5 best Northumberland and County Durham caravan holiday parks 2019

Northumberland and County Durham are good caravan holiday spots if you like wide open beaches, lots of green space and a billy bargain... 

We reckon that caravan holiday parks in Northumberland are - as a general rule - considerably cheaper than holiday parks in popular Westcountry counties such as Cornwall or Devon. Even during the peak season in August, you'll find some accommodation on offer for as little as £10 - £15 per person, per night (if you're willing to fill up a caravan and go for the cheapest on offer). 

Famous attractions include Alnwick Castle which features in some of the earlier Harry Potter films (and the Kevin Costner Robin Hood film which was unavoidable in the early 90s). There's also plenty of green space for walkers, including Northumberland National Park and the North Pennines. For a city day out, your best bet is Newcastle Upon Tyne.

We've picked out five of the best caravan holiday parks and lodges in Northumberland and County Durham by looking at customer reviews, location, onsite facilities and local attractions.

1. Haven Berwick Holiday Park, Berwick (beachside, indoor and outdoor swimming pools)

**Winner: best value holiday park in our top 5**

Haven is probably the best-known name in UK caravan holidays, and they've got two parks within Northumberland to choose from. There aren't any Haven holiday parks in County Durham. 

Haven Berwick Caravan Holiday Park and Haven Haggerston Castle Caravan Holiday Park both get decent reviews of 4/5 on TripAdvisor but Berwick Holiday Park just edges it for us on location.

Berwick Holiday Park is walking distance to the beach, whereas Haven Haggerston Castle is a 15 minute drive (it's near the coast, but not an easily accessible beach). Having said that, Haggerston Castle Holiday Park is built around a number of lakes, so it is certainly attractive.

They both have indoor swimming pools, but Berwick Holiday Park also has an outdoor swimming pool (perhaps a little ambitious in the North of England, but you never know...). Haggerston Castle has more places to eat onsite and has a slightly better range of onsite activities, such as a boating lake and minigolf. 

If you're choosing between the two, I would also compare prices at both. When we checked, there wasn't much in it but if you are booking last minute you may find that the cheaper accommodation has sold out.
Price: £741 for a week in a standard two bedroom caravan for a family of four in August 2020 at Haven Berwick Holiday Park. For comparison, Haggerston Castle was £754, so only £13 difference between the two. There are various upgrades available, such as posher caravans with more space.
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2. Whitley Bay Caravan Holiday Park (walk to beach, indoor swimming pool, kids club)

**Winner: cheapest holiday park in our top 5**

Parkdean Resorts has five caravan holiday parks around Northumberland, County Durham and Newcastle. Whitley Bay is worth a look as it offers positive customer reviews, decent facilities and easy access to a beach for building sandcastles.

​The park is also very very close to Newcastle and Sunderland, so it's a good one for a weekend away at the coast. The centre of Newcastle upon Tyne is only half an hour away by car.

Onsite you'll find an indoor swimming pool, kids' and grown-ups' entertainment, a playground and sports court. Local attractions include the St Mary's Lighthouse which has a rather dramatic walkway which is submerged at high tide. 
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Customers reviews of Whitley Bay Caravan Holiday Park were averaging 4/5 on most sites when we checked.

Price: £599 for a week in a two bedroom caravan for a family of four in August 2020. It's worth looking at reviews of the different grades of caravan as it isn't always the case that the most expensive accommodation gets the best reviews.

3. Heather View Leisure Park, County Durham (simple facilities, rural location)

If you're looking for non-stop noisy entertainment...don't stay at Heather View Leisure Park in County Durham. However, do consider it if you want a quiet holiday park with simple facilities in a pretty location. 

​The park is on the edge of the North Pennines so it's a good one for walking and trying to persuade teenagers to spend a few minutes without looking at their phones.

Onsite there's a playground and somewhere to eat, but this caravan park isn't trying to compete with Haven or Parkdean in terms of facilities.

Heather View Leisure Park is one of the few caravan holiday parks we've found which offers some wheelchair accessible accommodation. One of the caravans on offer has a wet room and a hoist. My advice is always to call ahead to talk through your needs, as we found that one person's idea of 'accessible' is different to someone else's.

Reviews were averaging a very impressive 4.5/5 when we checked.

Price: £745 for a week in a 'superior caravan' for a family of four in August 2020

4. Springhouse Country Park, Hexham (playground, countryside location, quiet park)

As I write this, Springhouse Country Park is achieving the holiday park equivalent of winning the Champions League, with a TripAdvisor average score of 5/5. That takes some doing, considering there is always some whinger out there who complains that they couldn't see the sea from their bedroom in Derbyshire or similar nonsense.

As is often the case, it isn't the parks with the biggest range of facilities that get the best ratings. Springhouse Country Park has a decent playground, but it doesn't have a swimming pool or a kids club or similar. It is though well located for walks in the North Pennines and it's only 40 minutes if you fancy a day trip to Newcastle Upon Tyne.

Price: £629 for a week in a Slaley caravan for a family of four in August 2020. It's actually an 8 berth caravan, so you could cram a few aunts and uncles in if you want to get better value for money.

5. Landal Kielder Waterside, Northumberland National Park (posh lodges, hot tubs, swimming pool, lots of activities)

This one's a little bit posher (and more expensive) than most holiday parks, but it's worth a look if you can afford it. 

Landal Greenparks has a handful of similar parks in the UK and is often compared to Center Parcs, though the sites aren't quite on the same scale. Rather than caravans, the accommodation is lodge, some of which have hot tubs. Bear in mind that you pay extra for many of the activities, much like Center Parcs.

Landal Kielder Waterside gets impressive average reviews of 4.5/5 from customers and offers facilities such as an indoor swimming pool, gym, sauna, archery, playgrounds, lots of nature trails and cycle tracks, minigolf, fishing and bike hire. 

Price: £1185 for a week in a Hadrian lodge for four people in August 2020. The cheapest accommodation with a hot tub was about £200 extra for a week.

Price comparison of 5 of the best caravan holiday parks in Northumberland and County Durham

For our price comparison we looked for the cheapest accommodation available for a family of four in August 2020. We didn't include any upgrades or extras such as bringing a pet or paid activities. We carried out our searches in June 2019. You might find you can get a last minute bargain if you leave it late before booking, although generally it's best to get in early and book up the cheapest accommodation if you are trying to find a low-priced holiday.

Anyway, here's our price comparison:
  1. Parkdean Whitley Bay Caravan Holiday Park - £599 **Winner: cheapest holiday park**
  2. Springhouse Country Park ​ - £629
  3. Haven Berwick Caravan Holiday Park - £741 **Winner: best value holiday park**
  4. Heather View Leisure Park ​ - £745
  5. Landal Kielder Waterside - £1185

Other guides from the Holiday Park Guru

Holiday-Park-Guru-Don't-Blame-Us-Disclaimer: All the information on this page is accurate, as far as we know. However, facilities at holiday parks change so please check with the park before booking.