UK holidays are hard work

[ChocolateRiver]

We’re on holiday on the north Devon/Cornwall border. Staying in a converted barn on a farm. It’s lovely, the kids are having a great time but it’s such bloody hard work. Getting up early to get a parking space at the beach, making up picnics, putting sandy beach clothes/towels in washing machine, sorting out food, cooking etc, driving everywhere, hoovering up after beach days, tidying up - feel like I’m constantly on the go! And it’s so expensive, can’t afford to have all lunches and teas out. Don’t get me wrong, we’re having a nice time, but it’s definitely not a rest - we’re knackered. We usually go abroad but have stayed here due to Covid, we’ll be off abroad again next year if it’s possible.

This thread is giving me a headache!!!

We’ve got 4 weeks away in Dorset and loving it. But yes it’s not easy with 2 kids under 5.

Still doing 2 washings a day, constantly checking the weather forcaste; watching closely on the beach then don’t drown, cooking, washing up etc etc.

But the fresh sea air, the clear beautiful sand, the noise of the waves and smiles on my kids faces make it worth jt

Ps @rantymcrantface66 I just can’t get as excited about east coast holidays in Scotland (where I’m from). I love the dramatic west coast too much. But those bloody midges love me Ours are teenagers now and don’t want to camp. They want hot holidays abroad. We are dragging them to the Hebrides for a week in August but are seeing friends and they’re bringing friends too. Too windy for midges where we’re going!

Surely if fussy eaters then staying in home country with easy access to safe foods is much better than AI abroad?

@Pawpatrolling88, locals tip - apply talcum powder to sandy feet to get the grit off more easily!

@TheMoth I’m with you on the food. Lidl pies versus the real thing! However there are stunning beaches in the UK, just chilly water! Scotland has the most amazing ones ❤️

@SleepingStandingUp

Anyone want to tell me how to make a UK beach holiday easier woth 20 mo old twins and a 6 yo?? Staying in an actual house without cots or stairgates 🤣🤣🤣

For the beach, take a big bucket and buckets and spades and some windbreaks and chairs. Make yourself an enclosed beach with the wind breaks, fill the big bucket with water for the children, and read your book!

I hear you, unless there is room service, cocktails and a pool then I'm not interested

@SpaceRaiders

This is the hotel in Ischia (you can switch language to English):

www.albergolecanne.it/

Very few of the local staff speak English, so it’s not set up for U.K. tourists. Which is brilliant, because it caters to Italian tourists, so the food is good. This hotel is in a beautiful setting, loads to do nearby (travel on the free shuttle on demand) but it’s not fancy - it does look tired in places and it doesn’t have trendy decor, but it was very clean and pool was lovely. Service was good, but typically Italian iyswim.

We prefer these types of hotels that are popular with Italians, so suits us. We don’t go for luxury hotels as it’s a waste of money for us.

We look out for towns which locals frequent... so we pick Maiori over Sorrento if we want to visit the Amalfi Coast. We choose Ischia over Capri (the islands are next to each other) as you get a better experience and it’s much cheaper, because Ischia mainly caters to Italians.

I love these little gems, but they’re not hard to find with internet access.

This is an excellent site for finding family friendly hotels in Italy:

www.italyfamilyhotels.it/en/homepage

We prefer Italy because they are great hosts when travelling with children. Our children get treated like royalty and no one tuts if your child is up late or a bit whiny.... you’re more likely to see locals trying to cheer your child up pulling faces or pinching their cheek! I just feel so comfortable when travelling with children in Italy.

There are also loads of family friendly agriturismos dotted everywhere in Italy if you are happy to drive. It’s a business models which means farms don’t pay tax, so there are some fantastic places to stay. Unfortunately my DH refuses to drive on holiday so they’re ruled out for us.

I agree, we're going to a cottage in North Yorkshire with another family and it's forecast rain. Our kids are older but I'm actually finding entertaining 11 and 14 year olds harder work than when they were little... At least then they went to bed and we had our evenings! To be honest I'm dreading it, rain, expense, still having to cook, the bloody project management of a UK family holiday, it's NOT relaxing and at the moment having to book absolutely everything. I've run out of steam with it. I don't think any of us are particularly excited and we're just going so we don't waste the money. I just want a pool, a beach, sunshine and able to just get up each day with no plans and just potter and enjoy. Impossible in the packed, expensive, drizzly UK.

@doorornottodoor I know the east coast further north can be a bit bland but there are some pretty interesting and stunning spots south of Edinburgh along the cost to the border. Alternatively the north west - Durness area is midge free also. Apparently it's to do with the limestone soil. No shortage of dramatic scenery there however might be a shortage of heat for the DC. You never know though. Fingers crossed for good weather for your trip

doorornottodoor I live in n Wales. It takes me a ridiculously long time in a Friday to get home, because people love our beaches so much! I just prefer ones I can swim in

You can find a Greek salad on a menu in pretty much every Uk town I’m sorry and I love holidaying both in the U.K. and abroad but really Greek salad in Greece is nothing like Greek salad served in the U.K. it’s a bit like saying chicken tikka masala is an Indian dish !

As I say we self cater, everywhere except city breaks although even then a flat works well for us. Dh is brilliant at making sure it’s not just the same as at home ( after I had a massive go after a disastrous Devon holiday in the rain with small children) , we always book a well equipped villa, he barbecues half the days and we go out for the other half . I do salads and we have bread , and local meats/cheese/salad for lunch . He and the boys love exploring and making friends with the local small shops which is why we prefer Greek Islands to Spain which is mainly supermarkets. We also like the markets.

@TheMoth yep I purchased a watermelon from Lidl recently and it was really weird. Had a funny texture and weak taste. I assumed it had been genetically modified like the strange tomatoes they sell.

There is no comparison between the mozzarella available for desert in a trattoria in Italy for about 6 euros, compared to the rubbery shite they export to the U.K.

Also you can pop into any local bar in Italy and get a fabulous coffee for peanuts.

I’m with you on Greek salads in Greece. They are amazing and just not comparable to what is available in a U.K. restaurant.

I’m always disappointed eating out in the UK. It’s just always a bit shite and I’d rather eat fish and chips. At least we can do that well!

[quote doorornottodoor]@TheMoth I’m with you on the food. Lidl pies versus the real thing! However there are stunning beaches in the UK, just chilly water! Scotland has the most amazing ones ❤️[/quote]
Tbf I was joking about the Lidl pies but my dad makes them himself, they are really simple. You can definitely get a lovely range of fresh local food wherever you go though (and a Greek salad)

Thanks ranty. I was thinking you meant the East coast of England, eg East Anglia, not Scotland.

The place I talked about was in East Anglia.

Another place with chalets and caravans, pool indoors and out, budget restaurants and a bar with entertainment, was in Polperro, Cornwall. Some may consider it a bit down market but it was good, very clean and well run, and near to other places which we visited. The children enjoyed it immensely and the eldest one went back there with friends & my nephew when she was eighteen. They had a whale of a time and made new friends (including a boyfriend for my one), whom they saw many times after the holiday.

God I want a Greek salad now and a watermelon 🍉

@TheMoth yep I purchased a watermelon from Lidl recently and it was really weird. Had a funny texture and weak taste. I assumed it had been genetically modified like the strange tomatoes they sell.

It's usually a time of year thing or a bad batch. I lived 10 years in a Greek speaking country and the watermelons are sometimes shit there too. The restaurants there just Chuck the ones that are no good so you don't find that out.

I agree smart price mozzarella or halloumi is crap but Waitrose can often have nice ones and there are plenty little Italian run delis about. Less so Greek ones in my neck of the woods

Cornish resident here. Unless your DC are very small, I would recommend acquiring an OS map, finding spots to park a mile or so away from your chosen beach and walking there- often this will take you along the coast path, which is stunning. This also applies to busy town centres. It never fails to amuse me how quiet “busy” areas are if you’re more than a mile’s walk away from a car park! Ie last year we visited the Rame Peninsula, a new area for us, over the August Bank Holiday. Just driving through Kingsand and Cawsand was enough to raise my blood pressure dangerously, let alone finding a parking space, but, with the aid of the map, we found a nature reserve with a free car park on top of the cliff 1.5 miles away, so got a beautiful walk in to boot. DS2 was only 5 at the time, but managed it fine. I do wish that they had designated spaces at beachfront car parks for families with toddlers though- that is a really difficult age, they can’t walk or carry their own stuff.

Also…as PPs have mentioned…Don’t take so much bloody stuff to the beach!! Ditch the windbreaks, camp chairs, massive inflatables, ffs!! We normally just have a rucksack with swimming costumes (or underwear to change into), towel, wetsuits if necessary, a bottle of water- and if a picnic is on the cards, a packet of oatcakes, a tub of houmous and some fruit.

@doorornottodoor

God I want a Greek salad now and a watermelon 🍉

I had one last night, make sure you use nice vine tomatoes, decent olive oil and lots of fresh lemon juice.

@doorornottodoor

God I want a Greek salad now and a watermelon 🍉

Nigella’s Greek salad with fennel in is lush

This thread is making me ridiculously homesick for Agios Stefanos. Oh to be sitting on the beachfront watching the waiters tempting the little boats to their jetty whilst munching calamari and drinking a glass of rose.

What's missing in the UK - and I guess it's down to the weather - is apart hotels. We generally stay in these when abroad so we don't all share the same room and can have snacks and drinks in our apartment but also have the possibility of hotel meals - I love a good hotel breakfast buffet - and a heated pool and some modest entertainment. They aren't cheap though.

@TheSunShinesBrighter

As for washing... why do people do this on holiday? Towels just get used every day as they're full of sand again after 5 mins on the beach. I'm always amazed at the amount of people hanging around the washing machine area when we've been camping. What a waste of a holiday!

Your towels must be filthy after 2 weeks at the beach. Used day in day out.
I hardly think 1 hour spent at the campsite laundrette is a ‘waste of a holiday’.
Do you waste any time washing dishes after meals?

Oh chill out, no one will die from reusing a towel.

You use one beach towel at the beach and when you get back to the hotel/cottage you shake the sand off and hang it outdoors to dry/air. Then you get washed and then dry your clean body with a bath towel, which you hang up to dry after use ready for the next day.

Still doing 2 washings a day

I know your children are small, but how come there is so much washing? A change of clothes every day. Surely, you aren't washing towels and bedding every day?