Weather is the honest caveat. Autumn on the English coast swings between crisp, still days with excellent visibility and blustery, wet ones where a coat and proper shoes matter more than sun cream. Packing for both, rather than assuming either, is the sensible approach; a forecast four days out is a rough guide at best on the coast, where conditions can shift quickly with the tide and wind direction.

Winter isn't the obvious season for a caravan holiday, and it's worth saying plainly that it isn't a replacement for summer: shorter days, colder weather and a good number of seasonal facilities closed for the year all apply. None of that rules it out. It just changes what the break is for.

There's no universally right answer, only the right one for the time available, the distance to travel, and what you actually want from the days once you're there. A weekend at a park like ours suits a quick reset; a week suits actually switching off.

A couple wanting a quick reset and a family planning their main holiday of the year are, in practice, choosing between two different kinds of trip, even if both end up in the same caravan. Understanding which one you actually are makes the choice easier.

Find out more at seaside caravan breaks.

There's a practical side too. If your children are tied to term dates, travelling even a day either side of the official holiday means less competition for the roads and the local attractions, without losing any of the actual holiday. Leaving on the Saturday after school breaks up, rather than fighting the Friday afternoon exodus, can shave a good hour or two off a journey to the coast.