10 things to consider when choosing the region for your holiday home

Walking? Cycling? Fishing? Even shopping. Pick a region that offers a lot to interest you – and your family!

Use our 10-point checklist to find your perfect holiday home region in the UK!

Holiday home region checklist

1. How close to home? Most holiday home buyers go for a park within an hour and a half of their home – you’ll already know the area well, so if you like living there you’ll like having a holiday home there, too.
2. How far from home? Close – but not too close! There’s a case for spreading your wings further, so choosing an area in which there’s more to interest you than within an hour and a half from your home. Avoid the risk of getting bored with an area, and let your interests lead you.
3. Cycling? Cycling for pure fitness? Or pure pleasure? If fitness is your goal, you’ll be looking for routes that give you the sort of challenge that suits your level of fitness – or your desired level of fitness. If it’s pleasure-cycling routes that you’re seeking, look for a region where there’s a lot of off-road options; traffic-free cycling is a delight. There are endless off-road cycle routes in the Lake District, for example. Sustrans is a great source of information on routes and regions (sustrans.org.uk). Afan Forest Park in Wales offers cycling routes for all abilities, for example, and the Tarka Trail in Devon offers 32 miles of traffic-free cycling.
4. What’s in the area? Do you like perusing showpiece gardens? (Gardens change with the seasons so you can revisit several times in a year). Do you enjoy visiting historic houses or other history-linked attractions?
5. Walking? What sort of walking? Do you prefer walks with an excuse? That’s a coffee-and-cakes place, lunch in a pub, maybe, or would you like to be within walking distance of a lovely old town? Or are you a serious walker? Challenging walks? Hill walks? Level walks? A mixture of the two. Or is your passion coastal path walking?
6. What are your pursuits of choice? Golf? Tennis? Going to a gym? Swimming? So, you may be looking for an area in which there are several golf courses, a tennis club, fitness centres with swimming pools. Or scope for fishing, or even archery?
7. Are you a foodie? If so, you might like a holiday home in a region where there are a lot of farm shops. Cheshire and Norfolk spring to mind. And farmers’ markets all around the UK – in Suffolk there are 10, for example; in Shropshire there are 11. There are more than 100 farmers’ markets run under the Farm Retail Association umbrella. Farmers’ markets give you the chance of buying direct from farmers; and they’re brilliant places to visit to stock your fridge.
8. Beaches? Beaches aren’t only an attraction at times of the year when you can lie back and laze in the sun. Beach walks are good for any time of the year. (Get a tide table first, though!) Imagine the crunch of stones under your boots on shingly beaches, or dune walks; the challenge is to reach new heights for new views… Beaches with rock pools are perfect for children. And beaches with rocky ledges are perfect for picnics.
9. Retail interest? Some love it, some hate it.. Shopping is a great divider, sometimes within couples… If you enjoy browsing shops rather than online shopping, pick a park that’s within easy distance of one or more towns and cities. Cambridge, Cheltenham, Truro, York are great examples of charming, character towns.
10. Who’s joining you? If you’re envisaging a holiday home as a focal point of family gathering, consider what they like doing in their leisure time? Pick a region that they’ll enjoy – then they’re more likely to join you more often!

Now you’ve read through the holiday home region checklist, you might still be wondering about the benefits of buying holiday homes. Check our guide here for some inspiration on why so many people are buying them.