Camping

HAVEN has just bought its 40th holiday park – and it’s already one of the most popular in the country.

The park found in West Sussex has 2,500 pitches, is right next to its own private beach and you can book a stay from less than £10per night.

The holiday park in question is Seal Bay in West Sussex – it’s award-winning and was recently crowned UK’s most popular £9.50 holiday park.

It has thousands of pitches, there’s plenty of entertainment for the whole family and it’s minutes away from the beach, what’s not to love?

Seal Bay sits on the coast in Selsey and when it comes to picking a place to stay, visitors can choose from seaside caravans to beachfront pods or glamping options.

All stays come with kitted-out kitchens, bed linen, as well as access to the swimming pools and entertainment.

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The simplest option is camping, with a choice of grass, electric or serviced pitches – each has a parking space and access to hot shower facilities.

Caravans range from comfy Bronze bases which sleeps up to eight guests, all the way to Platinum caravans that feel more like a homely cottage.

Lodges are larger with their own decks – and some luxury ones even come with a private hot tub.

Beachfront pods are a great choice for those wanting a cosy hideaway facing the sea – they have mezzanines and fold-out double beds, as well as private decking to enjoy that sea breeze.

For those visiting as a large group, you can even book an entire self-catering house.

As for entertainment and play there’s plenty for all ages – some of the highlights are its arcades, bowling, and soft play zones.

There’s also a swimming pool with a splash zone for toddlers, wave simulator, inflatable obstacle course, lazy river and waterslides.

Families with young children can get crafting at the create-your-own teddy bear factory, sand art sessions and try out mini archery which is for those between two and five-years-old.

Older kids should head to the Dockyard which has a large climbing wall and adventure golf.

There’s plenty for adults and couples too, like live music, comedy nights, and Big Red Button Bingo.

When it comes to eating, there’s the Above the Bay Bar & Kitchen which opened earlier this year, along with Smokey’s BBQ Kitchen and the Cafe Lido.

From the park, holidaymakers have direct access down to Seal Bay Beach – and almost one mile of it is reserved for guests only.

Mid-week breaks can be booked for under £250.

A family of up to six can book a four-night stay in May 2027 from £244 in a Classic 2 Bed Holiday Caravan – or £10.16pppn.

If you fancy a break in the next few weeks, a four-night stay in a Classic Caravan from 12-16 October can be booked out from £196 – or £8.16pppn.

Seal Bay will continue to trade under its current name for the remainder of 2026, before changings its name to the Haven brand for 2027. 

It’s not the first holiday park that has been taken on by Haven in the last few years – it previously acquired the Richmond Holiday Centre which has now been named Haven Skegness Holiday Park.

Simon Palethorpe, CEO, Haven said: “I’m delighted that we are welcoming Seal Bay to the Haven family. It’s a fantastic park in the most stunning location and will sit brilliantly alongside our 39 other parks.

“Haven’s mission is all about making memories that last a lifetime and we can’t wait to start working with the Seal Bay team to deliver this for thousands of holiday makers and owners in the years to come.”

Holidaymakers can still book holidays on the current Seal Bay resort website – including for breaks in 2027.

THE weather might be about to turn in the UK but in Europe there’s still time to enjoy the sunshine.

So for affordable yet full-of-activity stays, we’ve rounded up 10 best Eurocamp resorts from Croatia to Italy where temperatures are still about 20C in autumn – and stays can be as cheap as £6 per night.

hu Park Albatros Village, Tuscany, Italy

Tuscany still has temperatures of up to 22C during the autumn, so families can make great use of its six swimming pools, waterslides.

Make sure to try out its treetop adventure course and mini golf too.

The new entertainment complex overlooks the beach – it also has a restaurant, pizzeria, ice cream kiosk and there’s a free kids’ club for ages 4-17.

Seven nights from September 28 staying in a Comfort three bedroom holiday home that sleeps up to six guests starts from £236.20 per party – or £35.62pppn.

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Holacamp Albufeira, Algarve, Portugal

Holacamp Albufeira is perfect for those wanting to blend beach and camping.

As the stretching sandy beach is five-minute drive away and with highs of 22C you can enjoy it well into autumn.

On-site are three swimming pools to splash about in, along with space to sunbathe and don’t forget to try out some watersports or a friendly game of padel.

Seven nights from September 28 staying in a two bedroom ‘Tiny House’ holiday home that sleeps up to four guests starts from £194.80 per party – or £6.95pppn.

Alannia Costa Blanca, Costa Blanca, Spain

Just a few hours away in on the Costa Blanca, this Eurocamp has enormous palm-tree lined swimming pools.

There’s also a splash zone for little kids and a spa with sauna and steam room.

When it comes to activities try out tennis, archery, padel tennis, mini golf and there’s a soft play area for the little ones too.

Seven nights from September 28 staying in a Premium two bedroom holiday home that sleeps up to five guests starts from £642.17 per party – or £18.34pppn.

Camping Fabulous Village, Rome, Italy

When in Rome, head to Camping Fabulous Village – kids will love the swimming pools.

Make sure to head to the on-site restaurant for classic Italian dishes.

The park is a 30-minute drive from Rome too so it’s easy to go sightseeing and book excursions to Ostia Antica, Tivoli, Pompeii and Naples through the parc.

Seven nights from September 28 staying in a Classic two bedroom holiday home that sleeps up to six guests starts from £200.85 per party – or £6.78pppn.

Saint-Aygulf Plage, Riviera, France

Along the French Riviera is this impressive Eurocamp with views across the water. It also has a lagoon-style pool.

The towering waterplay area with tipping buckets and slides actually looks over the Mediterranean Sea.

There are plenty of sporting activities to try out like basketball, volleyball, archery and football – not to mention there’s direct access to the beach where guests can try kayaking and high-octane jet skiing.

Seven nights from September 28 staying in a Comfort two bedroom holiday home that sleeps up to four guests starts from £274.10 per party – or £9.78pppn.

Camping Village Simuni, Dalmatia, Croatia

The Dalmatian Coast can bask in temperatures between 22C and 25C between September and October.

So it’s easy to take advantage of the fact that Camping Village Simuni has access to six beaches – one even has an inflatable obstacle course.

It has four restaurants including Pescaria which serves fresh seafood and Mali Raj where traditional Croatian dishes are cooked right in front of you.

Seven nights from September 28 staying in a Classic three bedroom holiday home that sleeps up to six guests starts from £350 per party – or £8.33pppn.

La Masseria, Puglia, Italy

This Eurocamp is on the Puglia coast – it has a huge swimming complex with an impressive an outdoor pool, paddling pool.

There are also two Jacuzzis, diving boards and the private beach is minutes away on foot.

There are three restaurants on-site and adults can try out wine tours and tastings at the on-parc vineyard.

Seven nights from September 28 staying in a Comfort three bedroom holiday home that sleeps up to six guests starts from £229.30 per party – or £5.45pppn.

El Garrofer, Costa Dorada, Spain

Described as having an “air of quiet” this resort is much quieter than other Eurocamp sitse.

But it still has swimming pools, waterslides, kids’ clubs and plenty of sport activities to try out.

If you want to see the sights of Barcelona, the city is only a 40-minute drive away so it’s perfect distance for a daytrip.

Seven nights from September 28 staying in a Comfort three bedroom holiday home that sleeps up to five guests starts from £449.95 per party – or £12.85pppn.

Les Dunes, Roussillon, France

This Eurocamp has all you need from a holiday – swimming pools, watersides, restaurants, snack bars all just metres from the beach.

If you visit during September, the parc will be hosting new activities for babies and toddlers.

During October, there will be ‘Day of the Dead’ themed activities like mask-making, games and mini-discos.

Seven nights from September 28 staying in a Classic two bedroom holiday home that sleeps up to four guests starts from £223.23 per party – or £7.97pppn.

Bella Italia, Lake Garda, Italy

On the very tip of Lake Garda is the Bella Italia Eurocamp which has access to the lakeside beach where guests can try out parasailing, para-flying and banana-boat riding.

The resort has four swimming pools with features like waterslides and mushroom fountains.

Not to mention it’s a 10-minute drive away from family-friendly theme park, Gardaland.

Seven nights from September 28, staying in a Classic two bedroom holiday home that sleeps up to six guests starts from £318.07 per party – or £7.57pppn.

EUROCAMP has hundreds of resorts across Europe – but there is one that has been backed by mums as being the best.

Found in Holland, Duinrell has a lot to shout about including a theme park as well as a huge indoor and outdoor waterpark.

With all this, it’s no surprise that it’s one of the top-rated Eurocamp resorts for families – and it was voted as such on Mumsnet.

Its main draw is the enormous theme park which is completely free for guests with over 40 rides and attractions.

It has high thrill rollercoasters like The Falcon which is 72 feet tall with vertical drops, loop the loops and a top speed of 43mph.

There are other more family-friendly rides like log flumes, bumper cars, slides and climbing towers.

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Something else that makes it so popular is the enormous waterpark which has a total of 21 waterslides and huge swimming pools which are both indoor and outdoors.

The complex has a lazy river, a wave pool and an outdoor Tiki pool with tipping buckets and fountains which is open in the summer months.

Inside is where families will find the Playa waterpark which is especially designed for little kids up to 12 years old, with four waterslides for children.

Guests will need to pre-book time slots and pay up to €15 (£12.88) per person for the waterparks.

Activities don’t stop there either, as families can spend hours in its arcade which has over 80 games.

There’s mini golf, air hockey, classic arcade games, including eight immersive racing simulators.

In the comments, one previous visitor wrote: “We love Duinrell…I would do at least a week as loads to do.”

Another added: “This is an absolutely brilliant place!! Everything about it is spot on! Between the accommodation and the theme park, it’s all fantastic.”

A third said the waterpark was the “best we’ve been to!”

The park has eating options too from a creperie to an Italian restaurant and at the bars there’s entertainment like discos, karaoke and talent shows.

As for a place to stay the Eurocamp has a selection of ultimate holiday homes which can sleep up to eight across three bedrooms.

They have fully kitted out kitchens with open living areas and spacious bedrooms.

When the sun shines there’s an outdoor decking and a barbecue too.

For eight people to stay in an Ultimate 3-bedroom cabin next May for seven-night works out to £1,327.48 or £23.70pppn.

The Eurocamp is just outside The Hague, meaning that luckily for Brits it’s very easy to get to as it sits in between Amsterdam and Rotterdam.

Flights to Rotterdam can be as quick as 50-minutes and heading to Amsterdam can take just one hour.

The cities can also be reached by the Eurostar in three hours and 15 minutes.

For more Eurocamp resorts, here are 10 with pools, waterparks and beaches.

And this Eurocamp in France has a huge kids club and laid back vibes.

BOOKING a weatherproof autumn break with luxurious lodges, woodland spas and tropical indoor waterparks doesn’t have to be expensive.

We’ve tracked down the UK’s ultimate budget-friendly staycations this autumn to save your rainy weekends – from less than £3pp per night.

From clever Center Parcs dupes in stunning forests, to mega family holiday parks with tropical pool complexes, these sites guarantee a great time even when the British weather turns grim.

Whether you want to float along a lazy river while rain taps against the window, or enjoy a drink in a private hot tub under the pine trees, we’ve found some unbeatable breaks for the cheapest rates this autumn.

Finlake Resort & Spa

Set across 130 acres of Devonshire woodland, Finlake gives you the premium forest village feel of Center Parcs – but for far less money.

Fill your days with an action-packed itinerary of axe-throwing, Segways, laser tag, den building, horse riding and more. Activities start from £7, and there are plenty of free options, too.

When rainy days hit, Finlake Falls is your best friend. This indoor waterpark boasts a spacious indoor pool heated to 30C with a ‘beach style’ entrance for little ones, where they can gently wade into shallow waters.

For older kids and young-at-heart adults, there’s high-speed waterslides and flumes – plus activities like Seascooters, where you can twist and glide through the water holding onto a propeller.

Similar to Center Parcs, there’s also a woodland spa here, the Sirona Spa, where you can enjoy a soothing massage or Elemis skincare treatments.

The holiday resort is only two miles from Dartmoor National Park, where you can spot wild ponies, and three miles from Canonteign Falls – a breathtaking waterfall with a friendly gift shop and cafe nearby.

Four people can spend a week in Scandinavian-style woodland cabin with a log burner from £265 this autumn, working out at £9.46pp per night. A luxury woodland lodge won’t cost you much more, with a week from £305.

In contrast, we found a seven-night October break at Center Parcs Longleat Forest in their cheapest accommodation for £1,458. That’s a saving of £1,193.

Bluestone National Park Resort, Wales

If you’re wanting a luxury woodland break this autumn that won’t break the bank, book in at Bluestone National Park Resort in Pembrokeshire.

The crown jewel of Bluestone is the Blue Lagoon Water Park, a massive, heated, subtropical indoor pool complex that is completely free for guests.

The subtropical waterpark has a huge wave machine, four twisting, high-speed flumes, a lazy river and even warm, bubbling spa pools to retreat to.

Little ones can make a splash in Nippers Cove, a shallow pool with its own mini waterslide, water cannons and indoor rockpools.

You might even find mermaids and pirates at the waterpark during themed events.

Outside of the pool, you can try an indoor zipline, take an electric bike tour through the woods, tackle a climbing wall or even have a go at bushcraft skills including fire lighting and outdoor cooking.

As for accommodation, you can stay in everything from a stylish apartment, to a cosy pastel-coloured cottage, to a mega six-bedroom wooden lodge.

We found a three-night break in a silver lodge sleeping four for £420, working out at £35pp per night.

Highfield Grange, Essex

This newly-upgraded Essex holiday park reopened in spring of this year, packed with £5million worth of shiny new activities.

Parkdean has pumped serious money into weather-proofing this park, with new Bear Grylls escape rooms, an expanded soft play area, and even an indoor Chocolate Factory where families can create their own concoctions.

Another new addition is the Hat Tricks Sports Bar, where you can spend rainy afternoons indoors playing shuffleboard, darts, pool and mini golf.

To cut costs, there’s also an all-inclusive food and drinks package, starting from £25 per day for adults and £10 per day for kids.

This includes three meals a day plus unlimited soft drinks and Costa Coffee, so you and the kids can cosy up with a hot chocolate whenever you please.

This park is only 10 minutes’ drive from Clacton-on-Sea, where you can stroll quiet beaches on dog walks or take a trip to the amusements without the frantic summer crowds.

We found a deal for a two-night break in a Bronze Caravan sleeping up to six for £99. That works out at £8.25pp per night.

Haven Hafan y Mor

Hafan y Mor is one of Haven’s biggest holiday parks, and is one of the top-rated, too, as a three-time winner of the AA 5-Platinum Star award.

On dry days, head to the Dragon Lakes Adventure Village for mini 4×4 off-roading, high ropes courses, and to battle it out at a NERF training camp.

Inside, Splashaway Bay is one of the biggest and best holiday park pool complexes in the UK, with a lazy river, giant tipping buckets and a four-lane waterslide.

For food and drink you can grab a bite from Chopstix, Slim Chickens, and family restaurant The Coast House Bar and Grill.

As for getting out and about, you can take a breezy beach walk just steps from the park or take a 10-minute drive to the pretty seaside town of Criccieth, where you can explore a historic 13th-century castle.

We found a deal for a four night stay in October for six people in a Bronze Caravan for £69 total, which works out at a tiny £2.88pp per night.

Vauxhall, Great Yarmouth

Vauxhall Holiday Park is another that has recently undergone a £5million mega-revamp, and it may just be one of the best UK parks when it comes to rainy day activities.

Kids can spend hours in the massive Tropical Waterworld, complete with slides and a splash zone, or burn off energy tackling the indoor soft play.

If you visit in October you’ll see the park go all-out for Halloween with spooky ghost walks, costume contests and creative craft workshops – plus the Parkdean chain-wide Monster Ball party.

The fairground indoor golf is a real highlight here, with a sparkly-new course decorated with swirls and pinstripes just as colourful as the sticks of rock and sweets sold on Great Yarmouth‘s Pier.

Twinning with Highfield Grange, this site also has a new Hat Tricks Sports Bar – but you can also hang out in the site’s other two entertainment venues, and take part in quizzes, bingo or rock and roll nights.

You can book a three night stay for four people in a Bronze Caravan this October for £135, which works out at £11.25pp per night.

Parkdean Resorts Warmwell

Parkdean’s Warmwell Resort in Dorset is a lodge-only park, meaning that you won’t find static caravans here – just cosy wooden lodges that are perfect for autumn.

Tucked away among the trees, these cabins offer instant access to the lake for swimming and fishing. And if you want to dial up the luxury, you can book a stay with a private hot tub.

You can even practice your skiing at this Dorset holiday park, with a 110-metre dry ski slope which you can tackle via skis, snowboard or sledge.

If the weather plays up, you can whizz around in the massive indoor roller rink, spend spare change in the amusements or warm up in the heated indoor pool – and yes it has a waterslide.

Autumn stays here are all about throwing on a coat, tearing through the woodland trails on biks, and returning to a cosy, heated lodge afterwards.

You can book a three-night stay in a superior lodge sleeping eight for £266 this October, working out at £11.08pp per night.

MY childhood summer holidays began and ended with me squashed into a hatchback car with tents, campbeds and pool floats, as my family travelled to Europe for a week’s camping.

The only luxuries were a wine and cheese evening (for my parents), the morning croissant run to the bakery on site (my sister and I) and our mains-powered coolbox (my dad).

Oh, how the world of camping has changed since then.

This summer, a school-mum pal and I took our kids to one of the top-rated sites of camping specialist Eurocamp — and 5* Les Prairies de la Mer, on the French Riviera, just 15 minutes from St Tropez, could not have been more different from those breaks of my early years.

This huge beachfront site even has its own spa, that bakery on site, which also features seven kinds of fresh bread, a seriously glam pool and a supermarket stocking about 30 different types of rosé wine.

Oh, and some of those wines were just 4.50 euros a bottle — and perfectly drinkable.

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There are also further delights — a petting zoo, small fairground, two beachfront bars and restaurants, a hair salon and an inland bar that plays really decent live music every night.

If you can hack the heat, there are plenty of sporting activities, too, from sailing and archery to tennis and football.

I could lie and say I did all of the sports — but I didn’t.

In 35C heat in May, with three seven-year-old boys in tow, most days we pinballed between pool and beach, fairground and playground.

The huge, lagoon-shaped beachside pool, with its own palm tree, is a joy in itself — and only more so for its stylish bar, serving enormous pitchers of rosé for six euros, and French fries.

But it would be criminal to visit the French Riviera and not explore.

Les Prairies de la Mer is next to Port Grimaud, a car-free seaside town with waterfront Provencal-style houses that each have their own mooring for a boat.

You can see why the place is nicknamed the Venice of Provence.

We had a great time wandering the streets and visiting the Sunday market, which sells everything from local olives to honey and flowers.

The campsite also lays on a land train (€10 adults and €6 kids) to the medieval hillside village of Grimaud where you will find cobblestone streets, a 12th-century church and an even older ruined castle, all with great views over the surrounding countryside.

We also made it down to glamorous St Tropez, famed for its annual film festival.

The place is worth a visit just to ogle the huge yachts in the marina, wander the old town and eyeball the rich tourists who head to upscale shopping street Rue Francois Sibilli for high-end stores such as Louis Vuitton, Dior and Hermes.

But my favourite day was when we rented a speedboat — through SamBoat, an app that bills itself as “the AirBnb of boats”.

It allows you to search locations, near where you are holidaying, for more than 50,000 chartered boats and yachts, that come with or without a captain.

We opted for a large speedboat that could take up to 12 people, as it could pick us up from the neighbouring marina — and it was super-easy to book.

The speedboat hire was 380 euros without a skipper, otherwise 630 euros.

We opted for the latter and, if there are 12 of you, this works out at just over 50 euros a head — not bad for a day on the water.

We bought cheese, wine, cakes and other goodies beforehand, at the marina supermarket, then toured the beautiful coastline before mooring in one of the many bays, where we swam, played on lilos and generally had the best time.

On the way home, we stopped off in the St Tropez marina to check out again the beautiful people and yachts.

This fabled French town is also the setting for the upcoming fourth series of TV hit The White Lotus, expected to air next year — and this corner of France is a serious magnet for celebrities.

Indeed, on our flight alone there were THREE famous faces.

Glamour girl Kelly Brook was in Business Class with actor husband Jeremy Parisi, while Pixie Geldof and sister Tiger Lily Hutchence-Geldof roughed it with us in Economy.

They were all (like us) taking advantage of British Airways’ newest route from London City Airport to Toulon-Hyeres in the South of France, which operates twice-weekly during the summer months.

The seaside city of Toulon is a taxi ride away from St Tropez and other A-lister holiday destinations such as Grimaud and Sainte Maxime.

Or if you don’t have deep pockets like the celebrities, there is a coach to St Tropez that leaves twice daily from the airport and costs 2.50 euros per person.

It also stops at a number of other holiday destinations en route.

It took us nearly all the way to our Eurocamp site, from where it was just a ten-euro cab ride.

So, plenty of spare cash for the lashings of rosé.

I CAN’T say my weekends are usually spent dressed as a fox in the middle of a forest, springing about in an aerial bungee or learning Bollywood dance routines.  

But I certainly wish more of them were. 

I was at Camp Wildfire in Kent – a three-day festival that’s far from your average Reading or Glastonbury experience.  

A bit like an American summer camp but for grown-ups, Camp Wildfire incorporates outdoorsy activities like tree-climbing and paddleboarding with campfire singalongs – and, importantly, cocktails.  

Upon arrival, festivalgoers are asked to join one of four teams: Foxes, Badgers, Hawks or Squirrels.  

One pair of fluffy ears and face-paint whiskers later, I had made myself part of the Fox patrol. 

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Forget scouring a lanyard for your favourite bands’ set times – a weekend here begins by charging into a games arena with your new animal teammates to take on a series of Sports Day-style games like tug-of-war that will earn your team “Patrol Points”.  

You’ll fill your entire festival with your pick of 100 activities, from beekeeping to rifle shooting, all while collecting points for a grand finale at the end. 

I chose to begin with quad biking ­– I truly can’t think of a better wake-up call than riding into the breeze through the Kentish countryside, taking in whiffs of wild mint. 

Next came flower headdress-crafting, followed by a potion-making class that left me smelling of lavender and clutching some homemade skincare.  

By this point I was feeling like a total wilderness goddess, which gave me the confidence boost I needed to channel my inner acrobat for my final activity of the day: twirling on the aerial silks. All of this before 5pm left me in serious need of a drink.  

Thankfully, there are regular cocktail masterclasses, where visitors can learn to pour favourites like the perfect Pornstar Martini ahead of the nighttime acts. 

Evening entertainment at Camp Wildfire is some of the best I’ve experienced.  

Yes, there’s great music, with everything from Disney singalongs to reggae and techno dance tents.  

But there are also fabulous comedy acts, a board games bar and even an astronomy tent for stargazing. 

The music continues well into the early hours but with laser clay shooting first thing in the morning, I made sure to rest up.  

Precision was equally as important for pyrography, where I decorated a wooden coaster with a heated metal pen, although it was less critical for aerial bungee.  

If you’ve never jumped around in a giant harness, pulling Superman shapes and Spider-Man jumps, I highly recommend it – you’ll split your sides laughing and become more flexible, too. 

My final activity was a Burlesque class, where I managed to bag a Patrol Point, but sadly, it wasn’t enough for us Foxes to take the lead. 

That didn’t stop me cheering on the winning Hawk team at the dramatic closing ceremony, though, where all visitors are invited to enjoy an impressive drone show.  

We’ll get ’em next year, Foxes! 

• ULTRA-earlybird tickets for Camp Wildfire 2027 are live now and cost from £259pp for the weekend. Super-earlybird tickets go on sale from October 2 and start at £269pp.
• All tickets include general camping. For details or to book, see campwildfire.co.uk. 

HOPPING from place to place in a motorhome may not sound a particularly relaxing way to spend a week, compared to lying on a sun lounger at a resort.

But there’s a sense of excitement with a road trip that no fly-and-flop holiday could ever match.

The sheer adventure, access to off-grid locations and freedom to move wherever the wind takes you are something money can’t buy.

That’s why I dragged my wife and two kids (aged six and three) away from the beach for our first ever campervan voyage, through the West Midlands, rural Shropshire and the North Welsh countryside.

And it beat all of our beach holidays, hands down.

We were in a Swift Trekker 584, a beast of a motorhome that’s nicer than my house, with sleeping space for four people, a roomy bathroom and mini kitchen complete with oven and hob.

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From day one my boy fully embraced #vanlife, becoming a key helper in the not-so-glam, but necessary, daily tasks as we moved between driving, eating and sleeping — hooking up the electricity and water, ensuring things were properly stowed away and always making sure the toilet hatch was closed.

We cheated a little by switching out motorhome staples like spag bol or soup for the occasional restaurant but, by the end, we’d fully mastered road-trip life.

Our first base was Llanberis, a stunning village at the foot of Snowdon offering brilliant hiking in the surrounding mountains and watersports at two lakes on its doorstep.

Ahead of arrival, we’d booked a pitch with Morris Leisure, a highly rated camping operator specialising in motorhomes and caravans, with parks across North Wales, Herefordshire and Shropshire.

Its Llanberis Touring Park is ideally located, with direct footpaths to Snowdonia and a five-minute walk to the village centre.

Some pitches have electricity and wifi while others have fresh water, plus there’s a shower block and a laundry area.

And the best thing is, if you are motorhome novices like us, there’s an on-site shop crammed with anything you may have forgotten, plus caravan accessories and essentials.

After Wales, we made our way to the market town of Oswestry and Park Hall Farm (make sure to watch one of the hilarious pig races), then it was on to the Shropshire town of Shrewsbury.

Its high street is frequently named one of the best in the UK, so we had high hopes.

It didn’t disappoint. Rather than being overrun with vape shops, bookies and barbers, the main stretch was littered with Tudor architecture and chock-full of independent shops, cafes, pubs, restaurants, ­museums and galleries.

The place is buzzing and a pleasure to walk around.

Kids will love the Quarry Park for the splash zone, while budding young artists may prefer to get stuck into one of the workshops at Shrewsbury Museum & Art Gallery.

Or you can ditch the road for the water and book a trip along the river Severn with Sabrina Boat.

Prefer to travel by train? The ­Severn Valley Railway is a delightful experience and offers day trips through the rolling countryside, as well as special themed events.

Those visiting during October half-term will be able to book ­Halloween-inspired journeys from Kidderminster station, with scare trains for little ones as well as those aged 18 and over.

Our only regret was missing out on a film at Old Market Hall cinema, an independent screen sitting in a beautiful building dating from 1596.

It’s not just the destinations themselves that make a motorhome trip so magical, though.

Journeying along the A4086 and the A5 offered gorgeous scenery and rolling hills that kept us entertained for hours.

When we eventually dropped off the van, our home for the week, it was with a very heavy heart.

No motorhome trip will ever be stress-free and it does require a level of planning and organisation beyond your average resort holiday.

But the freedom can’t be matched.

And the memories from our motorhome will long outlive those from a Spanish sun lounger.