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.

Where it's worth spending rather than cutting corners is on the things that affect your actual comfort: a caravan or lodge with enough bedrooms that nobody's sharing a room they'd rather not, a park close enough to what you actually want to do that you're not driving an hour each way, and decent waterproofs and footwear so a bit of British weather doesn't spoil a day out. Saving money by squeezing into a smaller unit or picking a park purely on price, regardless of location, tends to show up as a less enjoyable week rather than a genuine saving.

Before you book any UK holiday park, a handful of straightforward questions can save you from an awkward surprise on arrival.

Ground floor access matters more here than on a standard family trip. If grandparents are less keen on stairs, check unit layouts before booking rather than after, since not every caravan or lodge is single-level, and a quick question to the park before you book saves any awkwardness on arrival.

If your trip is about a relaxed, self-catering base with room to actually live in for a few days, a static caravan holiday at one of our parks is worth a look. If it's about a compact, everything-sorted stay in the middle of things, a hotel is the better fit. Most families find the caravan route suits a coastal or countryside staycation particularly well, simply because there's more to come back to at the end of a day out.

Families with younger children often lean coastal, since a beach gives you a ready-made activity that needs very little planning: buckets, spades and a few hours, and everyone's entertained. Couples or www.tingdeneholidayparks.com those wanting a slower pace, or a base for cycling and walking rather than swimming, often prefer the countryside or Broads setting, where the pace of the holiday matches the pace of the surroundings.