Booking your first stay at a UK holiday park can feel like a lot of small decisions rather than one big one, so it helps to work through them in order rather than all at once.

The short version: book peak weeks as soon as you know your dates, and treat everything else as considerably more flexible.

More information is available at self-catering holiday parks.

If you're bringing a dog, check the pet policy before you book rather than after. Parks vary on which units accept dogs, whether there's a charge, tingdeneholidayparks.com and whether there are walking areas on site. It's a five-minute check that saves a difficult phone call later.

Ask how far the park actually is from the beach or the coast, in minutes rather than vague terms like "nearby". A ten-minute drive and a forty-minute drive are both sometimes described the same way in marketing copy, so it's worth checking a map or asking directly if walking to the coast matters to your plans.

Off-peak months help enormously too. School holidays and the height of summer are when demand is tightest, so a late booking in May, September or October usually has far more choice than the same search in late July. The weather isn't guaranteed either way, but a coastal or countryside break in early autumn can be genuinely pleasant, with quieter paths and shorter queues wherever you stop for lunch.