Ben Bentley and family try a Haven holiday at Devon Park

I’ve decided. Crazy golf should be taken very seriously. I realise this the moment the mother-in-law discovers some rare form with a club and pulls out two eagles and a birdie.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” she says. I do – she’s just found her mojo.

And so on winning form begins our family four-night break at Haven’s Devon Cliffs Holiday Park, near Exmouth, which just so happens to be the very place where, as a kid 30-odd years ago, our family came on holiday, holing up several years on the trot in a trio of caravans containing various members of our extended family.

I have so many good memories of this place, but is it ever a good idea to return to the holiday destination that meant so much to you as a child?

Being the sentimental type, I’ve tried it before and it often disappoints – sometimes even tarnishing the original memory.

By the end of day one, however, my only regret is that I hadn’t come back sooner – not least in order to have kept my hand in at crazy golf.

I had nothing to worry about. Our party of five – my wife and I, our two daughters, aged six and two, plus my mother-in-law — enjoyed the most fantastic holiday, not least because Haven provides a plethora of children’s entertainment, allowing the adults to sit back and, ahem, do very little.

A Great British seaside holiday is nothing without a day on the beach and Devon Cliffs at Sandy Bay is a Blue Flag Beach, directly accessible from the site and ideal for families, swimming and watersports with a lifeguard during the summer months.

Devon Cliffs

We build sandcastles that look like gherkins and take a paddle in the sea – all of the simple things I used to do here as a kid and which now my own children love doing. Rockpools are also great for the kids, and my prowess with a net quickly returns.

Of course, if action is what your family is looking for, there is a packed programme of organised activities on site, from creative workshops to full-blown shows packed with razzle-dazzle production.

Our two children enjoy the range of daytime clubs on offer. While our eldest is making a telescope and designing a fridge magnet, my wife teaches our younger daughter to dance.

Later there is a Haven’s Got Talent competition in which the kids perform Tarzan shouts and attract sympathetic applause from the audience.

And free entrance to the pool means we happily have prune-like “swimming skin”­ for the duration of our stay.

There’s adventure for kids of all ages here. Our six-year-old defies gravity on the bungee trampoline (the mother-in-law declined the offer) and groups of adults look on with envy as she walks on water inside a huge inflatable ball. My plea for a go falls on deaf ears.

But if you want a quiet time there’s plenty of scope for that too. And although it’s a large site, it never feels crowded. One of our most enjoyable nights was a cliff-top walk counting the incredible number of bunny rabbits.

Being in a self-catering caravan makes the holiday a casual affair and meal times easy, but there is plenty of choice of good food on offer at the on-site restaurants, all of which are family friendly.

We twice dine out at the Mash and Barrel restaurant, enjoying well-priced food and drink on the patio area with a wonderful view overlooking the sea.

At one point a film crew descends and begins filming for its latest video commercial. Focusing on a family at the next table, who presumably constitute the ideal Haven family, I see immediately where Devon Cliffs sees itself – an ideal place where families can come, relax in superb surroundings and enjoy a holiday to remember.

Our caravan, from Haven’s Prestige range, was a home from home. If you haven’t been in a caravan for a while, you’ll be amazed at how luxurious they can be.

Last time I came here (years before it was a Haven site) our caravan had gas lights, no TV or electricity and it was a trip to the loo block in the middle of the night if you were caught short.

Here however, all mod cons included a shower, two toilets, microwave, TV and DVD player. A proper home from home.

So it’s no wonder that many people decide to buy their own caravan after a holiday here. I saw dozens of holidaymakers inquire about ownership, one of them being myself.

It’s a hugely popular option – about two out of three of the caravans at Devon Cliffs are privately owned, and there are all sorts of extra activities and an exclusive lounge available at Devon Cliffs for owners.

I am told that Haven parks at Hafan y Mor and Presthaven Sands in Wales are especially popular with buyers from Shropshire.

Biggest

As well as doing family holidays, Haven is one of the biggest providers of holiday homes in the UK. Many families and couples buy the luxury, static caravans as a holiday home “bolthole by the sea” which they can go to whenever they want to.

Prices of the holiday homes start from around £15,000 and go up to more than £90,000 for top of the range models. Owners also have exclusive use of a number of facilities — for instance at Devon Cliffs there is a lounge for use of the holiday home owners and they even have their own pool, with access to the park’s other five pools too.

Devon Cliffs itself is an ideal base from which to explore local attractions in Devon. We enjoy a day out at the National Trust A La Ronde roundhouse and a trip down to the spectacular Miniature Village at Babbacombe, near Torquay, where my tiny two-year-old towers over a scale model railway and says: “Mummy, I’m great big now.”

For old time’s sake I visit the very spot on the park where we used to holiday. The actual caravan is no longer there, of course — instead there is a far grander model with its own deck – but standing there on the cliff top brought back so many wonderful memories. Not to mention a few I’d prefer to forget – my 1970s flares for a start.

So is it a good idea to re-visit dream family holidays? Judging by this fabulous break, I can’t recommend it highly enough.

And with all the activities and facilities for children, I only wish I was a kid again.

Fact file

• Devon Cliffs has recently been awarded five-star status by the English Tourist Board and has “Gold” status in the David Bellamy Conservation Award scheme.
• The park offers a choice of accommodation from the luxurious top-of-the-range “Platinum” holiday homes to the more economical “Superior” range.  All offer two/three bedrooms, lounge with TV, well-equipped kitchen/dining area, shower and loo. The price includes unlimited gas and electricity, use of the park facilities and entertainment.
• Prices start at £385 for a three-night weekend break on August Bank Holiday in “Standard” accommodation.  A four-night break starts at £275, based on September 6. A seven-night break starts from £428, based on September 3. Check the website for other special offers.
• Touring caravans and tents are also welcome at Devon Cliffs with basic pitches from £16 per night.
• For more information visit www.haven.com or call 0871 230 1900.