From the 1930s to the 1960s millions of British people chose to spend their annual summer break at a holiday camp taking advantage of the all-in package that included accommodation food & plentiful entertainment. The market leader was Billy Butlin whose camps operated on a vast scale & offered a brightly coloured leisure land in contrast to the drabness of post-war rationing. The holiday camp story however goes back to the 1890s & it continues into the present day with signs of a revival in camp fortunes. Kathryn Ferry celebrates the communal & the kitsch glamorous grandmother competitions chalets Redcoats & all the other well-known symbols of an incredibly popular form of twentieth-century holiday.