Peak district

HOLME VALLEY CROWNED CAMPSITE OF THE YEAR 2026 AT PRESTIGIOUS INDUSTRY AWARDS

Posted on May 5, 2026

NAOMI HUMPHREYS and her husband Ben receive their award from Out & About Live.

Holme Valley Caravan and Camping Park in West Yorkshire has been voted Campsite of the Year 2026 by readers of Out & About Live, beating hundreds of UK parks in a national poll. The family-run park, on the edge of the Peak District near Holmfirth, was praised for its high-quality facilities, welcoming atmosphere, and tranquil setting.

Visitors highlighted the park’s abundant wildlife, including resident and visiting birds around its scenic lake. Sustainability has long been a priority for the Peaker family, with habitats created throughout the 16- acre grounds and successive top-level David Bellamy Conservation Awards.

Naomi Humphreys, who runs the park with her husband Ben, said the accolade was “both proud and humbling,” noting the key role of the park team in delivering excellent guest experiences. Holme Valley offers a mix of camping pitches and glamping accommodation, adventure golf, play areas, and a convenience store with local produce, attracting visitors from across the UK and Europe.

www.holmevalleycamping.com

DARWIN ESCAPES RESORTS

Posted on February 11, 2025

With a portfolio of 26 leading holiday resorts and three golf courses across the UK, Darwin Escapes is one of the trailblazers transforming the UK holiday park industry. Darwin Escapes offers holiday breaks, holiday home ownership and golf breaks with the widest range of holiday accommodation at its resorts, from romantic boutique escapes to luxury lodge retreats and traditional family-focused holiday parks.

With such variety on offer, there is sure to be something to appeal to everyone. “No two Darwin Escapes resorts are the same,” explains Drew Campbell, Director of Operations, “But every resort in our portfolio shares a common aim - to provide the best possible holiday experience for holidaymakers and holiday homeowners.”

“With this in mind, we have created brand new resorts in stunning locations with accommodation and facilities that rival those of 5-star hotels, and lovingly updated our existing sites across the UK.” One resort that is a flagship for the company in terms of the facilities on offer is Norfolk Woods Resort & Spa.

This multi-award-winning park recently scooped the Diamond Award for East of England large park for the third time in the prestigious Hoseasons Awards in November 2024. Norfolk Woods, established in 2019, is situated close to the market town of Kings Lynn in an ideal location for holidaymakers wishing to take advantage of Norfolk’s breath taking countryside and coastal scenery.

DARWIN ESCAPES RESORTS aim to provide the best possible holiday experience for holidaymakers and holiday homeowners

Guests at Norfolk Woods can choose from a selection of stylish and contemporary accommodation including premium lodges with outdoor hot tubs. Open plan in design, the lodges boast the latest entertainment features and kitchen facilities for a luxurious stay.

There is an abundance of on-site amenities and activities on offer at the park including an indoor swimming pool, stylish bar and bistro, outdoor children’s splash park, as well as a superbly equipped spa for adult relaxation. Norfolk Woods Resort & Spa may be fairly new, but it has a rich heritage in the region.

The original site was known as Pentney Holiday Park, a resort designed for touring caravans and camping holidaymakers, which was the home of decades of happy holiday memories. “We wanted to keep our resort as the home for more of those amazing holiday memories for decades to come, but with a new, contemporary and fresh feel,” explains Anne Foulkes, Regional & General Manager of Norfolk Woods.

“Our aim was to retain the gorgeous natural scenery and preserve the site as a true destination, whilst creating Norfolk’s best luxury lodge park.” Luxury lodges are also on offer at Darwin Escapes newest premium development: Blenheim Palace Lodge Retreat. Partnering with historic Blenheim Palace, the company has created a range of one-, two- and three-bedroom lodges in the grounds of the stunning Blenheim Estate in Oxfordshire.

NORFOLK WOODS RESORT & Spa boasts great leisure facilities for all ages

The self-catering holiday lodges, which opened in August 2023, feature high-end furnishings and facilities including luxury open-plan dining and living areas, walk-in wardrobes and ensuite bathrooms. Working together with the team at Blenheim Palace, Darwin Escapes were keen to respect both the prestige of the existing site and the local area’s environmental factors.

Each lodge is fully electric and fitted with air-source heat pumps and personal car charging stations to help to reduce impact on the environment. “We’ve ensured our lodge accommodation fits seamlessly into the surrounding landscape near Blenheim Palace,” explains Drew Campbell, Director of Operations.

“We’ve also honoured the heritage with the naming of our lodges – Winston, Hawksmoor, Vanbrugh and Marlborough. This, along with our interior decoration, is a nod to the rich history of the area that awaits guests in their Blenheim lodge accommodation.” Some of the design features of the Blenheim lodges might also be familiar to viewers of the BBC television series Interior Design Masters with Alan Carr.

In the final episode of the 2024 series, the two finalists took on the challenge to design the interior and outdoor space of two of the lodges at the Retreat. Holidaymakers can now choose to stay in one of the two lodges that the finalists designed. Unique accommodation is a feature of many of the Darwin Escapes resorts.

DARWIN ESCAPES RESORTS are available at 26 stunning locations throughout the UK. Pictured, Wareham Forest Lodge Retreat in Poole, Dorset

Amongst the most innovative and desirable are the treehouses available at Rivendale Lodge Retreat in the Peak District, and Woodside Bay Lodge Retreat on the Isle of Wight. These one-bedroom treehouses are designed with couples in mind and feature stylish copper furnishings, fully equipped kitchens with wine coolers and dishwashers, and multi-decked outdoor areas with luxurious sunken hot tubs.

The Darwin Escapes portfolio is managed by a 900-strong team of staff. The head office is based at the Talacre Beach Resort in North Wales, which is one of the company’s leading parks for holiday home ownership. Across the portfolio of 26 resorts, 15 offer holidays only, 3 offer holiday home ownership only, and 8 offer a mix of holiday home ownership and holidays such as at Talacre.

For those looking to buy a holiday home, Darwin Escapes offers a wide range of homes for sale, from static caravans to luxury lodges, to suit all budgets and requirements. Lodge and caravan holidays, meanwhile, are booked through their trusted booking partner Hoseasons, who handle all resort holiday bookings excluding those at Dundonald Links Resort in Ayrshire, Scotland, and Blenheim Palace Lodge Retreat, which are booked directly with the resorts.

The team behind Darwin Escapes is constantly on the lookout for exciting solutions to increase their market share and the profile of their resorts amongst prospective buyers and holidaymakers. “Whilst UK holidays have been swept up in the staycation boom, one of the challenges over recent years has been the smaller marketplace for the sales community, with signs of a slight downtrend in holiday home ownership,” explains Shaun Roberts, Group Head of Sales.

THE BISTRO at Norfolk Woods Resort & Spa

“One of the ways we have responded to this is by branching out with new marketing adventures. Our appearance on Interior Design Masters is one example, alongside a Win a Caravan competition, increasing our out of home digital screen advertising across the country with particular interest in the North West, and attending more events throughout the year.”

Darwin Escapes are corporate partners with many of the UK’s top business and visitor attractions such as Chester Zoo, the Royal Shakespeare Company, Birmingham Hippodrome, Derby Book Festival and Venue Cymru. These partnerships offer their guests unique opportunities and help to ensure the very best holiday experience when they stay at a Darwin Escapes Resort.

The partnerships also involve giving back to the partner organisations with sponsorship of events and other collaborations. Each resort also chooses their own local charities to fund raise for throughout the year. It’s an innovative plan that’s clearly working in terms of both customer and industry recognition.

INTERIOR OF ONE of the lodges featured on television series Interior Design Masters

Since 2015, the Darwin Escapes resorts have collected a vast range of accolades from Best in Britain to 5-star ratings and regional award titles too. Most resorts have been assigned the Tripadvisor Certificate of Excellence and several are also rated 5 Black Pennant by AA Hotel and Hospitality Services.

All the North Wales holiday resorts have been awarded a 5-star status by Visit Wales, and in England, all resorts have either been given 5-star status by Visit England, or also boast Visit England Gold Awards.

“We are so proud of our award-winning resorts and these achievements are a credit to all of our hard-working teams across the UK, who strive to set the standard in the holiday resort industry,” says Drew Campbell, Director of Operations.

Darwin Escapes
0800 717707
www.darwinescapes.co.uk

UK STAYCATION TRENDS

Posted on March 5, 2024

UK STAYCATION TRENDS

Holiday bookers would rather staycation than go abroad in 2024, according to new research – but it’s a close call. When 1,000 UK holidaymakers were surveyed by Thermos, 52% chose staying close to home, while 48% would choose to head overseas this year. One in three said they had a staycation at some point in the last year (30%).

Only one in 10 (10%) said they felt a staycation wasn’t as much of a break as a holiday abroad. When asked about preferred destinations for a UK getaway, 11 per cent said they kept theirs secret from wider acquaintances, as they feared them becoming too touristy. One in five (22%) said they actively avoided tourist hot spots because they were too busy.

BEST THINGS ABOUT A STAYCATION:
1. Saves travel time – 45%
2. Supports local businesses – 39%
3. There are still lots of places I haven’t explored and want to – 38%
4. Better for the environment – 36%
5. Saves money – 33%
6. No issue with language – 30%
7. Less stressful – 30%
8. No restrictions on luggage – 25%
9. Know I will like the food – 22%
10. I can take my pets - 20%

THE TOP 10 UK STAYCATION DESTINATIONS:
1. East of England - incl. Norfolk and Cambridgeshire
2. South West England - incl. Cornwall, Devon and the Cotswolds
3. North West - incl. the Lake District
4. East Midlands - incl. Derbyshire and the Peak District
5. North East - incl. Northumberland
6. South East - incl. Oxfordshire, Kent and the Isle of Wight
7. Greater London
8. Yorkshire
9. Scotland
10.Wales

Other reasons quoted were it makes it easier to take family and friends for a group holiday (19%), and enjoying the weather more (12%). The Staycation report also revealed that generally holiday makers will be heading South – with 31% saying that would be their preferred option, whilst 19% would head North.

James Sheldon, Trading Manager at Thermos, said: “Obviously the pandemic necessitated a change in travel habits, and no one was quite sure how that would impact things longer term. It seems the trend for holidaying closer to home is going to continue into 2024, for reasons of ease, cost, the environment and the fact we’re lucky enough to have so many wonderful places in easy reach.

“Twenty per cent of respondents said they preferred a self-catering holiday, so they can choose what and when they eat. In Thermos’ 120-year history we’ve accompanied many families on a Great British getaway, and we are delighted that tradition continues. A flask of tea and fish and chips on the beach remains one of life’s great pleasures!”

STAYCATION TREND DRIVES GROWTH

Posted on August 5, 2021

STAYCATION TREND DRIVES GROWTH

FOLLOWING ITS LATEST accquisitions, Landal GreenParks boasts ten resorts across the UK.

Back-to-nature holiday brand Landal GreenParks has expanded its growing UK portfolio with the addition of a three new holiday resorts, as it continues to be one of the fastest growing lodge holiday brands in the UK and capitalise on the surge in demand for staycation holidays. Welcomed into the group are Landal Barton Pines in Devon, Landal Rockingham Forest in Northamptonshire and Landal Vale of Usk in Monmouthshire – the brand’s first holiday resort inWales – and brings the number of parks to ten across the UK since their launch in 2017.

Landal GreenParks originated in Holland in 1954 and now offers over 100 locations across nine European countries including the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark and Austria, and the UK is the 9th territory for Landal GreenParks to launch into. “We are delighted to welcome our latest additions to the Landal family,” said Paul Hardingham, Managing Director of Landal GreenParks UK. “When we brought the concept to the UK we were confident it would appeal to British holidaymakers, as there wasn’t anything offering the same experience, but we’ve been astounded by the popularity our current locations.” “The next stage for us was to add more resorts within the UK to build on our successes, so we are pleased to announce plans for three new locations this year and have more in the pipeline for the near future.” “It’s been a challenging 18 months for the industry, but it is evident that holidays which bring guests closer to nature and give them the chance to explore the diverse outdoor space in the UK is exactly what guests want right now.”

Landal’s seven other sites are spread across the UK including the Peak District, Kielder Water & Forest Park, the Cornish coastline and Scottish countryside. The company offers 15,000 holiday homes, has 3,000 employees and provides 14.5 million overnight stays to 2.8 million guests per year.

Acclaim For Former Dairy Farmers

Posted on November 3, 2017

Acclaim For Former Dairy Farmers

Acclaim For Former Dairy FarmersA family-run holiday business has claimed a double victory at this year’s Rural Business Awards (RBA’s).
Not only did Hoe Grange win the Best Rural Tourism Business category, it also pipped 12 other category winners to be crowned as the Champion of Champions. The Derbyshire farm, which specialises in high quality disabled access, was awarded the prize by Harper Adams University, ahead of runners-up Barleylands Farm Park and Craft Village in the only UK-wide programme dedicated to showcasing the success of rural businesses.
David Brown from Hoe Grange Holidays said: “We started out as dairy farmers but spotted an opportunity to diversify our business and offer a positive experience for people to enjoy the Derbyshire countryside.
“To have our success acknowledged at the Rural Business Awards is testament to all our hard work and to the people who have supported us along the way. It’s obviously a great honour to be named as Champion of Champions at this year’s ceremony and we can’t wait to see what the future holds for our business.”
When David and Felicity Brown first investigated self-catering tourism to supplement their dairy farm income in 2005, market research showed there was a large supply of standard self-catering properties in the Peak District but a lack of accessible accommodation. Over the past decade Hoe Grange Holidays has become a specialist in accessible accommodation, winning many national awards.