Oakdown Holiday Park · Sidmouth · East Devon
Local Knowledge – September
Walking festival, food festival, classic cars then a harvest fair — all in one fortnight.
September changes this corner of England. The summer crowds disperse, the sea is often warmer than it was in July, then East Devon and West Dorset go back to being themselves.
Four festivals land inside a fortnight this month. Here is what is on, with the practical detail you actually need.
On this page
Why Local KnowledgeDogs stay freeWalking FestivalTaste East DevonClassic Car ShowSidbury FairGetting aboutYour September base
Why we write this
Discover East Devon through our Local Knowledge
The best holidays happen when you experience a place the way a local does rather than the way a guidebook describes it. That is why we write these monthly notes — insider detail, quiet corners and the local connections that make the difference.
Our family has run this park across two generations, spending that time working out the good places, the right timings and the people worth knowing. The fisherman in Beer who knows when the mackerel are running. The path that leads to the best sunrise view on the Jurassic Coast. That is the sort of thing you will find here.
At the park
A free holiday for your four-legged family
Your dog deserves a proper holiday too. Thanks to our friends at Pawsbox, three families won the chance to spoil their companions with premium dog goodies while enjoying a break themselves. Dogs stayed free with any booking of our dog-friendly lodges or glamping.
This competition closed on 1 October 2025. It is kept here as part of the September archive. Ring reception on 01297 680 387 to ask what is running now.
East Devon
Sidmouth & East Devon Walking Festival
Guided walks across the East Devon countryside and coastline, graded for every ability. Gentle rambles through ancient woodland at one end, brisk clifftop routes along the Jurassic Coast at the other. Each one opens up a corner of this UNESCO World Heritage landscape you would not find alone.
Come back to the park afterwards and our family bathrooms have deep baths — exactly what well-exercised legs want at the end of a long day.
Our pick — the Tuesday morning coastal walk from Beer to Branscombe. Fewer people on the path, then early light on those red cliffs giving you the best photograph you will take all week.
13–19 September 2025 · Sidmouth and across East Devon — the holiday lodges book out during this week, though glamping and touring pitches usually have room.
East Devon
Taste East Devon Festival
Nine days of wine tastings, fermentation workshops, tasting menus and food fairs, showing off the local producers who have made this part of Devon a destination for anyone serious about food.
Bay Beyond Borders at the Donkey Sanctuary is worth singling out — a supper that pairs one of the county’s best-loved attractions with genuinely good cooking. Heartwarming animal encounters at one end of the evening, a proper meal at the other.
Our pick — call at Ebb Tides early in the day, when the owner has time to talk. You will get Sidmouth’s maritime history alongside a remarkable range of locally made cosmetics and seaweed-based products.
13–21 September 2025 · venues across East Devon — most sessions need booking ahead through the organiser.
Sidmouth
Sidmouth Classic Car Show
Sidmouth’s Regency seafront makes a fine backdrop for a display of classic cars and motorcycles. The Cricket Pavilion stays open all day with local ales and decent coffee, with live entertainment through the afternoon.
The Liberty Sisters, a 1940s harmony trio, bring the wartime melodies. Whether you know your Rileys from your Rovers or you simply fancy a good day out, this one has an easy charm to it.
Worth knowing — the sea in September is often warmer than it is at midsummer. Bring your swimming things and combine the car show with a swim off Sidmouth beach.
20 September 2025 · Sidmouth seafront — 3 miles, about 10 minutes by car, or take the Route 899 bus from outside the park.
East Devon
Sidbury Fair and harvest celebration
A village fair that marks the autumn harvest in the way English villages have always marked it — local crafts, traditional games and seasonal produce, with the whole community turning out. Activities run through the rest of the week as well as on the fair day itself.
It gives families a taste of rural Devon that has changed remarkably little across the generations, which is rather the point of it.
13 September 2025, with activities all week · Sidbury — 4 miles, about 10 minutes by car.
Leave the car behind
Getting about without driving
The Route 899 stops outside the park and runs between Newton Poppleford and Seaton. If you remember the old Hopper Bus, this one goes further, then adds dogs to the welcome. It is free with a bus pass, which a good many guests do not realise until we tell them.
It also saves you taking a motorhome or a caravan down narrow Devon lanes, which is reason enough on its own.
Sidmouth
Regency seafront and a long shingle beach.
The Donkey Sanctuary
Free entry, open all day, loved by families the world over.
Branscombe
A thatched village strung along its valley to the sea.
Beer
Fishing boats hauled up a shingle cove beneath white cliffs.
Seaton
Victorian seaside charm and the tramway along the Axe estuary.
Free with a bus pass
Dogs travel too. Wave the driver down as it approaches.
Two generations, one family
Make Oakdown your September base
Our family-run park sits between the East Devon coastline and the countryside behind it, which puts every one of these events within comfortable reach. Ninety-seven touring pitches, five pet-friendly lodges and heated glamping.
★ Family bathrooms
Deep baths, which is what you want after a day on the coast path.
★ Dog-friendly
Dogs welcome in the lodges and glamping, with a dog-wash for muddy paws.
★ Bus at the gate
Route 899 stops right outside, so the car can stay put.
★ Well placed
Every September event above is within half an hour.
★ Quiet setting
Away from the summer crowds, still close to everything.
★ Oak Mead
Our café and nine-hole golf course, just over the road.
Want to see what’s on in other months? Our full Local Knowledge guide covers the whole year near Oakdown.
September suits us here
Event details change, so do check the organiser’s own listing before you travel. Better still, call in at reception and we will tell you what is on that week.