36-year-old Hayley Dickinson has always been passionate about travel. In fact, the housing association worker loves it so much that she runs her own travel booking business in her spare time.

Holidaying abroad was the norm for Hayley throughout her teens and twenties, taking two or three trips a year with family or friends to hotspots like Zante, Corfu, Mallorca, Turkey and Cyprus.

But that all changed when she met her partner, Phil. Phil and his family had always spent their holidays in the UK, and when Hayley and Phil had children, they chose to visit locations closer to home, taking Phil’s parents with them.

Now, Hayley and Phil, 38, who live in Stockley, Northumberland, with their three children – Abigail (8), Megan (7) and Seth (5) – are huge advocates of staycations. “When you have a family of your own, what you look for in a holiday completely changes. Our number one priority is value for money. The cost of living has ruined a lot of people, particularly with mortgage rates going up again. That extra expense has caused a massive strain on finances. Even when we’re looking at UK destinations, we have to take into account the price of fuel and how much the journey is going to cost. So being able to find places nearby is a massive factor.”

The family have enjoyed holidays on the coast in Lincolnshire and Lancashire, but their favourite place to go is Southerness holiday park, in Dumfries and Galloway. “We just love it,” enthuses Hayley. “We’ve been about 8 times – sometimes camping, sometimes staying in a caravan. It’s right on the beach, it’s only about 1h30 in the car, and there are loads of activities for the kids. And having a swimming pool is a huge plus – that’s the most important box we tick when we’re searching online for a place to stay!”

Last year, Hayley’s parents treated the family to a holiday in Spain. “The kids loved it but if I’d been buying the holiday I wouldn’t have done it. From running my own travel business, I’ve seen the average cost of overseas holidays go from about £2,500 to £4,000 this year. We know we don’t have the budget for that, so we didn’t even consider going abroad this summer. It’s not just the money, though, it’s the travel time too. 3 hours waiting at the airport, about 8 hours end to end, it’s too much when you’ve got three young kids.”

With inflation and rising interest rates putting a continued strain on family finances, Hayley hasn’t booked her family’s summer holiday yet, but is determined to get away and plans to grab a last minute bargain. “Your family holiday is one thing you don’t want to give up. You work so hard for your holidays, everyone has an end goal and it’s usually your holiday. We don’t feel like we’re missing out by staying in the UK – there are so many beautiful places to explore in our country that people have never been to. We can still spend all day on the beach, and if the weather’s not great then there are always plenty of activities for the kids to enjoy.”