Somerset is where Revel runs two of its festivals, three weeks apart, on the flat country between the Mendip Hills and the coast at Burnham-on-Sea. Clubs coming for the first time usually want to know two things: which of the two weekends is for them, and which park to put in the group chat. Both answers below.
The two Somerset weekends
Revel Rugby Cheddar — 24–25 April 2027
Played at the foot of Cheddar Gorge. Age groups Under 7 to Under 15. This is the adventure festival: rugby in the morning, caves, climbing and gorge walks in the afternoon. Stay 23–26 April. Festival page.
Revel Rugby Somerset — 1–2 May 2027 (May Bank Holiday)
The classic and the biggest of the May festivals. Age groups Under 7 to Under 15, plus Girls Under 12, 14 and 16. Stay 30 April–3 May. Rugby runs 10am to 6pm on both days. Festival page.
If your section has never toured, Somerset is the one to start with: the biggest field of clubs, the fullest programme, and a touchline three-deep by Sunday. Cheddar is the one clubs pick once they want the weekend to feel like a proper tour, compact and loud with the gorge on the skyline.
How the rugby runs
Day one is a group stage, three to four matches per team, staggered across age groups so squads play either the morning or afternoon block and have the rest of the day free. Day two is built from day one's results: the Revel Cup for the top teams, the Revel Challenge Cup for the middle group and the Revel Shield for the rest, so every team plays both days against opposition of a similar standard. Minis (Under 11 and below) play non-competitive festival rugby and every player is medalled. After each final the teams come up on stage with the music on and the medals and trophies are presented.
The parks
Four parks serve the Somerset festivals. Each family picks its own accommodation from live availability when it books through the club's Clubhouse link, so a club does not have to agree on one; but most clubs do end up mostly in one place, and it helps to have a steer.
Mendip Campsite (Somerset festival) — the basecamp
Group-friendly lodge accommodation sleeping eight to twelve, hearty meals, and more than 25 activities on site, from floodlit tobogganing and disc golf to climbing, caving, skiing and watersports. The Alpine Lounge café-bar and the social areas make it the park where the whole tour lives together: teams round the firepits, coaches comparing notes, kids running between lodges until someone calls time. Best for clubs who want the squad in one block and the parents somewhere with a view of the Mendips. Park page.
Cheddar Wood Resort (both festivals) — the five-star option
Lodges from one to four bedrooms in the Mendip Hills, with an indoor pool, sauna, bistro and bar, a GoActive programme, pool tables and a two-lane bowling alley. The park with the most to do without leaving it, and the one families pick when the weekend is also the family's holiday. Check-in 4pm, check-out 10am. Park page.
Riverside Holiday Park (both festivals) — Mendips, pool, fishing lake
A family park in the Mendip Hills a few minutes' drive from Weston-super-Mare and Burnham-on-Sea, with an outdoor pool, a convenience shop and a fishing lake. Caravans sleeping four to eight. Quieter than the coast, and walking trails from the gate. Park page.
Lakeside Holiday Park (both festivals) — the value option
In Burnham-on-Sea, with an outdoor pool, a bar and a café. Caravans sleeping six to eight. Comfortable, affordable and a short walk to the town and the beach; the park for clubs where price is the thing that decides whether a family comes. Park page.
Sandy Glade Holiday Park (Cheddar festival) — the beach park
Fifteen minutes from the M5 and a short walk from the long sandy beaches at Berrow and Brean, with a heated pool, an adventure playground, a clubhouse with evening entertainment, a restaurant and a bar. Caravans sleeping four to eight; pets allowed. Park page.
Between the games
- Cheddar Gorge and the caves. The 400-foot gorge is the backdrop to the Cheddar festival and a twenty-minute drive from the Somerset one. Gough's Cave, the cliff-top walk and the cheese shops are all a half-day.
- The beach. Brean and Berrow are seven miles of sand and dunes; Burnham-on-Sea has the pier and the fish and chips. Weston-super-Mare is twenty minutes north.
- Wookey Hole and Wells. The caves at Wookey and England's smallest city are both under half an hour away.
- On the park. Honestly, most families never leave. The pools are heated and the showbars start early.
Getting there
All four parks sit within about twenty minutes of the M5 (junctions 21 and 22). From Bristol it is 40 minutes; from Cardiff an hour and a quarter over the bridge; from London two and a half hours; from Birmingham two. Clubs coming from further away usually arrive on the Friday afternoon. Coach travel can be added to any package.
Booking it
Get a per-person price first (the instant quote prices a festival, park and party size), then share the Clubhouse link with your families. Each one picks its park and lodge from live availability, pays a deposit and settles the rest in instalments before the tour. Somerset is the festival clubs rebook before they have left the car park, so the May Bank Holiday parks go first.
Price it for your club
Tell us the festival you are looking at, your age groups and roughly how many are travelling. We come back within one working day with dates, availability and a per-person price — or use the instant quote to price a festival, park and party size right now.
Phone lines are open Monday to Friday, 9am–5pm, and WhatsApp is always on. Contact the team.