Another aborted day out

[HearMeSnore]

Feeling really fed up. Last week we had to abandon a day out at a theme park for DD's birthday because it was so hot and crowded we were all having a miserable time. After only three rides, when faced with 80 minute queues to get on anything at all, DD was quite despondent and just wanted to go home. We left, took her to a quiet country park with a decent play area on the way home and promised to make it up to her with another day out soon.

Bank Holiday arrives. Nice and sunny - I have the bright idea to take her to a local-ish wildlife attraction. It was bound to be busy, but it has lots of shade and is very spread out. We've been before in the summer holidays and it was fine. So we gave it a go. Parked in the "overflow car park" (a field 15 mins walk away, which didn't bode well), then queued for 20 mins to get in. DH wanted to give up and find somewhere else to go at this point, but in my wisdom I said no, it'll be fine once we get in.

It wasn't fine. It was bedlam. The first thing we saw was a row of stinking portaloos with a queue of about 20 people. Clearly the proper toilets in the cafe were not up to the job. Then we saw the throng of people in the cafe courtyard and picnic area and my heart sank. Our plan was to have our picnic first, then ditch the bags and stroll round the wildlife bit. We found a small patch of shade on the floor in the middle of the crowd to eat our picnic, were plagued by wasps, and watched with a sense of doom as more and more people poured into the entrance gate. There were huge queues for the toilets, cafe and ice cream kiosk. There was even a long queue to get through the gate to the wildlife enclosure.

After lunch, we gave DD the option to stand and wait for a turn to get through the gate, or go home. She was hot, fed up and generally peeved by the whole experience so chose to go home. She's now sprawled in the nice, cool, living room with the windows open, playing on her console. DH is sprawled on the bed with a fan on, reading his book. I'm in the garden under the shade with a G&T, wishing we'd just done this in the first place. We'd all have been happier.

I know, I'm a mug. Never again. Sunny bank holidays in future will be spent in the back garden. If pressed, I will stretch to somebody else's back garden.

We never go away on bank hols for this reason. Planning a nice weekend away next weekend, though.

We never, ever go places on bank holidays as they're always overcrowded.I think it was inevitable that such a place would would be hell on a sunny bank holiday like today.

If you really are determined to do it then you certainly need to be arriving early, not waiting until lunchtime!

Don't go to places like that on a bank holiday and arrive at opening time.

I feel like that is the whole summer holidays lol. I’m so glad my kids are home educated so we go everywhere during the week (non school holiday or bank holiday) and there is never anyone else there :)

I feel your pain. Only advice I can offer is to get to places as soon as they open, before it opens even. We went to a farm park last week (schools were still offbut they had a special offer in for kids to go free) but we were there just before it opened at 9am so got a good few hours before the masses arrived. We do that with adventure play parks in the holidays too.

Not trying to be out of order, but honestly, what did you expect? It's bank holiday, the sun is shining and people will inevitably be out and about. If you made this plan, then it's likely hundreds of other families had the same plan too. I am sorry it spoiled your day though. Have a nice chilled evening and enjoy the G&T

Oh I feel your pain. Sometimes home is where the heart is. Enjoy your G&T

I think high cost, high expectation places tend to be unpleasant experiences and rarely fail,Tom disappoint, whereas simpler days out can be excellent.

I would avoid days out to theme parks etc in warm weather and on bank holidays. Sitting picnicking by a shallow river on Dartmoor where you can jump in and out, Kayaking on a local lake with a barbecue, paddling in mountain streams or fishing for mackerel in an estuary are all more memorable and much, much more fun.

Yeah it would have helped if we'd got there as soon as it opened, and we could have been leaving at the point when it got hellish. I just fell foul of the "how bad can it be?" logic. Like I said, we went there before on a hot day in July and it was really quiet. It's a fairly low-key place that nobody out of this area seemed to have heard of, until now.

I've certainly learned my lesson, anyway. Last minute plans on a bank holiday are not a good idea.

Looking back, the only successful day out we've ever had on an August bank holiday was the time we went to Legoland. It was bucketing down. We took raincoats and had a brilliant day. We didn't queue for anything!

Too many people about, I think.

There’s a thread on at the moment where a woman wants to have a fifth kid!

DD didn't miss one day if school from year 1 - year 6, so at the end of year six I told DH to take her out of school to a theme park. It's the best way to avoid queuing.

At the beginning of the holidays when it was really hot I thought we should go to the beach so say in the garden Googling the best/nearest beach. As we live in the midlands it was going to be a lot of driving and I actually have a nice big garden, so I filled the paddling pool and invited friends round. I think staying at home is the new day out.

We went to a country park today with an animal area and splash park etc and arrived half an hour before it opened. The kids played in the field in the shade and then we got in at 9.30. Speed walked our way past the first adventure playground and onto the second one. Had it to ourselves for an hour. Had a snack and got to the animal bit just as it opened. Had our picnic at the furthest point away from the entrance at 11.30 in a lovely shady picnic area, then walked back to entrance, went to hellishly busy splash park for half an hour and then had an ice cream and left by 1.30pm. It’s the only way to do these activities in the heat in my experience. We’ve been home since half two in the living room watching telly with the fan on

Must admit, on crazy hot bank holidays, as my dc and dh are all really pale and get sun burnt really easily, i plan to have indoor days with nice films, fans, ice creams and pop corn, a nice book or comic for the dc, easy deli foods, time on PS4 etc.

Then when it’s cooled down in the evening we will go outside to get fresh air, cool down and the dc can run around. Much nicer day all around, dc think they are onto a winner because they get a longer go watching films/gaming than usual, I’m happy that nobody is hot or bad tempered or sun burnt or ill, and then when it cools down to normal temperatures I can remind them that they spent ages gaming earlier in the week so they need to do tidying/playing outdoors/etc now - it’s a win win all round!

I live just outside a national park. We don't venture anywhere near it on a b/h .

Unless you get there at open doors, aim to avoid most places on high days and holidays.

And never, ever go to a theme park unless it's an inset day or school day.

August bank holiday is always the last hurrah of the masses. It's up there with the first hurrah of Easter Monday for sheer awfulness. We stay in.

I threatened my teens (19 and 17) that DH and I would put them in the car drive them to the seaside (M25 on BH Monday anyone ? The QE2 Bridge was shut for hours yesterday according to the local news , I wasn't on it thankfully) .

Picnic lunch (sweaty sarnies anyone) no phones , paddle in the sea, back in the car to sit in traffic again.

At 9 and 7 they;d have been ok.

They agreed to help with the garden and laundry to avoid the seaside

It’s bank holiday not sure what you expected?? It was going to be packed. Personally I wouldn’t of queued 20 minutes to get in- madness.

Attractions are best avoided on bank holidays but more so if it’s sunny as well.

If you Have a garden, and you do. No need to make yourself suffer the ordeal use that garden

It’s been a garden day here dc have toys/swimming pool etc plus all the ice lollies they want. I’ve been in a bikini since 9am, and dh is just going to open the fizz for me and him- absolute bliss.

I'm in Scotland and only the actual banks are shut here. Its not a holiday for us so I was at work and ds at nursery.
Yesterday we took the train to the beach though and it was a lovely day out. Busy but not too bad. My ds is 3 though and easily pleased which helps.

We avoided the rush by going to the beach at 9am yesterday, we were not the first ones there but got brilliant spots.

Today we went out very late and people were leaving as we arrived, again avoided the rush.

Don’t go to the big places, go somewhere less known or go very early!

Dh said to go to Brighton or West wittering beach. I refused.
So glad I did.

And never, ever go to a theme park unless it's an inset day or school day.

That is one nugget of wisdom I have learned this year. I am already planning my days off on DD's inset days next year for this purpose.

We must have always been really lucky when we've visited theme parks until this year. I only remember long queues once, when we went to CBeebies land in July. We just left and wandered up to the Cloud Cuckooland bit. DD liked it better and there was hardly a soul there. We did Chessington last summer (the first day of the holidays) and didn't have to wait more than 20 minutes for anything.

Sounds horrible, you have my sympathies! I think maybe it’s the bank holiday itself which is the worst day to do a big ‘day out’. We met family at a farm park yesterday - popular place with a really great kids water play area (and it was very hot and sunny there). It wasn’t empty but it really wasn’t too busy at all - was expecting much worse. Bet it was much busier today! Enjoy the G&T, sounds like you deserve it

Yeah as a pp said you need to get there for opening and then you can leave just as it gets busy. We're always home by 2/2.30 from a day out, and we don't do them on bank holidays!

I took my 2 to the beach on Friday (dead sunny here) when it was busy but bearable. Not gone anywhere except to Morrison’s and my in-laws all weekend. We’ve chilled at home. DS has autism and adhd taking him somewhere really hot and crowded would be almost cruel, not to mention unbearable for the whole family.

The weather has been shite here for the past couple of weeks so everyone must be buzzing to be out and about. I don’t blame them, I want to be as well but I pick my battles!

Sandsnake you had the right idea. I would have much preferred to go somewhere Sat or Sun but sadly DH was away until yesterday afternoon and DD didn't want to go without him. In fact, on Saturday DD and I went to a local park that has waterplay, zipwires etc. Got there an hour before the water gets turned on, bagged a lovely spot to set up camp under a tree and had a brilliant time. So the weekend hadn't been a total failure... I was just feeling really gutted after today's let-down.