People can be such terrible snobs about the traditional British holiday park. But they are so wrong.
I love them, whether staying in the most basic self-contained chalet or a penthouse with sweeping sea views.
Butlin’s in Bognor Regis is my favourite, and there’s clearly a reason this brand is still going strong – it is, after all, celebrating its 90th anniversary after being opened by Billy Butlin in Skegness on April 11, 1936.
One reason is its ongoing investment. At Bognor Regis, for example, the pool/water park Splash was opened in 2019 at the staggering cost of £40million. And it’s great, designed in classic art-deco style, with cute slides shaped like sticks of rock.
Then you have PLAYXPERIENCE, which opened at the park two years ago at a cost of £15million. It’s another winner, a two- storey space housing nine state-of-the-art attractions – everything from escape rooms to digital darts, ‘laser tag’, virtual reality games, glow-in-the-dark table tennis and a sports batting cage.
I’m a particular fan of the Butlin’s ‘adult weekenders’, going with friends to let your hair down. And it seems, judging by how busy it gets, I’m not alone.
Britain’s holiday parks, including Butlin’s, which celebrates its 90th birthday this month, offer cut-price stays for millions of families – and you’d be churlish to dismiss them
Bring on the fun: Hayley perches in a giant deckchair during a recent visit to Butlin’s in Bognor Regis
They’re great fun, and some of the coolest names in music can turn up. Legendary DJ Fatboy Slim has been holding a three-day adult weekender at the Butlin’s camp in Minehead – called All Back To Minehead – every November since 2022.
Among those to join him on stage at his annual bash have been Jodie Harsh, Eats Everything and Horse Meat Disco – dance music icons from across the UK. Even Idris Elba took to the decks at Butlin’s in 2022, proving the holiday park isn’t beneath one of the country’s biggest film stars.
Outside these ‘weekenders’, other A-list celebrities seem to be cottoning on, seeking the joys of a great British getaway – and Butlin’s is often top of their list.
Despite having a combined worth of around £200million, Coleen and Wayne Rooney have never been shy about their love of a budget break at the Skegness ‘holiday resort’ – for that is how they are now billed, no longer mere ‘holiday parks’.
The Bognor Regis resort, for example, has had handsome investment in recent years, including in futuristic arcade games. Pictured: Hayley has a go on a shoot-out at the VRCade
When she was on I’m A Celebrity in 2024, Coleen recalled how she’d taken her four sons during a May half term – and that they got to see Diversity perform.
She said her eldest Kai, now 16, ‘loved it’ so much that when he returned to school he told his teacher he’d enjoyed ‘the best holiday I’ve ever been on’.
But it’s not just Butlin’s enjoying a resurgence. With long-haul holidays uncertain, more Britons are now turning to staycations.
Matthew Price, CEO at holiday rentals firm Awaze, says bookings in July for Hoseasons are up 10 per cent, which he puts down to British holidaymakers ‘prioritising escape and calm’ over the stress of lengthy flights.
And Center Parcs is also going strong, with its site in Longford Forest, Ireland, undergoing a €100million (£87million) expansion. This will see 83 new lodges, facility upgrades and a zipline.
Center Parcs Scottish Borders is set to open near Hawick in the summer of 2029. The £450million development will feature up to 700 lodges, a ‘subtropical swimming paradise’, a spa and numerous restaurants.
Elsewhere, Skirlington Coast Holiday Park in Yorkshire is undergoing a £20million makeover, including cabanas and a new splash park. And Lovat Parks has recently become the only UK holiday-park group to achieve ‘Mumsnet Rated’ status.
It just goes to show holiday parks aren’t anything to be sniffed at. Why be a travel snob when there are excellent staycations right on our doorstep?
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