UK breaks are so expensive!

[Bridecilla]

So we've sacked off the 2 weeks in Turkey and I've been looking for something here but the prices for self catering are ££££

Even camping is £££. Thought a cottage or lodge with a hot tub would be an idea but most are sold out or £1500 + for a week

Am I missing any gems to search? Ideally Yorkshire or just below - travelling from Newcastle for a week between now and mid August

I've trawled Hoseasons, Airbnb

It also depends what area you are looking at. We stayed in a massive 5 bedroom mansion in Shropshire for much less than the equivalent in Cornwall or most parts of Scotland.

Instead of the Lake District or Northumberland look for properties on the boundary of those areas. Book through Homeaway, rather than a branded 3rd party who hike up the price.
I also don't find accommodation to be overly cheap abroad. A 2 bedroom apartment with wifi and aircon in a nice area is generally about the same as UK prices - I usually reckon on about £1k for a week and £600-800 in the UK.

I'd also second looking at properties in Wales. As they came out from the starting gates so late in terms of letting people know they could go more than 5 miles and self cater, I reckon a lot of folk will have just discounted it as a destination so you might be able to snap up a bargain.

I regularly do self catering with DD, DH and Ddog in the uk. Generally we spend £600 for a week. There are loads for well under £1500. I used cottages.com, Sykes and many other websites.

@burninh

I heard someone from Cornwall on the radio saying how much lost revenue there would be this summer because numbers are much lower, maybe fewer day trippers or less people choosing to rent their accommodation.

Yes but maybe some of that revenue has been lost as we've all been told to leave Cornwall alone and do not travel there. The amount of threads on here demanding that we must 'Stay away from Cornwall!' have maybe just annoyed people a bit too much.

I should add though that we very rarely travel in August. I would also second Wales as an option, the cottages are generally much less expensive there.

Even pre covid UK holidays were expensive. Now the prices are on steroids as more people are booking.

We just booked a 4 bedroom cottage by the sea in Argyll and Bute for £750 for a week for 8 of us. I just googled cottages by the coast and the area and loads came up. We did have to wade through a lot of chintz and orange pine though but we found a beautiful house, right by the sea.
We had originally looked at the Isle of Arran and it was so much more expensive. So maybe just tweak the area? It made such a difference

You'll probably get better value on accommodation in remote places in Ireland OP. Ferry drive there.

For uk it pays to book early. I booked both my breaks last year and they are well under 1k each but it depends what you want. If you want pools and entertainment that's costs more than a self catered cottage. It costs more to be on the coast line so I generally book inland - self cater and drive to the beach.

Obviously know one knew what we know now so I assume prices have shot up in uk Last minute bookings are coming out more money.

Im amazed you can’t find anything on Airbnb if you are not too specific about location - a quick look at Yorkshire for August throws up lots of options. But I don’t know the Yorkshire area so the cheaper ones might all be in places you don’t want to go.

Holiday cottage prices have gone through the roof this summer due school holidays, most holidays abroad cancelled or people not wanting to go abroad, lost revenue etc.
Limited options are still available so basically owners can charge what they like. We wanted to go to Northumberland in August but the only available options either cost an arm or leg or were reasonably priced but furnishings looked tired, tatty or reviews not good. After much searching and reading reviews we have booked a cottage for 4 nights in a nice area in Scotland which looks nice and was just under £600 on Air BnB (but given the current climate and compared to what else is still available). We don’t normally self cater so much but we will mainly self cater this time (due to Covid) with maybe one takeaway its just more about a bit of a break, before the teens no longer want to come with us anymore and change of scenery this year. Good luck OP.

If you're wanting something in Yorkshire then Bedwyns are usually very reasonable.

We booked five days in September for a fraction of that. I'm guessing the real issue is that you want to go in August, and so does everyone else.

We’re currently in a lovely two bed lodge, with hot tub, in the Lake District, right on the shore of Windermere. Only booked it two weeks ago. £799

Should have said, that’s for four nights. Great site with playground and kids activities too

@mrsjbaptiste

I'm in Cornwall at the moment and have to say everyone we've met has been incredibly warm and welcoming and friendly.

Yes the local radio is airing a big piece on wild camping and how rude and disrespectful tourists are being but most people would be annoyed at that. And there is currently a local government forum doing the rounds online for Cornish residents to discuss what changes they'd like to see post Covid which talks about tourism a lot - but if I'm honest if I lived in a lovely coastal village location and schools and businesses couldn't be sustained because people were buying up second homes that stood empty most of the year (so not like a holiday rental that actually brings people into the area to spend money) I also think I'd be disgruntled. Whenever we go on holiday we always try and put as much as we can into the local economy - we won't drive to the big town to shop at Sainsbury we'll shop local in the butchers and the deli and we ll eat out in the small pubs and restaurants

@splattherat

Have you tired Coquet Cottages for Northumberland rentals - we've used them several times and all of the properties on their books are immaculate

We book far in advance for basic camping, but otherwise it's utterly out of our price range to stay anywhere else in the UK. Even Butlins was showing up at £600 for just 3 nights! It's cheaper to go abroad. And hotel rooms at hundreds for just ONE night here etc...Only camping is affordable for us.

Prices have been crazy in the UK for a few years, I would never holiday here out of choice.

Last May it was £1400 for Center Parcs or £1200 to go to Hong Kong

We've just had our summer holiday cancelled, was £1800 for a week full board with water park and theme park tickets.
Can barely get a weekself catering in bluestone for that in august

I was actually looking for next summer but prices jumped astronomically small cottage starting at 700 for area we want, Cambridgeshire. Didn't pay that last year! Add in food, car petrol, treats....it will either have to be camping which isn't really my idea of fun or abroad

Scotland seems to be quite cheap at the moment, maybe because they've lost the Yankee tourists and Sturgeon has put off the English. If you don't mind caravan Haven have some sales on. You could probably get a caravan for around £600 a week, you won't be able to use the pool though.

Premier Inn is really cheap at the moment too.

I've just booked a week at a PGL activity place in the IOW for me and DS2 (11) for £518 all in (meals, accom, activities).

Bosh!

I use cottages.com. 7% off if you book through the Mumsnet link too.

We usually book with around a month to spare for August. I paid £680 for a place near the Welsh borders in August, yesterday. Usually my criteria are 2 bedrooms, off road parking, a dishwasher and a pub not too far. Budget is usually £600-700 for accommodation.

If you want a seaside, tourist hotspot you probably need to book further in advance. Wales is cheaper and very beautiful and there was still the odd place near the coast available there when I was looking. Northumberland is lovely too.

Prices are up on last year, owners have lost 5 months revenue, and I assume there's an increase in demand so the usual last minute discounts don't seem to be about.

I holiday annual in England as my disabled child cannot fly. It’s always amazed me how many people think it’s because we can’t afford to holiday abroad.
They have no idea just how expensive it can be to holiday here and would probably be quite a bit cheaper to go abroad.
They are having a shock now they suddenly want to holiday in the UK.

I did find that accommodation this year was quite a bit more expensive to previous years when I started looking last autumn, I put it down to Brexit.