering means walking into Hornsea for lunch and not getting back until mid-afternoon, there's nothing to organise. You just go.

That's, I think, a fairly specific kind of freedom. One that most caravan parks - even good ones - can't really offer, because they're not in the right place for it.

What Hornsea Actually Is

Worth being honest about this. Hornsea isn't Whitby. It isn't Scarborough. There's no harbour with fish and chips queues and coaches parked three deep.

What there is: a proper little market town that happens to be on the sea. Some decent independent shops - not all of them, but enough that a wander takes the best part of an hour without trying. A seafront. Hornsea Mere behind the town - the largest freshwater lake in Yorkshire, and most people who haven't been don't know it's there. A few places for a decent evening meal. The kind of town where a walk around it takes about as long as it should.

It's not a resort. It doesn't try to be. For most of the people who end up at Springfield, that's exactly the point.

A lot of our guests come from West Yorkshire - Leeds, Bradford, all the towns in between. An hour and a half, maybe two. They're not looking for Whitby. They're looking for somewhere that doesn't feel like where they've just come from. Quiet roads. A seafront without a funfair. Somewhere to eat without booking three weeks out. Hornsea is fairly good at all of that.

The Park Itself

Springfield is a mix of static caravans and seasonal touring pitches. The statics are holiday homes, owned outright - no hire fleet, no strangers in your unit while you're not there.

It's well kept. I'm particular about that - not in a corporate way, just in the way you are when something's yours and you care about it. Guests notice. Well looked after is the phrase that tends to come up, and it's the right one. Tidy pitches, clean facilities, the kind of maintenance that gets done before it becomes a problem rather than after.

What it doesn't have: an entertainment programme, a bar on site, a swimming pool, a reception desk with a queue and a laminated welcome pack. It's a caravan park. A good one, in the right place, run by people who answer the phone.

If you're looking for a resort, this isn't it - and I'd say so plainly if you rang. But if you want somewhere to base yourself for a week, walk into town whenever you feel like it, and not once have to think about who's driving - Springfield is set up for that in a way that's fairly hard to find.

The Bit Nobody Mentions

There's a version of a caravan holiday that's supposed to feel like proper time off. Not just a change of location - actual time off, where you sleep when you're tired and eat when you're hungry and nobody needs anything from you.

That version is harder to find than it should be. Too remote and you spend the week staring at the walls. Too busy and you're navigating a theme park with a caravan attached.

Springfield sits somewhere in the middle - and closer to the quiet end than most. The town's there when you want it. The park's quiet when you don't. And the car can stay where it is all week, if that's how it works out.

Not many places can say that. This one can.

Interested in Springfield? Have a look at what's available or give us a ring on 07412 840095. Happy to talk through whether it's the right fit,

Frequently Asked Questions

How far is Springfield caravan park from Hornsea town centre?

About ten minutes on foot, depending on your pace. Close enough that walking in for a meal and walking back is entirely straightforward - no one has to drive, no one has to stay on the water. For a lot of our guests, that's one of the main reasons they come back.

Does Springfield caravan park have facilities on site?

Clean, well-maintained facilities.What it doesn't have is a bar, pool, or entertainment programme - it's a quiet park, and that's deliberate. If you want resort-style amenities, it's probably not the right fit. If you want somewhere well kept, personal, and ten minutes from town, it tends to suit people well.

What is there to do near Hornsea?

More than most people expect. Hornsea Mere - the largest freshwater lake in Yorkshire - is right on the doorstep. The seafront is quiet and walkable. There are independent shops, cafés, and a few decent places to eat. Bridlington and Filey are easy day trips. It's not a busy resort, which for most Springfield guests is the whole point.

Can I buy a static holiday home at Springfield?

Yes - we have static caravans for sale as holiday homes, owned outright. No hire fleet; units are privately owned. Prices and availability change, so the best thing is to ring us on 07412 840095 for what's current.

Simon Goodwin is the owner of Goodwin Leisure - six family-run holiday parks across the Eas t Yorkshire coast and countryside. The business has been in the family for over 65 years, three generations. No commission salespeople, no corporate overhead. If you ring, you'll likely get Simon. Call 07412 840095