Hoddom Castle Caravan Park: Birkbecks hand over to the Kelly family

Not every park sale in 2026 is a fund deal or an administration rescue. Some are quieter: one family deciding it is time, and another family stepping in. That is the story at Hoddom Castle Caravan Park. Long-term owners the Birkbecks have announced the sale of the popular Dumfries and Galloway holiday site to the Kellys, who also operate Newbridge Country Park at Dumfries.

DN24 (Dumfries and Galloway News) reported the change on 25 September 2026. The park has been part of Hoddom and Kinmount Estate since 1973. Continuity of family stewardship is the theme both sides chose to stress.

What was announced

According to DN24, the Birkbecks this week announced the sale of Hoddom Castle Caravan Park. The buyers are the Kelly family, already known locally for Newbridge Country Park at Dumfries.

Nicky Birkbeck, announcing the change of stewardship, said it was time for a new owner to bring new energy to the park. She thanked generations of customers who had chosen to holiday there, and extended thanks to customers, staff, contractors and the wider community. She said the family was confident the park has a bright future and wished the new owners every success.

Phil Kelly thanked Nicky, George and the entire Birkbeck family for the care and commitment shown to Hoddom Castle over the years. He said that as a family themselves, the Kellys understand what it means to pour so much into something and then place its future in another family's hands. Trust of that kind, he said, means a great deal.

Kelly added that family traditions and values matter to them, as they always have at Hoddom, and that they feel privileged to take on stewardship and continue family ownership. Their aim, as reported, is to look after what makes Hoddom special, build on what people already know and love, and keep it somewhere families can make memories for generations.

Those are the verified public statements. The report does not publish a sale price, a unit count, or a detailed investment programme. What it does confirm is the parties, the 1973 link to the estate, the Kellys' existing Newbridge operation, and a deliberately family-to-family framing.

Why a family-to-family sale stands out

UK holiday-park headlines in recent years have often featured private equity, group consolidation, or sites moving through insolvency. Those deals can bring capital. They can also bring anxiety for pitch holders about fees, sales policies and culture.

A handover between two operating families is a different signal:

• Local operating knowledge stays in the region. The Kellys already run Newbridge Country Park at Dumfries. That is not a distant headquarters discovering Galloway on a map.
• Values language is specific. Both statements lean on stewardship, community thanks and "what makes Hoddom special" rather than yield metrics alone.
• Staff and regulars hear continuity first. Whether every process stays identical is another question. The opening message is succession, not strip-out.

None of that guarantees frozen pitch fees or unchanged rules. New owners always review how a park runs. It does mean the public story is continuity of family ownership since 1973, now passed to another family rather than to a financial sponsor.

What private owners on changing parks usually watch

If you own a static or tour elsewhere (or at Hoddom), ownership change is a moment to read quietly and ask calmly:

1. Who is buying, and what else do they run? An existing regional park family is a different profile from a first-time financial buyer.
2. What has been promised in public? Here: look after what makes the park special, build on existing strengths, keep family memories possible. Hold those lines against later practical changes.
3. What has not been published? Price, timetable for works, fee reviews, and sales-process changes often come later in owner letters, not in the launch article.
4. Keep your paperwork. Licence terms, fee notices and assignment rules still decide more of your position than a warm press quote.
5. Give change a fair reading period. Knee-jerk sale decisions on day one of a family handover are rarely necessary. Knee-jerk assumptions that nothing will ever change are equally unwise.

Hoddom's announcement is, on the facts available, an encouraging mid-market story: long stewardship acknowledged, new energy invited, family ownership continued.

Soft options if ownership change has you reviewing your own van

Park sales can prompt owners to ask whether now is a sensible time to get a valuation, even when they plan to stay. That is a reasonable, low-pressure question.

If you own a static caravan or lodge at Hoddom Castle, Newbridge, or another UK park, and you want a plain conversation about value before you decide anything, Static Caravan Buyer is on freephone 0800 644 5000 or at staticcaravanbuyer.com.

Key takeaways

• The Birkbeck family have sold Hoddom Castle Caravan Park; the site has been part of Hoddom and Kinmount Estate since 1973.
• Buyers are the Kelly family, who also operate Newbridge Country Park at Dumfries.
• Nicky Birkbeck framed the move as time for new energy, with thanks to customers, staff, contractors and the community.
• Phil Kelly stressed family-to-family trust, stewardship and keeping what makes Hoddom special.
• No sale price or detailed works programme was published in the DN24 report; owners should watch for later formal communications on fees and processes.

Static Caravan Buyer Team