The Atlantic coast of North Cornwall

Holiday parks, lodges and cottages in the UK: your own front door, your own kitchen

UK self-catering

A kitchen of your own, a few hours’ drive away

A holiday park, a lodge or a cottage gives your family its own front door and its own kitchen, so you can cook your own halal food. And you pay for the whole home rather than by the room, so a large family does not pay for two hotel rooms.

UK self-catering on Halalbooking, in numbers

Holiday parks
57
Lodges and cabins
420
Cottages
541
Usual check-in
3 or 4 pm

Holiday parks: seaside breaks for families

Caravans and bungalows with pools and play areas, from Cornwall to the Highlands

A holiday park is the simplest way to give the children a seaside holiday at a lower cost than a hotel. You get a caravan, bungalow or lodge, usually with two or three bedrooms and a kitchen, and the park adds the pool, the play areas and outdoor space.

Evenings at many parks centre on a clubhouse, which may include a bar. Everyone on the park shares the pools, and where a park has told us its swimwear policy, its page shows it: at Retallack Resort, modest swimwear is allowed in both pools. If either matters to your family, open the facilities on the park’s page before you book.

An alcohol-free park by a Highland loch. Linnhe Lochside Holidays near Fort William is an alcohol-free property, with caravans looking over the loch. It closes from 31 Oct to 14 Dec, and it lists no halal food nearby, so bring your own.

Arrival days

Many parks take arrivals only on Mondays, for 4 nights, and on Fridays, for 3. A 2-night weekend is harder to find.

Check-in times

Most parks hand over the keys from 4 pm and ask you to leave by 10 am, so plan the drive around it.

Pool seasons

Outdoor pools usually open from April or May to September, and some parks close for part of the winter.

Extra charges

Some parks charge for bed linen or towels, or take a damage deposit before you arrive. The important notes on each page say which.

From the Cornish coast to a Highland loch

Cornwall and Devon first, then the New Forest, Lincolnshire, Wales and the Highlands

Lodges and cabins: a hot tub of your own under the trees

Timber lodges by lochs, lakes and forests, open through the winter

A lodge gives your family as much privacy as a villa, and you can reach it by car. The deck, the kitchen and the front door are yours for the whole stay, and at some lodges a hot tub too.

We show how private the hot tub is wherever the lodge has told us. Every cabin at Hillhead Hideaways in Moray has its own fully-secluded hot tub, so no one outside can see in. Some cabins at Chestnut Meadow Country Park near Bexhill-on-Sea have one too.

Alcohol-free by the water in Fermanagh. Platinum Lakeside Lodge at Mullans Bay on Boa Island is an alcohol-free property. It lists no halal food nearby, so plan to cook in the lodge.

Private hot tubs

A hot tub in your own lodge has no timetable and no other guests, so the women of the family can use it freely.

Winter breaks

Many lodges stay open through the colder months, and a 4-night midweek break in November or February is easy to find.

Weekend breaks

Many lodges take a 2-night weekend, so a Friday to Sunday trip needs no time off school.

Adults-only lodges

A few lodges accept adults only. Travelling with children? Read the important notes before you book.

Hot tubs in the woods and lodges by the water

Moray, Devon, Sussex and Hampshire, then Skye, Aberdeenshire, Cumbria and Fermanagh

Cottages: a whole house for the whole family

Farm cottages and village houses in Yorkshire, the Peak District, Wales and the West Country

A cottage suits a family trip with grandparents and cousins. You book the whole house, so there is space to cook one meal for everyone, pray together in the living room and give the older guests a quiet bedroom.

Cottages run on house rules rather than hotel ones. Most hand over the keys from 3 or 4 pm and ask for them back by 10 or 10.30 am. Some add a cleaning fee or take a damage deposit, and a few accept adults only.

Halal food on request in Wiltshire. Whitley Coach House near Melksham lists halal food on request, so ask when you book. It can also take alcohol out of your room as a stay request.

Halal cooking

With a full kitchen the meals are yours: bring meat from your own halal butcher and cook what the family eats at home.

Large families

One booking covers the whole house, so a large family can stay together.

Short breaks

Even in August many cottages take a Monday to Friday break, and in the colder months about half take a 2-night weekend.

Farm stays

Several of these cottages are on farms, with fields around them and space for the children to play.

Cottages from Yorkshire to Cornwall

Near York, Pickering, Bedale and Matlock, then Brecon, Chepstow, Fowey and Melksham

Before you book a self-catering break

Seven checks before you travel

Pick a Monday or a Friday

At a holiday park, search Monday to Friday for 4 nights or Friday to Monday for 3. Lodges and cottages often take other days too.

1

Add every guest

Add each child with their age on the check-out date, so the price you see is for the whole family.

2

Read the important notes

The important notes on each property page list arrival days, minimum stays, linen and towel charges, cleaning fees and damage deposits, where they apply.

3

Check the cancellation line

Many self-catering rates are non-refundable, while others have free cancellation up to a date. The line under the price says which.

4

Ask for no alcohol in your home

As anywhere in the UK, there may be a pub nearby. Alcohol inside a self-catering home is rare, but some hosts, especially of cottages, leave a bottle of wine as a welcome. Add a stay request when you book, so the host knows in advance.

5

Plan the halal food

Unless a property lists halal food, plan to cook. Bring meat from your own butcher, or filter for halal food nearby.

6

Pack a prayer mat

A cottage or lodge is unlikely to have a qibla direction sign, so bring a prayer mat and a qibla app.

7

Ready to book a place of your own for the next school holiday?

Choose the type that suits your family and pick your dates, then read the important notes before you pay.