Holiday/ Butlins

Butlins Holiday Camps were founded by (later Sir) Billy Butlin to provide economical holidays in the United Kingdom. Between 1936 and 1966, nine UK camps were built. Three centres remain in use by the Butlins company today. more...

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Butlins camps are noted for their famous "Redcoats" who provide entertainment and organisation at every level.

There was a UK TV satirical sitcom during the 1980s based on a Butlins-style holiday camp called Hi-de-Hi!.

History

The first of the Butlins holiday camps was opened by Sir Billy Butlin in 1936 in Skegness following his success in the development of amusement parks. A second camp quickly followed in Clacton (1938) and construction of a third began at Filey (1939). With the outbreak of World War II, building at Filey was postponed and the camps at Skegness and Clacton were given over for military use. Wartime use of Butlins camps continued with resorts at Ayr, Filey & Pwllheli being completed and opened as military camps.

In 1945, with war over, Filey opened as a holiday camp. The camps at Skegness & Clacton (1946), Ayr & Pwllheli (1947) followed and a new camp was built at Mosney (1948). Butlins became popular in post-war Britain with family entertainment and activities available for the equivalent of a weeks pay. Further post-war camps were opened in the 1960s at Bognor Regis (1960), Minehead (1962) and Barry (1966).

In 1948, Billy Butlin acquired two hotels in The Bahamas and in the 1950s, Butlins began opening hotels in the UK: Saltdean, Brighton (1953), Blackpool (1955) and five in Cliftonville (1955-1956). In later years, they were joined by further hotels in Scarborough (1978), Llandudno (1981), London (1993), a sixth hotel at Cliftonville and one in Spain (1983). The camps at Ayr and Skegness also had separate self-contained hotels within the grounds. All the Butlins hotels of the 1950s-1990s were sold in 1998 but the majority are still open today under different ownership. In 1998, camps at Ayr and Pwllheli were also sold following the closure/sale of camps at Clacton (1983), Filey (1983), Barry (1986).

In 1968 Billy Butlin's son Bobby took over the management of Butlins and in 1972 the business was sold to the Rank Organisation for £43 million. The company was later sold off to Bourne Leisure in 2000.

In 2005, a new £10m hotel was unveiled at the Bognor Regis resort to complement the existing chalet accommodation. The hotel aimed to move away from the Hi-de-Hi perception, adding hi-tech equipment and luxurious furniture in each of the 160 rooms. Art deco lines, floor-to-ceiling windows, king-size beds, leather chairs, widescreen TVs, DVD players and en-suite facilities are set to become common features of Butlins accommodation.

Locations

listed alphabetically

Read more at Wikipedia.org