Holiday camp

By the outbreak of World War II, Butlin had opened another camp at Clacton-on-Sea, and was in negotiations to build two more (at Ayr in Scotland and Pwllheli in Wales).

[11] With the arrival of World War II, the British government realised they could save money by requisitioning the many holiday camps around the country rather than building purpose-built camps for training, stationing troops, internment, and for housing refugees and workers.

[12] After the war, most holiday camps in Britain had been damaged by troop occupation; the situation was so bad that questions were raised in Parliament.

Taking over the job, Pontin found that the previous manager had been assaulted by the workers over a disagreement about food.

After the war, Pontin took a loan and purchased a former military camp at Brean, Somerset which he opened as his first holiday-camp.

[21] In the 1980s, many camps were shut down, as holidaymakers increasingly turned to package holidays and individually tailored breaks.

[24] Butlins substantially rebuilt two of its main camps with a focus on caravan accommodation and branded them under sister company Haven – Pwllheli becoming Hafan y Mor and Ayr becoming Craig Tara.

Meanwhile, Warner's had experimented with "Adult Only" camps in the 1980s and gone on to develop hotels (usually in historic buildings) providing hotel-type comfort mixed with holiday-camp-style entertainment.

[26] In 2004, market research company Mintel estimated that 26% of UK adults had used a holiday centre over the preceding two years (an increase of 4% compared to 2001).

These would include all or some of the following: Most camps were by the seaside but some, like "California in England" near Wokingham, Berkshire were beside a lake and catered for a modest 300 guests.

There were usually extensive childcare facilities such as a crèche and various clubs to keep young children occupied, enabling parents to follow their own pursuits.

With the growth of caravan parks in the 1970s and 1980s, the entertainment teams adopted more modern names, such as the HavenMates or the FunStars.