A HOLIDAY park on the Jurassic Coast has been named the best in the UK by a team of camping experts.

Highlands End Holiday Park in Dorset was crowned the winner at the Camping and Glamping Award by campsites.co.uk.

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The awards highlight some of the best camping, glamping and touring sites in the UK.

Located near Bridport in Dorset, Highlands End is a family-run seafront site with its own leisure centre.

The leisure centre has a heated indoor swimming pool, a sauna and a steam room.

Other facilities include an 18-hole football golf course with obstacles, a children’s playground, and an on-site convenience store that sells freshly baked bread as well as other holiday essentials.

There’s also a bar and restaurant that’s open daily from February until November, with restricted opening hours in December and January.

Highlands End Holiday Park also boasts a children’s soft play area, an outdoor play area, beer garden and a working farm with alpacas ‘you can say hello to’.

Live entertainment and live sport are also available at the holiday park.

The family-friendly and dog-friendly holiday park has a range of overnight accommodation options, including grass pitches, touring pitches, motorhome pitches, caravans and lodges.

Highlands End Holiday Park has 11 luxury lodges, each with a sea view overlooking the Jurassic Coast.

There are also 20 on-site caravans, with a choice of two or three bedrooms.

The Dorset holiday park has a 4.84/5-star rating on campsites.co.uk, with one person writing: “A fantastic stay, it’s ultra clean and tidy – especially the toilets and showers”.

Another person wrote: “We had a great time at the site, the views are beautiful.”

“The Spar shop has everything you need and the swimming pool is a great addition”.

A third guest said: “The most beautiful campsite we have ever stayed at, with a sea view on one side and valley view on the other.

“It’s clean and well-maintained, we couldn’t have asked for more”.

Another commented on the views, saying: “a beautiful view, a true wow factor”.

Martin Smith, the founder of Campsites.co.uk, said, “Our annual awards give us the opportunity to celebrate the UK’s best campsites, and this year’s standards feel higher than ever.”

“Each of the winning sites stands out for the care they put into being consistently excellent.

“My thanks and congratulations to all of the winners for adding some much-needed adventure to everyday life!”

Sun Online Travel have found two-night stays at Highlands End Holiday Park from £72 for a family of four staying in a caravan.

Highlands End Holiday Park is a 10-minute drive from West Bay, a small harbour settlement that shot to fame as the filming location for the hit TV show Broadchurch.

Hive Beach is a 15-minute drive from the award-winning holiday park.

Other nearby attractions include Furleigh Estate Wines, the National Trust‘s Hardy’s Cottage and Bridport’s Palmer Brewery.

Meanwhile, Nantcol Waterfalls in Gwynedd was crowned the Best Campsite in the UK in the same awards.

One campsite in Cornwall, Pentewan Sands, even has its own private beach.

And we’ve rounded up some UK campsites – with a twist.

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AN up-and-coming seaside town is set to get a huge new adventure park as part of a multi-million renovation.

The new playground will be part of the Newhaven Fort, which is currently closed.

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The park will be a “a celebration of Victorian innovation” which mirrors the fort’s history.

There will be a large tubular slide attached to a Victorian “dirigible” – a blimp like structure.

A steam crane-inspired lookout tower, with a secret entrance for kids.

The sheltered play area is called Ardagh’s workshop, named after the Fort’s original architect, Lieutenant John Charles Ardagh.

There will also be accessible play features such as “sound play, sensory items, interactive speaking tubes and an accessible trampoline and roundabout”.

CAP.CO has an impressive track record, having created outdoor play spaces at numerous heritage sites including Windsor Great Park, Blenheim Palace and the National Maritime Museum.

It has been created by adventure play specialists CAP.CO, who have also worked on projects and Blenheim Palace and Windsor Great Park.

designer and ‘Professor of Play’ Jono Burgess said they wanted the design to “reflect the history and character of the fort”.

They added: “Since the Fort was built in the Victorian era, we wanted to celebrate the ingenuity and inventive spirit of the 1800s.

“Our goal is to design and build an inclusive adventure playground which kids will want to return to again and again to challenge themselves, make new friends and have fun.”

Newhaven Fort will reopen in February 2025, following a £7.5million restoration.

The fort was the largest defence network built in Sussex in the 19th century, built due to the threat of Napoleon the Third.

Along with the playground there will be new interactive exhibitions and a refurbished Battery Observation Post with views out to sea.

The seaside town has revealed plans to become a more popular staycation destination.

Near to Brighton and Eastbourne, Newhaven’s only beach could reopen.

West Beach closed back in 2008 due to safety concerns but hopes to reopen soon.

There are also 15 huge murals across Newhaven as part of the June Look Again Supergraphics Festival.

Newhaven was even nearly home to the UK’s largest waterpark but these plans were scrapped.

Corinne Day, programme director at Newhaven Enterprise Zone (NEZ), said: “Having an updated town centre is just one of the factors that will build on its success as we look to transform Newhaven into a major contributor to the Sussex economy by 2030.”

Sussex was recently named one of the best places to visit in 2025.

And here’s West Sussex’s best kept secret, according to locals.

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ONE of the UK’s trendiest seaside towns has revealed new images of its £6.6million attraction set to re-open.

Folkestone’s Leas Lift was forced to close back in 2017.

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However, works are to finally start on the multi-million pound attraction after London-based firm Apex Contractors have been appointed the £5million contract.

The firm will spend the next three months preparing the site for construction.

The Grade-II listed funicular will be fully restored to operate again which will transport passengers from the cliffside to the beach.

Along with this, the waiting room will be renovated along with a new cafe and outdoor terrace.

Chair of the Leas Lift Build Committee Jo Streeter said they were “extremely excited” that works were finally starting.

They added: “We wanted to be absolutely sure that as well as getting value for money – which is vital for our funders and supporters – we selected a company that understands what the Lift means to Folkestone.”

Dan Hollis, managing director at Apex, said: “From the moment we had the opportunity to work on the project, our whole team have been excited about bringing a local landmark with national importance back into public use.”

Along with £4.8million from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, the project is expected to cost £6.6million.

It hopes to open by summer 2025 although some fear this could be delayed.

The 138-year-old lift is one of only three water-balanced funiculars remaining in the UK.

Having opened in 1885, it carried thousands of people on its first day, with 36million passengers by the time it closed.

Folkestone even had two other lifts – The Metropole Lift and the Sandgate Hill Lift – although these no longer exist.

One of the most famous UK funiculars is the Saltburn Cliff Lift which reopened back in September following a fire.

But Folkestone is set to be a popular seaside destination in the UK, taking on other Kent towns such as Margate and Whitstable.

We spoke to a number of locals about Folkestone, who have seen huge changes in recent years.

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Local Simon, who owns the Champagne Bar which is the ‘closest to France in the UK’ said: “We were told we were mad to open in Folkestone 10 years ago – now look at us.”

There is also Burrito Buoy, a Mexican restaurant that launched their own store after huge success on the Harbour Arms.

Run by couple Sammy and Matt, who is from Oregon, they opened because they “couldn’t get food like this anywhere else”.

And beach-side Brewing Brothers, who opened their first Kent bar after success in Sussex, said: “There’s been so much music this year and going to be even bigger next year.”

The Sun’s Deputy Travel Editor on living in Folkestone

The Sun’s Deputy Travel Editor Kara Godfrey explains why Folkestone is a great place to live.

I made the move to Folkestone a few years ago, leaving the busy life of London and have never looked back.

Named one of the Best Places to Live in 2024 study by the Times, it toes the balance of being an exciting place to live, without feeling like a seaside town catered to tourists.

There is the Harbour Arm, with bars, eateries and shops, as well as the multi-coloured shops lining the Creative Quarter.

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You can test your skills at F51, the worlds first multi storey skate park, or pop on the Eurotunnel and be in Calais in 35 minutes.

And often walking past the Leas Lift (where the former cafe did one of the best hot chocolates), I can’t wait for it to be restored.

Make sure to visit the new London & Paris hotel too, one of the only boutique hotels in town.

Even the owner backed Folkestone, saying: “I’ve been to other seaside towns and you don’t get that same community feeling – and the food and drink scene here is fantastic.”

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