haven

The cost of a family summer staycation can vary significantly

With the UK experiencing some milder weather this week, and with April just around the corner, many parents are likely thinking ahead to the summer holidays. As children are off school for, usually, around six weeks, the summer is an ideal time to take a family trip.

However, as anyone who has looked at going abroad over the summer will know, prices jump up significantly while the schools are closed. Going on a break in the UK, then, can be a more affordable option. But how much it will cost you depends on where you go – and prices can differ hugely.

We have compared the price of a week-long break at some of the UK’s best loved holiday parks. Prices are based on the cheapest accommodation available for seven nights, from August 7, for a family of four.

Starting with Center Parcs, a week’s stay in a Woodland Lodge at the Whinfell Forest resort will set you back from £2138. The lodge has two bedrooms, a kitchen, a bathroom and an extra toilet, and comes with a dishwasher, brick-built barbecue stand, furnished private patio, safe, a cot and a highchair, a fully-equipped kitchen, a 40″ flat screen TV, and more.

Over at Butlin’s in Skegness, a family of four can book a Comfort Room for the same dates from £962. There are two bedrooms – one with a double bed, the other with two single beds – as well as a bathroom. However there is no kitchen, and no other facilities are mentioned on the booking site – and towels and housekeeping are not included.

And at Haven’s Marton Mere site, a family of four can book a break from £639 – although this jumps to £809 if you want access to swimming pools, activities, and entertainment venues. The cheapest accommodation is the Saver Caravan which is described online as having two bedrooms, a bathroom, and a kitchen.

Other facilities mentioned on the Haven website include a heater or gas fire in the lounge, a 32″ TV, an under-counter fridge, and beds being made up ahead of your arrival.

All of the above prices were correct at the time of publication. Across all three holiday parks there are a range of accommodation available, with these varying in price. The types of accommodation mentioned in this article were the cheapest available at the time of publication.

HAVEN is adding four brand-new Wetherspoons pubs to some of its parks across the country – and has revealed their names.

The holiday park has invested £9million into its venues that will open later this year.

Haven revealed last year that even more of the popular British boozers would be coming to its holiday parks, taking its total up to nine.

The first pub to open will be The Alfred Wainwright at Haven’s Lakeland holiday park in Cumbria. 

It has been named after Alfred Wainwright, the British fellwalker who wrote about the 214 fells in his seven-volume guide to the Lake District.

Over in Blackpool, the Haven’s Cala Gran holiday park will open The Springfield.

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The pub is named after Springfield House which stood on what is now the main entrance to the park in the 1960s. 

The Cornwall-based holiday park called Riviere Sands will open up The Bluff.

Its name refers to the steep bank or cliff edge where the pub is located.

However the pub site isn’t actually new as it will takeover the existing pub site – also called The Bluff.

The last of the new Wetherspoons pubs will be at Haven’s Hopton in Great Yarmouth.

It’s name is The White Clover – named after the flower grown across the county representing good luck. 

Simon Palethorpe, Haven’s CEO, said: “Our partnership with J D Wetherspoon continues to grow. With a record 4 million holidaymakers and owners due to take a Haven holiday in 2026, the UK coastal holiday shows no signs of slowing down.  

“The naming of the J D Wetherspoon pubs is highly anticipated and always reveals an interesting historical, geographical or cultural reference to the area.  

“We look forward to more guests enjoying a pint whilst taking in some of the most beautiful views of our UK coastline.”

The four new Wetherspoons brings the total at Haven up to nine.

The very first of the pubs to open at the holiday park was the Five Stones at Primrose Valley in Yorkshire.

This was followed by The Red Rocks at Devon Cliffs, The Humber Stone at Cleethorpes Beach, The London Stone at Kent Coast and The Sir Thomas Haggerston at Haggerston Castle in Northumberland.

Since 2021, Haven has invested £660 million upgrading the guest experience and facilities.  

The holiday park is also set to renovate the Show Bar at Marton Mere in Blackpool and build a new supermarket at Kent Coast. 

One writer went for a drink at the UK’s first on-site Wetherspoons at Haven…

Writer Christine Challand visited Haven’s very first Wetherspoons called The Five Stones – and chatted to visitors who love it…

“It’s a grey and blustery morning on the North Yorkshire coast but guests at Haven’s Primrose Valley holiday park in Filey are still in high spirits

“It might have something to do with the company’s first and only Wetherspoons pub, The Five Stones, which is set to make the resort even more popular with holidaymakers.

“Hilary, 65, has visited 829 Wetherspoons pubs and says the couple are always happy to travel to compare menus and bar lay-out.

“She said: ‘People might think it’s a bit strange that we go all over the UK to do this, but it’s a lot of fun,’ she added. ‘There’s a nice inclusive atmosphere here in Filey.’

“For Andy and Gill Bishop, a £2.80 pint of Ruddles and a cheeky £5.26 glass of Sauvignon Blanc make a perfect mid-morning start to the day at The Five Stones.

“The couple, who live in Harrogate and run their own holiday apartments in Filey, have been caravan owners at Haven’s Primrose Valley site for 14 years and think the Wetherspoons opening will be a major draw for holidaymakers.

” Gill said: ‘This is just a warm-up for celebrating my 61st birthday tomorrow. It doesn’t matter what the weather’s like, Filey was recently voted one of the ten best beaches in the world so we’d never go anywhere else.’”

For more on Wetherspoons, one Sun Travel writer went to the first ever foreign pub with mini beers and a huge queue of Brits.

And Sun Travel visited the world’s smallest Wetherspoons that’s built on the remains of a 2000-year-old palace.