What do you do on a UK holiday?

[Hemsbyboc]

First time on a UK holiday in my life. Kids have never been out of the city they were born in unless in a plane.
They are bored to tears.
What do you do??
Don't want to say exact location but it is coastal wales and we have driven here.
Honestly don't blame the folk going abroad despite restrictions. We are climbing the walls.
Been to 4 villages, takes less than an hour to walk around each one. Shitty cafés, food like school dinners. Tide is in so looked at the sea. Everybody in full winter clobber. I am not investing in body boards cos I never want to come back. Wales match is not even showing anywhere. I am 90% leaning towards cutting my losses and going home tomorrow, I have decorating/gardening I could be doing.

Save us mnetters!

North Wales is great to visit. but you can't do much about the weather if it's not suitable for you. There are loads of interesting places to visit, you can usually find some brochures in hotels and other places, that will give you ideas of good places to see, and visit. If you are not interested to learn anything about a country, then best to go home,and not complain about everything.

@OccaChocca

You didn't do your research, did you? Anglesey is beautful but there isn't an awful lot to do. We went a couple of years ago. I liked it but have no desire to go back.

You would have been better off in Wales.

I have no sympathy for you.

Anglesey is in Wales.

@tiredanddangerous

It's not wales that's the problem, it's teenagers. It's hard to entertain them once they're past the rock pooling/trip to the zoo age. They don't want to be on holiday with you at all. Doesn't matter where you go.

#notallteenagers

@Hemsbyboc what do you your children like to do when you are abroad ?

Don’t you ever do anything at weekends in the UK? Are you either in your house, or abroad?!
Surely you can think of some activities? What an odd thread.

The enjoyment should have started a few years ago with your children learning to use their imaginations, to enjoy exploring and to self-occupy.

You must be a very dull family if none of you can won’t how to enjoy yourselves outside a package holiday. How very, very sad your children have no experience of the amazing variety of environments, activities, people, food, culture and history in the country they live in.

purpletrees16
Don’t your kids want to dig a really big hole in sand?

Mine still do this! They are 19 and 16!! NEVER too old to dig a hole on a beach! Or to have a rock war on a stony beach. Each DC builds up a stone fortress, then a firing line is drawn and they have to destroy each others fortress by chucking stones at it from a set distance. This game has become a family tradition now.

The views. The silence. The sky.

With a 13 and 10 yo I find this thread really odd. We go to the beach in wellies and raincoats all the time in the winter and they have fun. Hot chocolates to warm up on the way home in a pub, sometimes pub dinner. What do you do at weekends?

I love travel and miss it but I can’t imagine having dc who can’t entertain themselves on holiday. You can also use body boards at beaches other than Wales!

We always go on holiday in the UK. Can't think of anything more dull and boring than sitting by a pool doing sweet FA, myself! 🙄

@LemonRoses

The enjoyment should have started a few years ago with your children learning to use their imaginations, to enjoy exploring and to self-occupy. You must be a very dull family if none of you can won’t how to enjoy yourselves outside a package holiday. How very, very sad your children have no experience of the amazing variety of environments, activities, people, food, culture and history in the country they live in.

This. Absolutely.

At risk of sounding terribly ‘old’ I have to say this saddens but doesn’t surprise me. A generation has emerged who seem to be incapable of being with their children. Certainly holidays in the uk are very much subject to the vagaries of the weather, but there’s nothing to compare with a sandy beach on a fine day. Less clement weather takes a bit of effort to find alternatives.

We had two of our best holidays ever in the UK (we live in the US) when our children were aged about 7-14. First time we went to Kent by the seaside for a week - near Rye. We spent about an hour or two on the beach but went to Battle, Hever, Leeds Castle, ate kent strawberries (literally each child ate a punnet before dinner), Sissinghurst etc. Highlight was Dover - the WW2 caves and the Dover Castle - going from medieval to WW2 in the same afternoon. Then we went to London for a week - fabulous.

Next year we went to Edinburgh, Mull and Ben Nevis area - even better. Edinburgh was fabulous for children. We saw Iona, did a daytrip to Lindisfarne - history came alive and the food was brilliant.

We've gone back with older teenagers to London and Bath and had a blast.

Why not go to llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch?

Teenagers are a difficult creature, they are stuck between childhood and adulthood, so things that they absolutely loved as a child will often have to be looked down upon as a teenager, even if they secretly would still enjoy it, but then doing adult stuff with actual 'adults' isn't very cool unless it is very cool stuff, so dangerous or expensive or both, plus their need for unlimited amounts of sleep and snacks, it is like being on holiday with toddlers again but with better vocabulary, and yet they dismiss most of your suggestions with a disparaging noise !

Go Below is better than the Zipworld stuff in my opinion, much better value for money and more authentic.

I'm Welsh and have lived here all my life. Only visited North Wales twice and West Wales twice, and only spent nights in maybe 3 or 4 other places in the UK. I enjoyed those brief trips but I much prefer holidays abroad. Can't wait til this shit show us over and I can get on a plane again, this weather is depressing.

@Hemsbyboc

Seriously other people's 13 year old are happy to be going for a walk as their holiday when it's the only thing they have done for a year and one half? I am not boring, I will walk all over, learn new things especially as I am not from UK. We had a lovely talk on rocks earlier by a volunteer and I loved it. Teenagers don't though. They just want to get back to WiFi and have fun. Rocks are interesting but not fun

Says it all if the only thing they find fun is WiFi.

This is exactly what I am currently on a trip outside of the UK

Geocaching , treasure trails, Pokémon go - you and your kids really are VERY lacking in imagination and common sense , op

Start building a rock stack and get to a point where you are stuck and you will have them skittering across the beach in search of just the right rock. Or try balancing rocks, this is actually quite tricky, they hate being out foxed by geology !

I think you need to rename the thread as a trip to Anglesey is not what all UK holidays are like. But if it’s any consolation, all my memories of childhood holidays in Wales are being wet and cold.

Seriously if you did check the place out before you booked then you should not be surprised your cold and bored. Plus Wales has been very strict with restrictions during covid. Do you understand Wales is not actually in England? I’m not saying that to call you ignorant, many English people do not understand that they are not one and the same and England’s rules re covid don’t apply.

There are lots of holiday destinations in the UK you would have been better off for warmth and things to do if you wanted more than outdoor walks and scenery. The south of England for starters, Cornwall, Devon especially if you wanted hot days lounging on a beach. You have a bunch of theme parks all over the country, most of which teenagers would love, holiday parks that provide entertainment, cities that are full of culture and history.

You havnt said where you live, for some reason I’m guessing London, no idea why, but if your heading back then maybe look at doing a detour first and having some fun. I’m a particular fan of Liverpool, love the city the culture, people, food. They have an Aqua park at the docs your teenagers would love, lots of places over the uk have these, great shopping and there is bound to be other stuff going on. Maybe do a detour to Alton Towers, Thorpe Park or any other place where your kids can let their hair down and have fun, there are lot of go ape type places too.

And gravity

I love going to Wales , please tell all your friends and family how awful it is and feel free to head home ASAP !
Less people the better when I get to go !

With now adult kids …We walk ( in the rain sometimes - we have decent waterproofs ). We loaf about - get up late , read books - we never have time at home and we always have a holiday jigsaw on the go - from the charity shop usually. Board games are a good thing too - it’s a bit thing amongst them and their mates anyway

Do we know which city OP and her family have been holed up in for the last 15 years?