Situated just five miles from Weston-super-Mare, this 17-acre pre-war holiday camp was purchased by Fred Pontin in 1947, making it the second site in his expanding empire. At the same time, he also acquired the Buckleigh Place Hotel in Westward Ho! The two properties were bought together as part of a package deal for a total of £56,691. The camp was managed for several years by Len Pontin, Fred’s brother.
During the 1950s a new outdoor swimming pool was built along with a boating lake and kids playground. The camp even had its own riding stables. In 1960 the camp was extensively rebuilt with a new entertainment building housing a ballroom, dining room and games room. This new structure was officially opened by Fred Pontin in September of that year with a cocktail party attended by the Mayor and Mayoress of Weston.
Over the next two years 300 brick chalets were built in single-story blocks to replace most of the old wooden chalets. It was a full board camp with all meals included, and these were taken in the communal dining hall. The chalets were ‘hotel style’, basically just a bed and bathroom. The old outdoor pool was later covered with a new building to become an indoor pool
Over the years, Pontins gradually acquired several neighbouring houses along with parcels of land surrounding the camp, eventually amassing around 20 acres of undeveloped ground. A number of proposals were put forward to expand the camp in one form or another, but each was ultimately rejected by the local planning authority.
In 1982 the camp underwent a £250,000 refurbishment which included adding central heating to all the chalets. And in 1988 it switched to being adults only, which resulted in a lot of the old facilities being removed.
Teenage weeks would still be operated out of season and most of these were run in conjunction with the Prince’s Trust. In 1996 Prince Charles spent two hours visiting the camp where he tried his hand at juggling. He also sat behind the drums, accompanied by Jools Holland on the piano, for an impromptu performance of the Bill Withers classic hit ‘Lean on Me’.
In 1999 Sand Bay was considered surplus to requirements and was sold to Hollybush Hotels, trading as Martyn Leisure Breaks. During their ownership the camp was refurbished and gained a good reputation. Sadly they went bankrupt in 2013 and Pontins, now owned by Britannia Hotels, was able to buy the camp back for £3.4 million. Some returning visitors complained that the standards and quality dropped off after Pontins returned to the fold.
The camp is still open today, the last survivor of the once-mighty Pontins empire. From 24 camps, and one million annual visitors, it’s now down to just Sand Bay. Even the Pontins name has been dropped.
The camp hasn’t changed much over the years. Meals are still taken in the same communal dining hall, although nowadays it’s just breakfast and dinner. Guests still stay in the same 1960s chalets. It remains an adults-only camp specialising in the over 50s market. The indoor swimming pool closed in 2017 needing expensive repairs, but it did eventually reopen again in 2025.
To read more about Sir Fred Pontin and the history of Pontins Holiday Camps read our blog post here. We’ve also covered the history of several other Pontin camps which can be seen in our A-Z blog index.
We’d love to hear your stories and memories of Sand Bay. Please feel free to leave a comment below
