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5 Best Northumberland And County Durham Caravan Holiday Parks 2024
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.
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 Northumberland 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. It also gets slightly better reviews on Google reviews.
Berwick Holiday Park is walking distance to the beach, whereas Haven Haggerston Castle is a 15 minute drive (Haggerston Castle is 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. Haven added some upgrades in 2019 including a new 'garden atrium' with soft play and restaurants.
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. When we checked, there wasn't much in it. If you are booking last minute you may find that the cheaper accommodation has sold out and that one is significantly cheaper than the other.
Berwick Holiday Park and Haggerston Castle Holiday Park are both dog friendly.
Price: £668 for a week in a standard two-bedroom caravan for a family of four in August 2024 at Haven Berwick Holiday Park. For comparison, Haggerston Castle was £600, so only £68 difference between the two. There are various upgrades available, such as posher caravans with more space.
We included the price for a standard Haven holiday which means you can use all the facilities, including the indoor swimming pools (although you pay for some activities).
You could save yourself about £100-£140 on this holiday by choosing 'Haven Hideaway' but that means you just get accommodation and access to the restaurants. The saving is less significant outside of school holidays.
Finally, it is worth mentioning that if you pick the accommodation only option at Haggerston Castle then you could get a week's holiday for as little as £440. That's a remarkably low price for early August.
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. It also gets slightly better reviews on Google reviews.
Berwick Holiday Park is walking distance to the beach, whereas Haven Haggerston Castle is a 15 minute drive (Haggerston Castle is 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. Haven added some upgrades in 2019 including a new 'garden atrium' with soft play and restaurants.
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. When we checked, there wasn't much in it. If you are booking last minute you may find that the cheaper accommodation has sold out and that one is significantly cheaper than the other.
Berwick Holiday Park and Haggerston Castle Holiday Park are both dog friendly.
Price: £668 for a week in a standard two-bedroom caravan for a family of four in August 2024 at Haven Berwick Holiday Park. For comparison, Haggerston Castle was £600, so only £68 difference between the two. There are various upgrades available, such as posher caravans with more space.
We included the price for a standard Haven holiday which means you can use all the facilities, including the indoor swimming pools (although you pay for some activities).
You could save yourself about £100-£140 on this holiday by choosing 'Haven Hideaway' but that means you just get accommodation and access to the restaurants. The saving is less significant outside of school holidays.
Finally, it is worth mentioning that if you pick the accommodation only option at Haggerston Castle then you could get a week's holiday for as little as £440. That's a remarkably low price for early August.
Haven's Berwick Caravan Holiday Park is a short walk to the beach...
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...and they've got a good range of caravans to choose from
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2. Whitley Bay Caravan Holiday Park (walk to beach, indoor swimming pool, kids club)
**Parkdean Resorts Black Friday: 1000s of holidays from £69 + up to 30% off 7 night holidays (expires 04/12/23)**
Parkdean Resorts has five caravan holiday parks around Northumberland, County Durham and Newcastle. Whitley Bay Holiday Park is our pick as it has positive customer reviews, decent facilities and easy access to a beach for building sandcastles.
The park is also 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 that is submerged at high tide.
Customer reviews of Whitley Bay Caravan Holiday Park average 4/5 on most review sites.
Price: £699 for a week in a two bedroom 'Cleadon' caravan for a family of four in August 2024. This particular model actually has three bedroom and sleeps six people. For an extra £20 we could get an eight berth caravan, which would work out as just £12 per person, per night.
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.
The park is also 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 that is submerged at high tide.
Customer reviews of Whitley Bay Caravan Holiday Park average 4/5 on most review sites.
Price: £699 for a week in a two bedroom 'Cleadon' caravan for a family of four in August 2024. This particular model actually has three bedroom and sleeps six people. For an extra £20 we could get an eight berth caravan, which would work out as just £12 per person, per night.
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.
Whitley Bay Caravan Holiday Park is a busy site with evening entertainment...
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...and some recently added caravans
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3. Springhouse Country Park, Hexham (playground, countryside location, quiet park)
Springhouse Country Park achieves a very impressive TripAdvisor average score of 4.5/5.
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. However, it is well located for walks in the North Pennines and it's only 40 minutes if you fancy a day trip to Newcastle Upon Tyne.
Most of the accommodation is two bedroom and three-bedroom caravans which sleep six or eight people. Reviews of the individual caravans are generally very positive.
If you want to upgrade, they also have some 'holiday homes' which are quite a lot wider than a standard caravan. Some holiday parks call this type of accommodation a 'lodge' and they certainly feel a lot more spacious is you're travelling with the whole family. For the week we looked at, the holiday home was about £200 extra.
Price: £615 for a week in a caravan for a family of four in August 2024.
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. However, it is well located for walks in the North Pennines and it's only 40 minutes if you fancy a day trip to Newcastle Upon Tyne.
Most of the accommodation is two bedroom and three-bedroom caravans which sleep six or eight people. Reviews of the individual caravans are generally very positive.
If you want to upgrade, they also have some 'holiday homes' which are quite a lot wider than a standard caravan. Some holiday parks call this type of accommodation a 'lodge' and they certainly feel a lot more spacious is you're travelling with the whole family. For the week we looked at, the holiday home was about £200 extra.
Price: £615 for a week in a caravan for a family of four in August 2024.
Springhouse Country Park is just outside of the North Pennines...
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...and it's got a restaurant and playground onsite
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4. 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've 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: £749 for a week in a 'mobile home' for a family of four in August 2024.
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've 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: £749 for a week in a 'mobile home' for a family of four in August 2024.
Heather View is a good value caravan holiday park...
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...which is near to some pretty spots in the North Pennines
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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 lodges, 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 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: £1759 for a week in an Elf Kirk lodge for four people in August 2024. The cheapest accommodation with a hot tub was about £350 extra for a week.
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 lodges, 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 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: £1759 for a week in an Elf Kirk lodge for four people in August 2024. The cheapest accommodation with a hot tub was about £350 extra for a week.
Landal Kielder Waterside is in a fantastic location...
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...and it's well equipped with a swimming pool, minigolf, fishing and archery.
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Price comparison the 5 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 2024. We didn't include any upgrades or extras such as bringing a pet or paid activities. We carried out our searches in November 2023. 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:
Anyway, here's our price comparison:
- Springhouse Country Park - £615
- Haven Berwick Caravan Holiday Park - £668 **Winner: best value holiday park**
- Parkdean Whitley Bay Caravan Holiday Park - £699
- Heather View Leisure Park - £749
- Landal Kielder Waterside - £1759
Images from Parkdean Resorts, Landal, Haven and Booking.com.
