The UK’s best family-friendly holiday parks

There are a lot of reasons why so many families choose to stay in one of the UK’s many holiday parks year after year.

No early-morning airport run, no baggage allowance, no worrying that someone has forgotten their passport. You simply load up with everything you need, drive, and before you know it, the children have disappeared off on their bikes, and you are putting the kettle on.

It works whether you own a static caravan, hire one for the week or are hitting the road with your touring caravan. Compared to other holidays, there can be significant savings for a family, as having a kitchen means you are not paying restaurant prices three times a day.

But the real draw is something harder to put a price on – the sense of freedom.

The best family-oriented holiday parks are perfect for both children and their parents. The kids can roam safely, make friends and come back to the caravan hungry and go to bed without a fight. All whilst the parents can relax and unwind. That is difficult to arrange anywhere else.

Holiday parks have evolved

If you picture a windswept field and a breeze-block toilet block with one working shower when someone suggests holidaying in a caravan in the UK, it is worth another look.

The facilities on offer now are genuinely impressive. Heated amenity blocks with underfloor heating and family bathrooms you can book by the hour. Indoor pools with flumes. Adventure golf, soft play, games rooms, off-road bike tracks, fishing lakes, animal petting areas and on-site shops that sell fresh bread rather than just firelighters. Plenty of parks have added EV charging, decent WiFi and a coffee van doing the rounds a couple of mornings a week.

The wet-weather provision is often the bit that matters most for families, and it has improved enormously. A park with an indoor pool, a games room and a covered play area turns a washout week from a disaster into a slightly damp holiday.

We thought it was time we celebrated the best family holiday parks in the UK. It has proven to be quite a challenge to narrow down the list, as there are so many brilliant parks out there. So, we have focused on parks which have won independent awards.

What does award-winning actually mean?

Let’s be honest – ‘award-winning’ gets used loosely, so we have narrowed it down to the badges that we believe actually carry weight for holiday parks:

• Practical Caravan / Practical Motorhome Top 100 Sites Guide: decided by public vote, with regional and category winners including Best Site for Families.
• AA Caravan and Camping Awards: inspected rather than voted, covering both touring sites and larger holiday parks.
• VisitEngland Awards for Excellence: the “Camping, Glamping and Holiday Park of the Year” category is judged against the whole guest experience.
• Out & About Live Awards: another public vote, so a win means a lot of returning guests bothered to go online and say so.
• David Bellamy Conservation Awards: a good indicator of how a park looks after its site and wildlife.

With that in mind, here are parks that have been recognised as being the best in class in the UK:

Holme Valley Camping & Caravan Park, West Yorkshire

Image courtesy of Holme Valley Camping & Caravan Park

Award: Campsite of the Year 2026, Out & About Live (national public vote)

Sixteen acres of woodland and meadow on the northern edge of the Peak District, with the River Holme running round the site and a fishing lake among the pitches.

Family-friendly features:

• Pitches are varied, and you choose on arrival: lakeside, riverside, in the trees or in a meadow
• Adventure golf and hireable six-wheel Crazi-Bugz on a purpose-built woodland off-road track
• Play area plus open space and woodland for bikes, den building and hide and seek
• Amenity block with underfloor heating, family bathrooms, baby changing and accessible showers
• Fishing on the river and lake, and plenty of water birds to spot
• Licensed shop with refills, a food hut on site, and a pub ten minutes’ walk away
• Open all year, so it works for half terms as well as summer

Address: Thongsbridge, Holmfirth, West Yorkshire, HD9 7TD

Website: holmevalleycamping.com

Yeatheridge Farm Caravan & Camping Park, Devon

Award: Best Site for Families, Practical Caravan Top 100 Sites Guide 2026

A working farm, set on high ground between Crediton, South Molton and Tiverton. Open mid-March to mid-October.

Family-friendly features:

• Two heated indoor pools, one with a water slide, free to guests
• The Bull Pen has a bar, restaurant, takeaway, games room and soft play
• Fenced play fort for under-tens plus a football field
• Two coarse fishing lakes, one reserved for family fishing
• Horse riding from the on-site stables and seasonal alpaca walks
• Animal area where children can meet the farm livestock
• Woodland walks along the River Dalch, from one to two and a half miles
• Two heated blocks with family rooms, and an accessible washroom

Address: East Worlington, Crediton, Devon, EX17 4TN

Website: yeatheridge.co.uk

Hendra Holiday Park, Cornwall

Award: Holiday Centre of the Year, AA Caravan and Camping Awards; AA Platinum rating; five-star park from Visit England.

Eighty acres of landscaped parkland in the Cornish countryside, a mile and a half from Newquay. Family-owned since 1972 and still independent. Holiday homes, lodges, touring and camping.

Good for families because:

• Oasis Fun Pools, one of the largest indoor pools in the South West, with three flumes graded from gentle to fast, river rapids, fountains and a giant tap
• Separate baby and toddler pool with its own slide for under-fives
• Outdoor heated pool from late May to the end of August
• Indoor and outdoor play areas, a ninja assault course, adventure golf and a skate and scooter park
• A daily land train round the park with one of the hippo mascots
• Nightly family entertainment, with passes included for guests
• Four eateries on site, from fish and chips to pizza
• A quiet swimming session on Wednesday mornings for guests who need one
• Newquay Rocks activity centre, adding indoor climbing, soft play and a gym
• Seven sandy beaches within easy reach, and a bus stop at the park entrance

Address: Newquay, Cornwall, TR8 4NY

Website: hendra-holidays.com

Folly Farm Holiday Park, Pembrokeshire

Award: Best Family Caravan Park in South Wales, Campsites.co.uk; UK runner-up two years running; five stars from Visit Wales

One hundred acres of Pembrokeshire countryside next door to the Folly Farm attraction, ten minutes from Saundersfoot and fifteen from Tenby.

Family-friendly features:

• Zoo with 750-plus animals, the Jolly Barn farm animals, a vintage indoor funfair and adventure play areas, all a short walk from your pitch
• Lodge and cottage guests get unlimited attraction entry; touring and camping guests pay day entry once for unlimited access all week
• Accommodation from serviced super pitches to safari tents, Showman’s Wagons and themed hot tub lodges
• Facilities building with showers, a disabled and family room, laundry and washing up
• Buggy and wheelchair friendly paths throughout
• Family room with baby changing, a microwave and seating for breastfeeding
• Indoor attractions make it a workable wet-weather option

Address: Begelly, Kilgetty, Pembrokeshire, SA68 0XA

Website: folly-farm.co.uk

Park Cliffe, Windermere, Cumbria

Award: Best Family Campsite in North West England, Campsites.co.uk; Camping, Glamping and Holiday Park of the Year, Cumbria Tourism Awards

Twenty-five acres of fellside above Lake Windermere, three miles from Bowness. No clubs, discos or fairground.

Family-friendly features:

• A shallow, meandering brook that children tend to prefer to any play equipment
• Adventure playground with a climbing frame for older children, swings and slide for younger ones, and a family swing
• Indoor games room with table football, air hockey and games machines for wet days
• Family bathrooms in the amenity block
• Accommodation spans tent pitches, serviced hardstandings, camping pods and en-suite glamping pods
• Bar and restaurant with a pool table and board games, plus a shop and food truck
• Moor How, a 229m hill with big views, reached through the playground
• The World of Beatrix Potter, Lakes Aquarium and lake cruises within ten minutes

Address: Birks Road, Windermere, Cumbria, LA23 3PG

Website: parkcliffe.co.uk

Clawford Lakes Resort and Spa, Devon

Image courtesy of Clawford Lakes Resort and Spa

Award: Gold, Camping, Glamping and Holiday Park of the Year, VisitEngland Awards for Excellence 2026

A valley estate of around 80 acres near Holsworthy, built around 17 lakes, half an hour from the north Cornwall coast.

Family-friendly features:

• Kayaking and paddle boarding on the leisure lake, free to guests
• Outdoor pool with flumes, plus an indoor pool overlooking the lake in the spa
• Fishing across the lakes with a tackle shop and tuition for beginners
• Free Park Ranger sessions for children during the school holidays
• Children’s play area, badminton and boules by the central lake
• Restaurant and bar plus a food truck for less formal evenings
• Accommodation children find exciting: floating lodges, lake pods and canvas cocoons with fire pits, alongside lodges sleeping up to eight
• Dogs stay free in selected units, with a dedicated dog paddling lake

Address: Clawton, Holsworthy, Devon, EX22 6PN

Website: clawfordlakes.co.uk

Get your cover sorted before you go

A holiday park break is meant to be the easy option for the perfect family getaway. The one thing that undoes that is discovering, halfway through the week, that something is not covered.

If you tow a touring caravan, your car insurance covers you for third-party liability while it is hitched up, and that is usually where it stops. It will not pay out if the caravan is damaged, stolen or written off, and it will not cover your awning, your gas bottles or the contents inside. Separate touring caravan cover deals with all of that, and most policies extend to the caravan while it is in storage, which is where a good proportion of claims actually happen.

If you own a static caravan, most parks require you to hold your own policy as a condition of the licence agreement, as the park’s cover protects the park, not your holiday home. You want a policy that handles storm and flood damage, theft, and public liability if someone is injured on your decking.

It’s worth checking whether new-for-old replacement applies, what excess you would pay, and whether your contents are covered separately from the unit itself.

Once you have the peace of mind that you are covered for all eventualities, the only thing you need to focus on is enjoying your time together as a family.

Opinions expressed in this article are those of Compass Insurance, based on our expert view of the market dynamics, unless specific additional source(s) is/are listed.

This article was published on 24 September 2026. It was accurate when posted, but things may have changed over time, and some links might not work anymore. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to get in touch with us.