Since the recession hit, camping and caravanning holidays in the UK have been enjoying something of a renaissance and there are few places better to find one to suit you than at Pitchup.com, a comprehensive guide to 5,000 holiday parks and campsites across the UK and Ireland.

CAMPSITES & CARAVAN PARKS

This is a friendly looking site with a wealth of information covering all types of campsites and caravan parks, which you can search for by location/postcode, proximity and accommodation type. Whether you’re after a site by the beach with excellent water quality, one near to a National Park, one with campfires allowed, a 5 star site with wifi, or one with tennis nearby, Pitchup.com can help. If you're off to a festival, Pitchup will identify campsites nearby. More recently, the site has added features for searching for availability and online booking, as well as viewing video footage of sites.

CUSTOMER RATINGS

Each campsite listed comes complete with descriptions, photos and over 80 facilities featured. In addition to this there are customer ratings and reviews, plus thousands of events, festivals and places to go listed. Pitchup.com even has a partnership with the Good Pub Guide, showing the closes three recommended pubs to each campsite. It also offers a number of deals and discounts to holidaymakers which users can filter using criteria such as discount level, party size and price range. An online booking and availability search is scheduled to launch soon. A useful shop section also provides all manner of camping accessories and essentials ensuring a happy camping experience every time.

CAMPING SEASON

Pitchup.com launched in 2009 at the height of the camping season and is the brainchild of Dan Yates, who was an integral member of the lastminute.com team for four years. An excellent site.

2 February 2010