Holiday parks and caravan parks
Those of us of a certain age might think of something like Hi-De-Hi when we hear holiday park or caravan park, complete with ‘shallays’, Redcoats and toe-curling nightly entertainment. Nope. Like camping itself, holiday parks and caravan parks have moved on. You can bring your own caravan, motorhome or tent to a park with five-star facilities, pool complex and kids' clubs, hire a swish caravan on site with central heating and flatscreen TV or glamp it up at a park with a toasty lodge with not a shallay in sight.
So...how to pick your holiday park or caravan park? We've set up Pitchup.com so you have options aplenty to find and book the holiday you want - by location, type of camping or glamping, price, availability, amenities on site, what to do nearby, family-friendly, dog-friendly, wifi included, parks with a restaurant or cafe on site, or near a beach, or where campfires are allowed...
There are over 80 different filters to pick from, so you can design a holiday that'll suit everyone from a fussy three year old to a sulky teenager, wherever you want to go in the country. (We have adults-only parks too. Just in case.)
You can also look for holiday parks and caravan parks by using our activity pages - here's birdwatching, walking and national parks for starters - or you can look for upcoming festivals on the homepage to see what's on and where you can stay nearby.
All our sites have info on type of accommodation, details of any special offers on pitches, and local attractions nearby including walking trails, beaches, National Cycle Network routes, historical highlights and whatever else might tickle your fancy. And local pubs.
Still looking for inspiration? Here are some of our most popular family parks, or take a look below for an overview of our holiday parks and caravan parks from Devon to Dumfries:
- England: Ah, Dorset. And Cornwall, and East Anglia and the North-West...We have thousands of parks in England to pick from, with beaches, walks, villages, gardens, theme parks or museums within reach, or you could stay in one of the national parks around England for some climbing at Exmoor or caving at the Yorkshire Dales. Head south for some of the world’s best beaches and scenery, or (and) north for historical sites like Hadrian’s Wall Country. And we haven't even mentioned the shopping yet, or the parks we have within an hour's drive of major cities...
- For Wales, we have around 800 parks from coast to country to city in a country with wads to do, from bog snorkelling at Llanwrtyd Wells in mid Wales to climbing Mount Snowdon at Snowdonia National Park. If you stay at a holiday park in Cardiff, you’ll have access to international rugby at the Millennium Stadium as well as some of Britain’s best nightlife, or you can go rural and be a castle connoisseur - Wales has 600 of them. There's fishing, golfing, festivals, pods, wigwams, caravans for hire and more, although we do like the sound of the bog snorkelling.
- Scotland has over 500 sites to choose from, including ones near Edinburgh and Glasgow as well as plenty on the Scottish islands and around the Malt Whisky Trail. There's scenery, salmon fishing, birdwatching, coastal walks and what are said to be some of the best golf courses in the world. Try holiday parks in the Orkney Islands and the Shetlands for some of the country’s best walks, and for Scotland’s history and castles, Stirlingshire is a good start, with access to Stirling Castle as well as the sites of historic battlefields Stirling Bridge and Bannockburn.
- In Northern Ireland, the mostly rural scenery means there are heaps of holiday and caravan parks with activities such as golfing, fishing or sailing nearby, and if you’re a cyclist or walker the Ulster Way along the Antrim Coast can be trailed for days or weeks if you want to, stopping off at holiday parks along the way. Ballycastle is very family friendly and has easy access to the seaside towns and golf clubs of Portrush and Portstewart, while Co Fermanagh is the place to go for anglers of all flavours. Find more info on what to do and where to stay in N Ireland here.
- We have over 100 sites in the Republic of Ireland from Doolin to Donegal: tramp around Galway and the west coast for rugged scenery, take the kids to popular holiday spots like Killarney and Co Cork, go and see the UNESCO Heritage Site of Newgrange at Slane in Co Meath or go shopping and sightseeing in Dublin...it's all here. Like Northern Ireland, there's a flock of cheap flights to destinations all over the Republic from most cities in the UK and ferry crossings from Liverpool, Holyhead and more, so if you're touring England, Scotland or Wales it's easy enough to swing west.
So no need to chorus Hi-de-Hi then, with the range of accommodation and facilities on offer in caravan and holiday parks around the country. Unless of course it annoys the kids, in which case we say go ahead.
Page updated October 2012.
