Holiday parks back in fashion

Jul 5 2009 by Richard Kirkman, Sunday Sun

RICHARD KIRKMAN has a family break with Haven in Lincolnshire

MANY words have been wasted on the decline of Britain’s seaside resorts, but the traffic hasn’t been all one way.

The resorts may have faded, but Britain’s holiday parks have determinedly stood against the tide.

Now, all of a sudden, their time has come.

The recession has caused many a family to knock the planned sun-kissed fortnight in the Costas on the head and look instead at what Blighty has to offer.

The likes of Haven, Butlins and Pontins, plus inland breaks at Center Parcs, have ensured that not only is there plenty of choice for families in Britain, but the resulting competition has improved standards all round.

Our family first stayed at a Haven park in 1997, when we had two young children and another on the way.

We stayed at various Haven parks on and off over the next few years. Now, after a break of a few years, and with another new arrival in tow, we were back again.

Our chosen destination for a weekend break was Thorpe Park, just south of Cleethorpes in north east Lincolnshire.

The journey down showed what remains the great drawback of a holiday in Britain. It lashed down most of the way, thankfully clearing shortly before we arrived.

The weather remained threatening for the whole of our weekend, but only descended into serious rainfall on our final afternoon.

Nevertheless, we were never tempted to try the enormous beach a few dozen yards from the site. In fact, no one was.

Haven parks are showing healthy increases in bookings – seven per cent year-on-year. Thorpe Park is a whopping 20pc up on last year. It deserves to be.

The park is massive, but beautifully maintained. The holiday homes (caravans to you and me) all sit in plenty of space, and a stream snakes peacefully through the site.

Lots of it looks new, and indeed there has been significant investment of more than £250,000 in the pool area and other facilities over the winter.

We stayed in one of the top-of-the-range Prestige holiday homes. There were three good-size bedrooms, a well-appointed kitchen, living area and two bathrooms.

It all seemed much less of a squeeze than I remember from those holidays in the 90s.

The centrepiece of the site was the entertainment complex – bars, a restaurant, arcades, a funfair, crazy golf and the extensive aquatic area.