I hate our holiday and want to go home

Ideally rent a car. You need a car for the freedom. So many lovely days out to be had. Winchester and Salisbury are lovely. Winchester has the cathedral and some interesting military museums. Southsea is good for walking along the sea front with arcade, and the rose gardens are lovely but might need to wait until May time for that. Portsmouth historic Dock yard, Beaulieu motor museum, Bird word and finkley down farm is great for the kids, Winchester science musuem and marwell zoo. You are very close to London too, which would only be a short train ride away. I could go on. Maybe come in may or June time. Weather might be a bit better then.

I am also hoping your SIL is not a mumsnet user and isn’t reading that the people she’s been trying to host and entertain for 2 weeks whilst juggling her own commitments including children think her house is dirty, cramped and messy and hate it. This sounds like a fairly identifiable post.

It sounds like you're more like your MIL than you might like to admit OP!

Being a bit more positive and proactive would probably help....

You needed to hire a car and go out and do things and not rely on someone else to drive you around the whole time, or make sure you had enough money for public transport / taxis

I'm not sure what you thought you were going to do all day, if you didn't come with any money

Agree with you about bleachy tap water. Pick up a jug with filter today, makes a huge difference.

If your MIL doesn't fly could you arrange to meet somewhere in Europe next time where she could get the train to - like the Eurostar to Paris or Amsterdam or somewhere.

At least then you could have an actual holiday out of it.

So you are near Aldershot and have visited ….amongst others, Woking and Fleet!! Good grief - whose idea was that?

Trains take less than an hour into London from that neck of the woods. You could have been in one of the greatest cities in the world with top museums and galleries (free!) and some wonderful sights.

The New Forest is beautiful and not far for your countryside fix.

Your in-laws don’t sound terribly imaginative but a little research and you could have had a far far better time.

Very good idea not to come next time. Makes it cheaper for the family and doesn't waste your holiday allowance! Maybe go every other year?

And just because your DH doesn't like something, doesn't mean you have to step in and protect him from it.

Madness not to combine it with a trip to Europe. Whenever we go home to visit my family in Australia we have a stay in a resort or do a road trip.

This. It doesnt sound much fun for your SIL either tbh. It's the school holidays- her kids wont even be at school. Why cant you get a bus or a train?

I have a lot of American family and we go back and forth. All trips are two weeks but more a case of 2-3 days with family at the start and the odd day here and there whilst we/they do holiday holiday stuff elsewhere. It works the same whether it is us there or them here.

The one set are in california and we love to do a road trip with family stops. They do similar with here.

Have a look on trip advisor and get out there!

@Backwoods57
Trains, buses and coaches?

And no you don't collect her children on daily while on holiday.

Next holiday? Go spend it better!

I'd be looking up Ubers to the nearest stations. OP, I do sympathize, honestly. The UK is expensive and the PT is not great, but if you're here, do try to make the most of it for now and chalk it up to "lessons learned" for next year.

So you expected your SIL to host you and drive you about to interesting places for two weeks? Lucky her….
If you don’t like this, you need to do something different, whether that’s not coming every year or planning a trip you will enjoy. Don’t blame everyone else.

Train to London for day or two or somewhere else or car hire.

There quiet a few free things once you are in London - so just trip fare (maybe not cheap) and packed lunch.

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attractions-g503820-Activities-Aldershot_Hampshire_England.html

You may be at point where you have to spend some money for whole trip not to have been a waste of time and money.

Get a bus somewhere. All bus journeys are £2 in England

Yes I think that's it you probably need to be a little more proactive op

"If we don't come we get a massive guilt trip about MIL not seeing grandkids etc."
I think you need to toughen up, sorry. Offer to pay her fare to visit you instead. Yes, I know she's told you she's afraid of flying, but that doesn't mean she can demand your holidays revolve around her and demand you spend a fortune visiting her.

Or, is there somewhere you'd like to visit in the UK? London, Yorkshire, Cornwall, Scotland? Book your next holiday for there, and she joins you. You don't have to visit just her.

Could you say to your MIL that if you come to the UK in future she can meet you elsewhere?

You sound like a “yeah but” person. Every suggestion met with a “yeah but” I can’t do that for x reason and then moaning about it.

Take charge op - Uber? Public transport? Tell MIL to grow a pair?

It's the school holidays now so presumably your SIL is free for the next 2 weeks.

Or jump on a train. It's lovely on the coast today.

I agree. This is on you I'm afraid. If you keep going to places you dont like and not taking any initiative to travel independently then this will keep happening year on year on year. The very definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different result.

And I agree, OP, the UK is horribly expensive, which is especially frustrating when you are stuck in a crappy location with awful weather!