Page 2 | UK holidays are hard work

RoseMartha · 22/07/2021 23:39

Can you not save yourself the chore of washing the sandy stuff everyday.

Rinse the swim stuff in cold water but I wouldn't bother washing towels daily. A lot of self catering dont have washing machines anyway. Obviously a nice bonus to have one, but dont get bogged down chained to it.

If we had a machine on holiday I would wash the kids clothes mid week so not to take as much. No washing every day.

When we stayed with no machine only used the laundrette if absolutely necessary if I had to I washed by hand on the whole.

Make easy meals or have a few ready meals so you are not a slave to the kitchen.

Never eat dinner out but we would make sure had the odd cream tea or pasty. Take away pasty isnt too pricy.

If the dc are old enough would opt for a day coastal walking or visiting somewhere that is not expensive.

Or if NT members do that for a day so you are not on the beach everyday all day

Or pop to the beach at tea time with fish and chips or a pasty or picnic and have a couple of hours down there when quieter with them.

Have a day where you do something not specifically child orientated. It is your holiday too.

fingersfy · 22/07/2021 23:40

but you're comparing a hotel to rented accommodation

PlateSpinnerJuggler · 22/07/2021 23:43

Lots of negativity on here! But I'm on your wavelength...
The last UK holiday I did poured for 4 days and we were stuck doing the same stuff we'd have done at home - and it cost a fortune for not amazing luxury for 5 of us...
Ate our more than you sound like you are - but in the chain establishments using Tesco vouchers 🤣
I love an AI! And I really miss a foreign holiday...

LorelaiVictoriaGilmore · 22/07/2021 23:44

@Labradabradorable We are also in Norfolk but haven’t found such good places. Any hints?!

We are having a nice time but I am also exhausted. I don’t think it’s the UK though - self catering with small children is exhausting anywhere. Every year I swear that I will never do it again…

The things that make it easier abroad are the fact that we usually get a house with a pool - this means fewer/no trips to the beach and therefore no picnics, no sand, no parking at the beach… I swear that I have spent this whole holiday filling cool bags, emptying cool bags, emptying swim bags that seem to have more sand in them than anything else… also staggering towards the sea carrying all of the aforementioned items and a three year old who seems to have lost the use of her legs… 🙄

The only thing that makes UK holidays easier is online grocery shopping - I have never managed to crack that one abroad!

Merriwicks · 22/07/2021 23:47

I'm with you OP. I have a 2 and 4 year old. I am only going AI until they are older. It may not be what I would choose if just me and dh but I takes the work out of the holiday and actually gives me a break from chores, making it a holiday for me as well. We have chosen not to go on a holiday in the UK as it will be a lot of money for the same things to be done, just in someone else house. We are opting for lots of day trips instead.

SeeYaBeYa · 22/07/2021 23:51

UK tends to be more expensive for days out, meals out, travel and accommodation so you get less for your money and tend to do more yourself in order not to go over budget. Ime anyway. Eg renting a place in Spain costs less than renting the same in the UK, so there's already more money for spends, then when you're there it costs less to eat out anyway, so less cooking and less washing up and so on. Plus it's just less hassle in terms of finding things to do and having appropriate clothing when the weather's good. Although the weather's been good in the UK this week!

doorornottodoor · 22/07/2021 23:53

Also it’s a lot pricier eating out in the UK so we tend to self cater more. Restaurant food can be pretty unhealthy too compared to restaurants in other countries I’ve visited (except the States which was very polarised- Florida, barely saw a fruit or vegetable. Dan Francisco- Uber healthy!)

Noterook · 22/07/2021 23:58

You can get all inclusive style holidays here, not sure why you would pick a holiday where its evident you'll have to do a lot of stuff you hate doing on holiday

ZingDramaQueenOfSheeba · 22/07/2021 23:59

holidays are not holidays but a change of scenery.
same shit, different environment but without the all the home comforts. I'm not a big fan. I do enjoy some aspects of being away but I'm always so happy to be back home!

Ugzbugz · 23/07/2021 00:05

@MrsFin

Don't you have to do all those things abroad too?

No? It's walking distance. Everything dries quickly Food is cheap.

MrsFin · 23/07/2021 00:07

@MrsFin no we go all inclusive with beach towels etc provided. Don’t have to do a thing.

Well you could have done that in the U.K.

Busybee5000 · 23/07/2021 00:09

Yep totally with you, it doesn’t feel too much like a holiday does it. I’d skip the beach a few days and go out for lunch. Then a snack tea, board game, tv, farm whatever and bed. Beach is hard work!

TheMoth · 23/07/2021 00:09

We did uk holiday once. Took us 9 hours to get there, clothes for every weather and the sea was bloody freezing.

Did AI until oldest was about 7, then SC. Love, love, love sc abroad. Yoghurt for breakfast, pie and can of beer on the beach for lunch, ice cream/ beer/ snack mid afternoon in a bar. Roaming around at night looking for somewhere to eat. Cocktail bars with the kids. Sitting on a beach at midnight, looking at constellations. Feeding stay cats. Warm. Swimming in water you can actually see through.

So gutted I'm not going abroad this summer.

scoobydoo1971 · 23/07/2021 00:11

I recently met someone aged 48 in London. He has never had one single holiday in the UK, or anywhere else. He works at Heathrow so sees lots of other people going on holiday. He explained he never had the spare cash to run a life in London, raise a family and go on a break. He maybe an extreme example but plenty of people cannot afford any sort of holiday anywhere at the moment. Here or overseas. I live in Devon at a beach resort. I agree it is busy, but drive to Dartmoor or look into quieter beaches not populated by tourists.

ZenNudist · 23/07/2021 00:11

Mind boggles at person hoovering on holiday. Just don't!

Am on holiday in Norfolk right now. Having a fabulous time. Eaten out 4 times and done pizza and salads at home 2 nights. Not cooking properly. One American style breakfast out too. You say you can't afford it but surely a foreign trip is more expensive than your UK break, so spend the difference on eating out. I'd never want to eat in the same hotel all week so have only done AI twice in my life.

Just lazed by the pool 2 days and every other day been back by 3pm after trips out to laze by the pool and in the hot tub. So no not particularly hard work.

Did pack for all weather eventualities but didn't unpack the rain gear or any warm clothes.

I am washing but not every day, just enough to not take home dirty clothes. Pool and beach gear hasn't had to be washed every time we use it. I fell into that trap once in Spain and used the washing machine every night to wash the swim stuff which meant I threw in other things too and was constantly dealing with laundry.

I also take care to minimise supermarket shopping here and abroad as I could easily go every other day and that's not relaxing.

AddsVsGeorgs · 23/07/2021 00:12

First world problems, huh!

doorornottodoor · 23/07/2021 00:12

@TheMoth totally with you until the pie?! Tell me about the pie on the beach

doorornottodoor · 23/07/2021 00:13

@AddsVsGeorgs are there any second or third world problems on Mumsnet?

BoredZelda · 23/07/2021 00:16

Not for us. Pack up the car and bugger off. None of this hanging about at airports, hoping your luggage turns up and they haven’t broken the wheelchair, waiting for planes, waiting for transfers. Realising that lovely looking hotel you paid over the odds for is actually a shit hole Trying to get a sun lounger at the pool or at the beach, working out which of the crammed in kerbside restaurants is least likely to make us unwell. Realising that despite the fact we complain about it in the U.K., we really are spoiled when it comes to accessibility. That, and, I’m not really a fan of hot weather.

SleepingStandingUp · 23/07/2021 00:17

Surely 5he difference is going self catering vs all-inc rather than the location. Of course its hard work if you're cooking and cleaning vs making sure you're out before the maid comes in

doorornottodoor · 23/07/2021 00:18

This year I’m going to take some of those Cook meals away with us. We will have an insane amount of kit-SUPs, wetsuits etc.. but I’m only taking 3 t shirts, 2 pairs of shorts, 1 pair of jeans and 2 hoodies plus waterproof 😁 Scottish island. It’s liberating taking the bare minimum of clothes.

aiwblam · 23/07/2021 00:26

I’m having a staycation in my house

I refuse to do all the same hard work and more, without my facilities. I also like to go abroad with everything provided. One of the most fantastic holidays we ever went on was a 1p per person per day all inclusive deal that we got. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, unlimited snacks, drinks, ice creams, sheets and towels provided by and washed by the hotel, literally everything done for you. Was about 1700 for four of us. I dream of that holiday!

Worriesome · 23/07/2021 00:27

@ChocolateRiver I agree with you. I went to a beach weekend away in the UK with OH and 2 kids. It was STRESSFUL. We booked an apartment on the beach so no driving required once we’d reached the apartment. However, cooking, washing dishes, arranging snacks etc all add up and it never felt like a break, I was lumbered with the same household chores except the view was nicer and my bank account lighter.

Ultimatecougar · 23/07/2021 00:27

Where can you go all inclusive in the UK right next to a beach and with a good sized pool to lie next to?
And even then you can't guarantee the weather. It's been hot this week, but often it's cold and wet.

BusyLizzie61 · 23/07/2021 00:53

@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.

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. Do you need to or want to be at the beach every day? I wouldn't whether abroad or in the UK. I would, however, be tide smart and perhaps have shorter evening beach visits if the tides align. That would also solve the washing all beachwear etc issue. Or just hang up like you would abroad - in this heat it would be dry. Picnics - can you do some where you take ready made snacks, egraisins, crisps and just buy some nice food from a bakery/deli/supermarket and make at the picnic? The cooking /hoovering etc is surely being shared with your oh? Eating out could be cheapish... Even just a fish and chips, or takeaway, or shop bought pizza night-bunged in whilst you wash....