Holiday homes in the UK: family-friendly, all-weather resorts for staycations — avoiding airports and baggage limits

The memory of last year’s brilliant summer and the ease of taking a break close to home have helped to boost British holiday homes. If you want to avoid the fuss of flying, there are interesting options temptingly close to London.

The trick is to focus on resorts with extensive, well-maintained facilities to provide both family holidays and potentially strong year-round rentals.

Silverlake, Dorset: the county of Dorset has no cities and no motorways but it does have a good choice of headline holiday locations. Dorchester, Poole, Bridport and Weymouth, the 96-mile Jurassic Coast, Chesil Beach and Lulworth Cove are all around two-and-a-half hours from London.

Seven miles from the Jurassic Coast, Silverlake is a new holiday resort taking shape among hundreds of acres of beautifully untouched woods and lakes.

The developer, family-run Habitat First Group, cut its teeth at Lower Mill Estate, a long-established, award-winning resort in the Cotswolds.

So far Silverlake has sold 68 homes and its leisure facilities include an outdoor pool, spa and tennis court, all hugely appealing to active families.

The plan is to have around 15 small “villages” — clusters of 30 homes ranging from two-bedroom terrace cottages up to five-bedroom detached houses.

“Our residents want a tranquil but active time,” says Chris Knight, Silverlake’s sales manager. “Most come from London and the South-East, attracted by the natural setting 10 minutes from the sea and close to the best of Dorset.”

Silverlake is most striking for its eco-credentials and modern architecture, a combination of traditional local materials — Purbeck stone, Dorset bricks, oak and cedar wood, with grass roofs.

There are 12 different house styles with significant scope to create your own Grand Design. Prices start from £200,000 for a freehold plot with typical build costs from £230,000 and annual estate charges of £4,500.

Stamp duty is payable only on the land purchase, a significant saving, and there is no VAT on construction costs.

Hillside Lodges, Cornwall: The best holiday resorts for long-term investment are prepared for all weathers.

Retallack Resort eight miles from foodie-central Padstow is an established holiday spot where new owner Aria Resorts is investing heavily.

There’s a renovated spa and health club, indoor pool, tennis, a lake for wakeboarding, paddleboarding, an aqua park and Cornwall’s only Flow Rider. Families can enjoy treasure hunts, silent discos, fencing, archery, fishing and the open-air cinema.

Most buyers are from London and the South-East and while interest in the optional rental guarantee of seven per cent net for three years is good, many buyers intend to use their lodges themselves for holidays year round. More info.

Fritton Lake Retreats, Suffolk: Fritton Lake is less than two hours’ drive from east London in blissful countryside.

It’s part of Somerleyton Estate, 5,000 acres centred on Somerleyton Hall, the Victorian mansion home of Lord and Lady Somerleyton, Hugh and Lara Crossley.

Hugh oversees an arable farm, two pubs, a boatyard, marina and Suffolk’s largest natural lake, along with lodges for sale.

Facilities include tennis courts, swimming pool, an adventure playground for older children and a crèche for under-fives, while the lake offers rowing, canoeing and paddleboarding.

Smart, cosy, single-storey lodges have wood-burning stoves and large decks overlooking countryside. Two- to four-bedroom lodges start from £85,000 with annual maintenance charges from £3,600.

Fully furnished homes built to order from £240,000 include ShedRooms, 45 one- to three-bedroom cedar-clad lodges targeted at busy, style-conscious buyers.

They combine modern design and a concierge to fill the fridge and pre-book activities.

“Fritton Lake stakes a claim to be the East’s answer to Soho Farmhouse but at a fraction of the budget,” says Hugh. “It’s part of our 1,000-acre re-wilding project where deer, cattle and ponies roam free in mature woodland.”