Spring arrives quietly on the South Devon coast. The light shifts. The footpaths dry out. The sea - grey and serious all winter - begins to show its colour again. And here at Leonards Cove, perched on the clifftops near Dartmouth, we find ourselves looking forward to the season as much as our guests do.
This spring, there's more to look forward to than usual. Easter brings the first long family weekend of the year in early April, and we have something genuinely new launching at the park that we're delighted to finally share.
Here's what's coming - and why this might be the spring you finally make the trip.
Treat Someone You Love To Sea Views
A clifftop stay on the South Devon coast, we'd gently suggest, is considerably more memorable than flowers and a booked table for a special occasion.
If the person you're celebrating loves the sea, values their own space, and deserves something they'll genuinely remember, a break at Leonards Cove is worth some serious consideration. Our sea-view lodges and hot tub accommodation are designed with exactly this kind of occasion in mind - private, beautiful, and unhurried in all the right ways.
Picture it: uninterrupted sea views from morning until night, a hot tub on a private clifftop deck, a kitchen stocked with whatever you want to eat, and the kind of quiet that reminds you why you needed to get away. No fixed menus, no strangers at the next table, no need to be anywhere at any particular time.
Why a Stay Works Better Than a Day Out
A short break - even just two nights - gives something a restaurant can't… time.
Time to walk the coast path… to sit with a coffee and watch the light change on the water. Time to listen to the waves crashing on the shore, to talk without interruption and without anywhere to go… unless you want to.
Our self-catering lodges accommodate couples and families alike, and our premium sea-view options in particular tend to book early for special occasions. If you have a specific lodge or hot tub escape in mind, early booking is the surest way to secure it.
Easter: The South Devon Coast at Its Spring Best
Easter is, in our view, one of the finest times of year to be on the South Devon coast. The days are meaningfully longer. The lanes are still quiet. The beaches - Blackpool Sands especially - are at their most beautiful without the summer crowds that arrive later in the season.
Easter 2026 falls across the first weekend of April: Good Friday 3 April, Easter Sunday 5 April, Easter Monday 6 April.
For families, the Easter school holiday is the first proper holiday stretch of the year - long enough to actually go somewhere and settle in… but short enough that everyone still appreciates it. For couples, it offers that increasingly rare thing: a long weekend that genuinely feels long.
Leonards Cove sits in an ideal position for an Easter base in South Devon. The South West Coast Path runs close by. Dartmouth is a short drive. The park itself offers comfortable, well-equipped self-catering, which means you can plan the days as you want without any of the friction that managed accommodation can bring.
The Best Easter Break In South Devon
A few suggestions from guests who know this stretch of coast well:
Blackpool Sands on a bright April morning is as good as it gets - sheltered, exceptionally clean, and backed by dark tree-clad cliffs that feel almost Mediterranean. Take a picnic. Stay longer than you planned. You won’t regret it!
Dartmouth deserves at least a half-day. The estuary, the castle, the Butterwalk, the independent shops and genuinely good restaurants along the quay. Children like it. Adults love it. It earns its great reputation without much effort.
The coast path towards Dartmouth offers some of the finest clifftop walking in the South West. Even a gentle two-hour stretch resets something in you that a week of everyday life has wound too tight.
Slapton Sands and Slapton Ley, a National Nature Reserve a short drive south, offer a wilder, more open kind of beauty, with a long shingle beach, a freshwater lagoon, and birdlife worth watching.
Totnes, fifteen minutes inland, is full of character. Good coffee, good food, independent shops, a Norman castle, and the particular energy of a town that does things its own way.
Easter availability, and other special holiday times at Leonards Cove are always in demand, particularly for sea-view lodges with private hot tubs and larger self-catering for families, such as the refurbished farmhouse, wooden lodge cabins and glamping yurt. If the Easter long weekend or the wider school holiday fortnight is on your mind, booking ahead gives you the best choice and the peace of mind that the view you came for is waiting for you.
Something New This Spring: Glamping Yurt Launches at Leonards Cove
This is the news we've been most looking forward to sharing.
This spring, Leonards Cove is launching its first glamping yurt, a new way to experience our clifftop setting that brings you closer to nature and the coast without asking you to give up a single comfort.
For those who've searched for glamping near the beach in the UK and found the results either underwhelming or overpriced, this is worth a look. The yurt has been designed with care and positioned to make the most of the Devon light, the sea air, and the particular charm of this stretch of southern coastline.
The Best Glamping Yurt Luxury
Good glamping isn't a compromise between being outdoors and having a decent night's sleep. It's the best of both, and that's what we've spent time building here. We’ve designed everything so it’s just right, giving you both the experience and comfort.
Waking to birdsong and the sound of the sea. Stepping outside to a clifftop view that earns a pause. Coming back in the evening to warmth, comfort, and genuine rest. That combination of closeness to nature without sacrificing quality is what our yurt is designed for.
Together with our summer bell tents, they work beautifully for couples looking for something a little different. For families who want to make memories with their children by giving them a holiday they'll actually remember. For anyone who has been curious about glamping near the beach but wasn't quite sure it would deliver on the promise. With abundant sea views across the site, we're confident this will give you Instagrammable moments to share and make your holiday truly special.
Our yurt sits within the wider Leonards Cove setting, which means you have access to everything the park offers… the clifftop position, the sea views, and the proximity to the coast path, the beaches, and Dartmouth beyond.
Early interest has already been strong. If you'd like to be among the first to book - or simply want to know more about our glamping stays and availability, get in touch and we'll make sure you hear first.
Spring at Leonards Cove: What to Expect
Whatever brings you to the park this spring - a special treat, an Easter family break, or the curiosity of trying our new glamping yurt - the setting is the constant.
Leonards Cove sits with the coast rather than simply near it. On the clifftop, open to the horizon, where the light changes across the day and the sound of the sea is never far off. Guests searching for holidays in Devon by the beach that feel genuinely connected to the coastline… rather than just adjacent to it… always find what they were looking for with us, which is why we have so many loyal customers.
The park is quieter in spring than in summer. The air is cleaner. The walks are less crowded. And the view from a clifftop hot tub on a clear April evening, looking out over a pale sea going silver in the last of the light, is one of those experiences that earns its own place in memory.
We look after the details - spotlessly clean spaces, friendly staff, comfortable beds, well-equipped kitchens and reliable hot showers - because we know that a stay only feels truly relaxing when you're not thinking about any of it.
Plan Your Spring Stay
Three good reasons to visit. One clifftop holiday park near Dartmouth. And the kind of spring break on the South Devon coast that has a habit of becoming an annual fixture.
Book your stay at Leonards Cove
Explore our accommodation and find out more about our glamping yurt - Search and Book here