Devon rugby festival guide: Woolacombe, Ilfracombe and the Easter weekend

Devon opens the Revel season. It is the festival with the beach in it, and the one that families ask for by name a year later. If the Somerset weekend is the classic, Devon is the holiday.

The weekend

Revel Rugby Devon 2027 runs on 3–4 April 2027, in the Easter holidays, with the stay from Friday 2 to Monday 5 April. Age groups run from Under 7 to Under 16, and girls-only categories at Under 12, Under 14 and Under 16 run as standard. Festival page.

The rugby follows the Revel format: a group stage on Saturday, staggered so squads play either the morning or the afternoon, then a Sunday built from Saturday's results with the Revel Cup, Challenge Cup and Shield in the competitive age groups. Minis play non-competitive festival rugby with a medal for every player. Finals end on the stage with the music up.

What makes Devon different is what happens in the other half of each day. Boots off, wetsuits on: the afternoons are for the surf, the pool and the park. By Monday the minis go home with medals, the juniors with finals fought out, and everyone with a sunburnt nose.

The parks

Sands Holiday Park — the Woolacombe one

The closest park to Woolacombe Beach, with its own footpath through National Trust countryside that gets you to the sand in 15–20 minutes without paying to park. Caravans and lodges sleeping six to eight. The Clubhouse runs family entertainment every evening (music, cabaret, bingo, game shows, quizzes) and the bar and dining area has a sun terrace looking over Woolacombe. Check-in 4pm, check-out 10am. This is the park most clubs picture when they picture Devon. Park page.

North Devon Resort — the Ilfracombe one

Set at the highest point in Ilfracombe on thirteen rural acres, a few minutes from the harbour, with a view over the coast and the town. A renovated restaurant and bar with local produce and local beers and ciders, an on-site shop, evening entertainment, a sports hall with badminton and table tennis, a soft-play area for the smallest siblings and an arcade for the older ones. Units from two to eight. Check-in 4pm, check-out 10am. A little quieter than Sands and better for clubs with a lot of very young families. Park page.

Families choose between them when they book through the club's Clubhouse link, from live availability. Most clubs settle mostly into one park, and the organiser can steer that in the group chat.

The area

• Woolacombe. Three miles of sand with surf schools on the front. Surf lessons can be priced into the package for the squad.
• Croyde and Saunton. Ten minutes south; Croyde for the surf, Saunton for the long walk.
• Ilfracombe. The harbour, the Damien Hirst statue and the fish and chips.
• Exmoor. Twenty minutes east if a family wants a day that is not sand.

Getting there

North Devon is the end of the road, which is part of the point. From the M5 at Tiverton (junction 27) it is about an hour on the A361 to Woolacombe. Bristol is two hours, Cardiff two and a half, Birmingham three, London four. Plan for a Friday afternoon arrival; teams do not play until Saturday. Coach travel can be added to the package, and for a squad coming from the Midlands or the South East it is usually worth it.

Easter, and why the dates matter

Easter Sunday 2027 is 28 March, so the festival sits in the second week of most schools' Easter break. Check your own holiday dates before you announce; independent schools in particular differ.

Booking it

Price it with the instant quote or send us the club, the age groups and rough numbers for a quote within one working day. Then one Clubhouse link goes to the families, each one books its own caravan or lodge and pays Revel directly, with a deposit now and the balance in instalments before the tour. The Woolacombe park fills first.