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We only went to Clacton for a few days but it is one of those trips that will stay with us as a great memory.
I grew up with caravan holidays. My grandparents met at a holiday camp in the late 1940s/early 1950s, and my nan had a caravan in Southend-on-Sea in her retirement. I’ll never forget the penny machines on the arcade, Bailey’s Fry-Inn and then, when I got older, the Southend Cruise!
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For the May bank holiday we booked a caravan trip for four of us in Clacton. The park was close to the sea and there were activities on site – it wasn’t glorious but it had everything we needed for a good time – outside heated pool, amusements, activities for the kids (although our kids were probably a bit young for a lot of the activities). It wasn’t glamorous by any means but the kids loved it and will probably remember it more than any fancy hotel we could have booked.
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HERE ARE 7 THINGS WE LEARNT:
Caravan sites must be at least 10 degrees colder and windier than anywhere else in the UK.
I was not looking forward to swimming in the outside pool but I was so glad I went. Seeing my kids’ confidence grow in the water (which was pretty low post pandemic with no swimming) was the highlight of the trip for me.
You will take everything you own in the car because you can. But you will still forget tea towels, toilet rolls and washing up liquid.
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Fairground pier rides are the quickest way in the world to lose £30.
DO take blackout blinds (unfortunately we’d recently passed ours onto my mum!) – those sheer curtains do not help with bedtimes. Apparently tin foil works if you’re stuck.
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A caravan holiday with a newly potty trained toddler who has only just learnt to sleep in a bed this month is perhaps not the best timing. Those beds are tiiiny. At one point we found both kids asleep under their beds having fallen out.
DO pack headphones. You can hear everything through those walls so Chris and I generally just spent our nights sat eating crisps in silence.
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If you’re looking for an affordable holiday with kids, then it really is worth investigating. I think we’ll either do a lesser thrills caravan next time (without entertainment) or upgrade to a lodge. We stayed at Parkdean (we paid ourselves) but have heard good things about Away resorts.
Read more in my article in The Times here