A FAMILY in the UK who have been on 56 holidays in their caravan have shared their best budget-friendly staycation tips.

Known as The Caravanning Mummy, travel expert, and mum-of-two, Rachel shares travel tips and destination guides on Instagram, including how to make breaks budget-friendly while keeping the kids entertained.

4

4

Advertisement

Rachel purchased her caravan back in 2019, with her family spending the school holidays and weekends exploring the UK in their Bailey Of Bristol Phoenix 650 caravan.

The family-of-four have been on 56 caravan holidays over the last five years, so it’s safe to say Rachel has found the best ways to keep costs down without compromising on the fun.

Rachel encouraged holidaymakers to book a Certified Location with their caravan or motorhome.

Certified locations (CL sites) are small, privately-owned campsites for caravans and motorhomes that are exclusive to members of The Caravan and Motorhome Club.

She told Sun Online Travel: “I would say CL sites are probably around £20 per night for a pitch, which is obviously pretty good. It means you’re looking at around £40 for a weekend pitch.

“The Caravan and Motorhome Club sites are great for beginners because they have all the key facilities and you know what you’re going to get.

“They’re about half the price of a big site but you do get less facilities, so that is something to consider.”

To keep the family entertained while keeping costs low, Rachel recommended making the most of supermarket loyalty schemes.

She added: “We use Tesco vouchers massively when we’re going away because it almost halves the cost of entry into top-rated attractions.

Tesco Clubcard Vouchers can be spent at theme parks like Thorpe Park, Legoland, Chessington World of Adventures and Alton Towers.

Entry tickets to places like Cadbury World, Warwick Castle, the Eden Project, the Black Country Living Museum, Conkers, Madame Tussauds and various Sea Life Centres can also be bought using Clubcard vouchers.

Children aged between five and 15 can also apply for a Blue Peter badge, which also provides free entry to a range of UK attractions.

The Caravanning Mummy also recommended purchasing a membership to the National Trust.

She added: “The other tip I always recommend is getting a membership with the National Trust.

“While it might seem a bit random for a caravan holiday, it means you have entry to a nice stately home, or an indoor attraction, which is great for rainy days.

“These places often have large grounds so kids can have a run around too, and they’re often equipped with a cafe so you can have tea and cake.

“A lot of the places have ponds with ducks, so we always have some porridge oats in our pockets so the kids can feed the ducks.”

Later this month, Rachel will be sharing more caravanning tips at the Motorhome & Caravan Show at the NEC in Birmingham.

Earlier this month, Rachel revealed her favourite place for a UK break in her caravan, with a quintessential seaside town bagging the top spot.

Meanwhile, these are the top-rated holiday parks with on-site waterparks and pools.

4

4

HOPES for holiday flights from a seaside town airport in the UK have been dashed.

Blackpool Airport is currently used for flight training as well as business and medical flights.

4

4

Advertisement

4

Just 39,000 flights operated from the airport last year.

But a huge new renovation project led to hopes that commercial flights abroad for passengers could be launched.

Transport Secretary Louise Haigh said they would “absolutely look if there is an appetite for commercial flights from Blackpool Airport and there is the demand there”.

However, the airport’s managing director Steve Peters has said this was very unlikely.

He said: “The brutal reality of airport economics doesn’t stack up for Blackpool in terms of the return of large-scale commercial operations.”

He added that their main goal was make the future of the airport secure, after nearly permanently closing just a few years ago.

The airport once had commercial flights – Jet2 operated from Blackpool Airport in 2012 with flights to Lanzarote and Ibiza.

However, the passenger terminal was demolished in 2016 with the Jet2 boss ruling out a return.

The current new upgrades include new admin and security building with an “enhanced arrivals and departures” area.

New security check points would also be introduced.

Mr Peters added: “This new facility will allow us to grow these executive flights by numbers of movements and increased aircraft size by offering more space as well as improved security.

“While a new building will provide a modern and welcoming environment that is more suitable as a first impression for departing or arriving visitors.”

Blackpool Council’s Cabinet Member for Levelling Up (Place) Mark Smith also said: “We’re working hard to make sure that we can support an airport that is commercially successful and a leading transport hub, and one that drives the growth of our Enterprise Zone.”

Brits wanting to travel abroad from Blackpool will need to travel to Liverpool Airport, round 30 miles away.

It comes after new images were revealed of a £300million attraction hoping to open in Blackpool.

First announced in 2021, the plans include two small theme parks, with a 127,000sqft flying theatre, ides, laser tag and arcades.

What is it like to visit Blackpool?

Mum Catherine Lofthouse revealed why a seaside visit to Blackpool is the best for families.

“Whether you love a back-to-basics bucket-and-spade beach break, want a thrill a minute at one of the UK’s oldest theme parks or fancy a night on the tiles, there’s everything you need at Blackpool.

“Everywhere I look, there’s building taking place and existing attractions being spruced up.

Advertisement

“There’s been investment along the seafront, with Merlin, the company behind Alton Towers and Legoland, recently opening its eighth attraction in the town with the arrival of the Gruffalo Clubhouse for little ones.

“I’m hard-pressed to think of another UK seaside resort that has quite such a breadth of attractions for staycationers young and old.

Setting off home loaded with seaside goodies and sandy buckets, I think we had both fallen a little bit in love with this national treasure of a town.”

The complex, on the Golden Mile, will also have restaurants and bars along with an Artisan Food Hall.

New hotels and tram lines are also part of the seaside town’s renovation.

And the current Pleasure Beach theme park will open a new third hotel as well, connected to the casino.

Blackpool is even home to the UK’s largest indoor waterpark.

Sandcastle Waterpark, right by the beach, has the longest indoor water rollercoaster in the UK along with 17 other rides and slides.

Want to stay at Blackpool? We’ve found a hotel with rooms from £18 which makes it the UK’s cheapest hotel.

4

BUTLIN’S has opened a new multi-million-pound attraction at its holiday park in Bognor Regis next.

First announced last year, the £15million PLAYXPERIENCE is set across two floors, covering 50,000 square feet.

6

6

Advertisement

Open today, the immersive hub features nine state-of-the-art experiences from Escape Rooms to digital arts and a huge gaming wall, with celebrities Jeff and Freddy Brazier given an exclusive sneak peek ahead of its opening.

In the Escape Rooms, four guests can spend 70 minutes hunting for clues and solving puzzles in a bid to escape.

There are four themed rooms to choose from, including the Sherlock Holmes-inspired 221B Baker Street.

Traditional pastimes like darts have been given a modern-day upgrade thanks to advancements in technology.

During the 60-minute Digi Darts activity, guests will throw digital darts at an AR dartboard.

Up to eight people can play against each other in one lane, all players will need to be aged 10 and over.

The PLAYXPERIENCE also has an AI-powered Batting Cage where holidaymakers can compete in sports like baseball, tennis, lacrosse, and cricket.

Each batting cage can hold up to 10 players, with players aged four and over given 60 minutes to try out the sports.

A TechPutt Zone features three different nine-hole courses, including a Music Course, a Vegas Course and a Neon Course.

Each course takes roughly 40 minutes to complete – depending on your putting skills.

There will also be a Laser Tag venue where players, armed with their phasers, will be given a mission to complete.

Laser Tag will last for 60 minutes, with only players aged eight and over allowed to take part.

The PLAYXPERIENCE also features a space called Neo Games, a huge interactive wall covered in video games as well as a VR-cade.

Other entertainment zones include Glow Pong and Shuffleboard Zone.

Meanwhile, in the evening, older guests can experience interactive bar games.

The PLAYXPERIENCE also has a cafe and a bar on site.

Holidaymakers will need to pay for the new games using Activity Tokens, which can be purchased digitally.

Activities can cost anything from one token per person to six tokens for a course.

6

6

Advertisement

Butlin’s says it has introduced Activity Tokens to help give holidaymakers “flexibility” and “keep track of their budgets”.

Jon Hendry Pickup, CEO at Butlin’s said: “As the Home of Entertainment, we’re immensely proud to be the first UK holiday resort to open something as spectacular as PLAYXPERIENCE.

“There’s nothing else like it in the holiday market and we know families visiting Bognor Regis and friends coming down on a Big Weekender break will love the range of activities on offer.

“PLAYXPERIENCE was designed with something for everyone in mind – whether visiting with family, a partner or a group of friends on a Big Weekender. No matter what break you’re on, everyone loves a bit of friendly competition while having fun in the process!”

BIG WEEKENDER HEADLINERS 2025

Meanwhile, the Butlin’s Big Weekenders are already set to make a return next year.

Next year, Butlin’s will host 15 different Big Weekender themed breaks, featuring a choice of musical eras from the 80s, 90s and 00s.

Pop legends like Matt Goss and Busted‘s Charlie Simpson will be performing on set weekends in 2025.

Platinum-selling artist Matt Goss will be headlining an “Ultimate 80s” break, while Charlie Simpson will perform a DJ set straight from the 00s.

Other artists are also slated to perform throughout the year, including Peter Andre, Blue and Boyzlife.

NEW ADDITIONS AT BUTLIN’S

Meanwhile, there are lots of exciting upcoming additions at the holiday parks.

The new £12million Maple Walk lodges are opening at the Skegness holiday park, with 128 premium accommodation options a short walk from the main park.

My View: How Butlin’s has Changed Over the Years

Advertisement

TRAVEL writer Catherine Lofthouse has been visiting the Butlin’s parks for 40 years – here’s her verdict:

“When I was little, my family would head to Butlin’s every July for a week by the sea, and I even worked at the Minehead resort as a lifeguard in my teens.

“One thing that’s always set Butlin’s apart from its rivals are the photo opportunities that you have during your break, including Teletubbies and TV star Stephen Mulhern.

“There’s also lots of sports and activities to choose from, like football, archery, crafts and soft play.

“One of the things I miss from holidays gone by are the monorails that ran at Skegness and Minehead from the 1960s for forty years.

Advertisement

“I think Butlin’s lost its way a bit in the 2000s when it seemed to become a mecca for stag and hen dos, but in the last decade, there’s been a bit of a turnaround in terms of rebranding and investment.

“I would say that anyone who hasn’t been for a while or who has written Butlin’s off as not for them might be wise to give it another go.”

And the new indoor activity centre PLAYXPERIENCE is to open at Bognor Regis after summer.

The £15million attraction will have two floors of games and activities, including escape rooms and VR experiences.

6

6