Travelodge has outlined plans to expand into a number of rural locations across the UK.

The budget hotel chain said earlier it would spend £135 million acquiring up 37 new hotels at locations near National Parks in the UK.

The company – owned by Dubai International Capital - has recorded a surge in rural breaks over the past 12 months, with Brits seemingly moving in land from more traditional coastal destinations.

Hotels within a wide radius of the main National Parks had achieved high occupancy levels far earlier than normal this year, Travelodge added.

Barnstaple in Exmoor, Porthmadog in Snowdonia, Cockermouth in the Lake District and Scarborough, near the North Yorkshire moors, were among the most popular.

There are 15 National Parks in the UK.

The Travelodge property team will now look to suitable sites.

Travelodge chief executive, Guy Parsons, said: “The staycation break is here to stay, more Britons are holidaying at home now than ever before.

“Traditionally Britons have opted for a coastal or city break but as more Britons explore the UK they are rediscovering new holiday hotspots and as a result, we have seen a significant surge in rural breaks.”