British Holidays

I wonder how many people remember as I do the Great British Holiday? I've put it in capitals because at one time travel abroad was limited to the middle classes and above. There was such a tradition about the British seaside many years before I was born when all classes of people stayed in guesthouses or hotels leading to the wonderful Victorian architecture that some seaside resorts still boast today. I was born in 1952 and still remember when some resorts had their traditional pier for the ladies and gentlemen to stroll along but alas these are now crumbling as more and more people take their holidays abroad.
I had my very first holiday when I was ten years old at a little place called Newton just a few miles from Porthcawl. In those days it had a big sprawling campsite called Trecco bay where the miners spent their two weeks annual holiday. Nowadays it's been updated and is a very popular site for people from the Midlands to visit.

The caravans themselves were tiny, cramped and lit by Calor gas with the site amenities being Spartan to say the least. Still, there was a certain charm about those holidays that remained in my mind long after I started to take holidays abroad.
So about twelve or so years ago when the Daily newspapers started to offer cheap caravan holidays in Britain my friend Ann and me decided to try one out. Our first trip was to North Wales where we stayed at a Pontin's site. We enjoyed the five-day break but the chalets had hardly been updated since the sixties so for our next years holiday we tried for an off peak holiday in Cumbria called Lakeland, a British Holidays site. It was my first caravan holiday for about ten years and I was amazed at the difference in the quality of the site itself and the caravan.

Lakeland is situated near Grange-over-sands in an ideal position to tour the Lake District. We had booked a ten-day stay in September for about £120 for the accommodation booking our leisure passes in advance, which made a saving of £2 per person on a £5 pass. For this we had unlimited access to the clubs, the swimming pool and some of the outdoor activities that were still open. The park was clean and well laid out with plenty of space to park the car next to the caravan. Ann was then partially disabled so the flat surfaces were ideal for her. The town itself was charming and we spent our first full day there just getting used to the place and recovering from our long journey (we both live in South Wales).

Our trips took us to Lake Windermere where we spent part of the day looking around the town and towards evening we went on a cruise around the lake watching the sunset cast it's magic over the lake and dapple it with a warm red glow.
Arriving back at the caravan it was a bit cold so we put the fire on and decided on a take-away meal for that night. One thing that did surprise us was that our modest 4 star caravan had been upgraded to the Gold Olympic, as it was easier for the staff to keep one section fully booked up than to open up different caravans here and there on the site. Our luxury caravan had two double beds and a bunk room, all the linen including warm duvets were supplied free of charge. We had a full stove and a microwave, a shower with a toilet and a separate toilet. Our colour TV, hairdryer socket, lighted make-up mirrors and full sized wardrobes were like home from home, we even had some knick-knacks scattered around and a drawer full of leaflets to plan our trips. They had even left a few magazines for us to read.

The weather stayed fine so we went out on a dinghy on one of the lakes, had a picnic lunch by the lake and then bought some incredible food in Kendal for a special treat. Pheasant in a rich sauce, real round Cumberland sausages, meaty pies and succulent desserts.
Most nights we were too tired to go to the club so micro waved our food and shared a bottle of wine. The day before we left we played bowls on the campsite green and bought some souvenirs in the village. That night the club were hosting a sixties/seventies night so we treated ourselves to a steak meal and enjoyed the show.

It came as a surprise in the following January when we got the British Holidays brochure sent direct to us with a letter saying we had accumulated bonus points towards our next holiday. The offers were really good as well, take one week in April our May and get a week in September at half-price. Or use our bonus points, pay a deposit by February and get two weeks in September for the price of one with an automatic upgrade to a gold status caravan.
Over the next few years we had holidays at most of the sites in the brochure, two weeks in Scotland, a week in Tenby, Poole in Dorset, Blackpool, Great Yarmouth, Burnham-on -sea and finally two weeks at Quay West in Newquay , Pembrokshire.
This was to be our final real holiday as Ann's health was then declining rapidly with ME. We always chose our holidays out of the main season, as Ann couldn't cope with the heat and having a lot of children around her. By now she was beginning to use an arm crutch and it made her feel self-conscious. The added advantage of going early or late in the year was that we always got an upgrade on our caravan saving us a lot of money and allowing Ann to have a double bed to herself.

Quay West was a wonderful site but it was a bit hilly for Ann especially as she requested a sea-view this time. Also we had asked about disabled parking before we booked so she was allowed to park anywhere on the site as long as she wasn't obstructing any other driver's access. This was a godsend as the campsite is large and getting to the chip shop took too much walking. For the first time we had a beach we could walk to, it was a bit steep but only 200 yards away so we did spend a fair amount of time on the beach itself.
Newquay is situated on Cardigan Bay and is home to the bottle nosed dolphins but we only caught a brief glimpse of them now and again. You can take a boat trip but knowing that Ann was tiring quickly we didn't make the trip this time.

There is so much to see and do around this area and we wanted to do as much as we could. For Ann this was hard going but still we did our usual things. Both of us loved to find little deserted beaches and there are plenty in this area to find. We both wanted to do the railway trip to Devil's Bridge a steep gorge in the hillside with wonderful waterfalls and the famous "Devil's Cauldron". Against my advice Ann tried the steep walk down and I had to run back quickly to ask the railway driver to wait for her, fortunately the other passengers were great sports and cheered her as she slowly made her way to the train, completely worn out.

In between trips we pottered around Newquay visiting the tiny craft shops and eating enormous portions of fish and chips sat on the sea wall. Sometimes we visited the club for a meal and a show other times we had a leisurely swim in the indoor pool.
Once we spent a whole day at Cenarth Falls supposed to be one of the most breathtaking sights in Wales although it doesn't quite have the grandeur of Swallow Falls in North Wales.
But the highlight of our holiday was the wonderful atmosphere of this site, it's quiet but still has plenty to do and the beach is clean and clear. The grounds are beautifully landscaped, the club is never too noisy and the caravans are clean and fully equipped to make your stay as relaxed as possible. Each night we slept to the sound of the sea as it washed up on the beach gently lulling us into sleep. One lovely evening we sat outside the caravan and read our books just chilling out with a snack and a glass of chilled wine.

Newquay is very much a resort for families, older people and single people like us to use as a base for touring or just relaxing. There are some nice restaurants in the local town but not much nightlife. So far I have given you my own experience but there is plenty of things for families to enjoy. Oakwood Theme Park is Wales' largest theme park with Europe's largest wooden roller coaster. Children will love the railways that abound in this area and parents can relax knowing that the children are in safe hands with British Holidays' full programme of entertainment for kids of all ages.

For nearly ten years I have enjoyed staying at the various sites this company has to offer knowing that the accommodation is the best you can find all over the country. It's rare to find a company that caters for all age groups and it will come as no surprise to find that many sites have residents living here for most of the year.
I could say a lot more about the facilities and the fun and games on offer but you can easily pick up a brochure to read about it, what I am giving is first-hand experience from a single woman's point of view, if I can happily share a caravan site with families then so can you.

Offers
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I had my brochure in January of this year even though I haven't had a holiday with them for many years now. If I had booked a holiday before 28th February 2005 I could have chosen any of the special offers.
One was 50% off selected sites (14 in all), on top of this you can get further discounts for special dates, 10% off the total if one of your party is over 55, Whit sun specials and many more. Paying a deposit on booking or paying the full price gives you an "Early Bird" offer of up to £120 off a week's holiday. Other offers include 10% discount with National Express and low cost cover for a one-off Car breakdown and recovery.

Other Incentives
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Want to save money on boarding kennels? Some sites allow you to have pets for an additional charge, guide dogs are accepted free of charge. Disabled accommodation can also be arranged even for wheelchair users just ring up and learn more.
British Holidays have just teamed up with Haven Holidays giving you even more choice of sites. Missed out on the bargains? Look again; visit www.british-holidays.co.uk for last minute bargains.

Would I recommend them?
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Without a shadow of a doubt. Forget the offers in the in the papers, most of them are run by either British Holidays or Pontin's and I know which one I would choose. Forget about trying to get your chosen site or dates visit the web site or order a brochure, the newspaper promotion is to get you interested, I did a quick check one year and found the prices almost identical. Still not sure? I'll give you an example from my own brochure but bear it in mind that had I booked before the date I mentioned the price would be 50% less.
20th May to 26th May, 7 nights at £176 for a 3 star caravan sleeping six. Bronze Olympic 3 bedroom sleeping 8= £206. Three star accommodations allow you to bring your pet and bring or hire your own linen. Bronze Olympic also welcomes pets' offers 20% more space than the three stars includes linen and a microwave oven. All caravans include all gas and electricity fees, vat and each has a shower room/WC, colour TV, Gas fire, and fridge, pillows and duvets and a fully equipped kitchen.
Many families still prefer to go abroad but children really love the change of sleeping in a caravan. Take away the stress of long queues and aeroplane flights, the heat, the noise, upset tums from foreign food and the beauty of our own country and you have a recipe for a happy holiday.

Rather than copy the brochure that you can find on the net I've added a few pictures from my holiday in Quay West.
Thanks for reading
Lisa.