Holiday park for first time?

[MacaroniCheeseCat]

We are looking to book a first family holiday for a few years, and a first U.K. holiday. We have DCs aged 6 and 2, and think a lodge or static caravan would be best so there would be some facilities on site, eg playground - pool would be good but not essential. We’ve used statics through Eurocamp before and I’m from a caravaning background so not expecting luxury but cleanliness is important and if some stuff were provided such as bed linen, that would be good.

We’re in the SE/East of England and not keen to travel more than about 4 hours so looking at Hampshire/Dorset, and Norfolk, but wondering if anyone has any suggestions for anywhere we might not have thought of.

Has anyone stayed at one they’d particularly recommend? Any tips? Would you book through Haven/Hoseasons or similar?

---

We can see this thread is quite old now, but if you’ve landed here looking for recommendations, we’ve recently updated our best UK holiday parks page with lots of great suggestions, as tried and tested by Mumsnet users and editors. We hope you find it useful.
MNHQ

I have stayed at all the haven sites in Weymouth and they are lovely. Weymouth Bay is bigger than the other two but all have pools etc.

Highland’s End in Dorset is amazing for children that age. It’s got a soft play and outdoor play area at the restaurant. There’s a pool with both adult-only and family swim times too.

We've stayed on lots of Haven sites over the years and they've all been really nice.
Caravans are clean and there's usually playgrounds, a pool, evening entertainment and a pub/takeaway or two onsite

Thank you - would welcome any more suggestions!

I cannot believe the prices - am clearly very out of touch but some places want over £2k for a static caravan for a week

We have found that if you can booking a year in advance Is the best way to get good prices

@MacaroniCheeseCat

Thank you - would welcome any more suggestions!

I cannot believe the prices - am clearly very out of touch but some places want over £2k for a static caravan for a week

Yep, these type of holidays are really expensive I've only ever camped there but Kelling Heath in Norfolk is a beautiful place and they have lodges. No idea of the cost though.

Oakdene near Bournemouth is nice especially for a family with young children. Lots to do, playgrounds, mini golf, sandy beaches , splash pool etc

@Sirzy, I think I might be booking two holidays in the next month or so - I meant to do this back in January and didn’t get round to it.

@pookieandgarfield, thanks - I looked at Kelling Heath as we went there when I was a child, but it is another one that costs over £2k in the summer holidays. Will look earlier for next year!

Clearly I’m naive as this is the first year we’ve been able to go away for various reasons since DC1 started school. I know places are popular but I still start gibbering at the idea of paying £2k to stay in a static caravan….

@olympicsrock, thank you - that is a name I’ve seen pop up a few times. Will take a closer look.

2k is crazy for a caravan holiday!
Honestly I'm not sure who pays it but there's no way I'd ever feel like that was decent value for money.

OP if you can be flexible about when you go then you should be able to easily get a week for £300-400. The 6 week holidays will obviously be more and demand will be high at this point in the year as many will be booked up so the prices of the remaining holidays will be ££.
For future reference New year/Jan is always a good time to book and get lower prices.

www.caravansnewforest.co.uk/

We stayed here when DD was about 7 or 8, nice park and the caravan was great. We always rent private caravans on parks as we've found them better stocked and looked after - obviously read the reviews - and often better priced than the parks own vans even when paying extra for a weekly entertainment pass.

The prices have jumped massively in the last two years - demand outstripping supply - but if you dovetail the school holidays, you'll get cheaper eg take your 6 year old out of school the last few days at the end of July, nothing happens then anyway, or if your school has inset days in September that means you can get a week at the end of the holidays (we managed this twice, saved about 30%). I would not pay £2k for a week in a static.

I've also used this site to find caravans but not all owners update live availability so you have to contact
www.ukcaravans4hire.com/
Use it to get a list of parks in your chosen locations, research those, then look for available vans. A lot of people repeat each year and book as soon as dates are released so you might struggle this year.

Another lovely park was Chesil Vista in Weymouth, had an amazing pool but expensive - this was one of the "off season" bookings we managed to get.

We've done a couple in Cornwall (great) and one in Somerset (not recommended) but these would be a bit far for you.

Thank you so much!

@HamCob, good point - I had every intention of booking in January but life got in the way - lesson learned. We are bound by school holidays - and the last week in August is usually a bit cheaper but we can’t really do that this year for various reasons. There is no way you’d get that sort of price now in school holidays. You can get it under £1k for a week, it seems, if you’re completely flexible in where you go in the U.K. but, as much as I love Northumberland, it’s a long drive with a toddler. So I think we’ll have to suck it up this year. I can get my head round spending £1k in peak school holidays but £2k seems mad!

@WhatsitWiggle, thank you - both those look like exactly the kind of thing we’re looking for.

The isle of wight is very good for little ones and lots of caravan parks to choose from. There are lots if sandy beaches and kid attractions there and it doesn't take all day to get to them.

https://www.thompsonhallretreat.co.uk/

https://www.oldbuckenhamcountrypark.com/

https://www.applewoodholidays.co.uk/

https://www.wildwithnature.co.uk/

https://www.richardsonsholidayparks.co.uk/hemsby-beach-holiday-park/

https://www.directholidayhomes.co.uk/norfolk-suffolk

https://www.ukcaravans4hire.com/norfolk/]]

Have a look here, some of them aren't directly on the coast so a bit cheaper but plenty to do in the local area and you can do days out at the beach.
Or book direct with owners. Also the holiday park at Hembsy is often cheaper than others that are at ' more upmarket ' thought of resorts in Norfolk. Hembsy has a fab beach!
Haven have some nice parks in Norfolk with the one at Caister on Sea being lovely and on the beach but expensive in peak season( just had 3 nights in March there for £69 in a 3 bed caravan).
Good luck!

As a previous poster has said Highlands End in Bridport is great. If the weather is nice the beach is amazing ( although it's pebbles ) and it's not crowded if you walk a bit along towards the left where there's some great rocks for jumping off into the sea.

We camped in our tent but the statics looked very nice.

Woolocombe has lots of holiday parks and the beach is fantastic especially if you plan ahead and book a beach hut for the week. They are surprisingly cheap to hire and it really made our holiday that much more special.

Also this May to e too close to home but Heathland Beach in Kessingland has a small number of statics to rent and they are pristine ( the lady who runs the place is very particular about keeping the place nice )

The park has a lovely outdoor pool too.