I don't want to do "days out" because everything is so expensive and I feel like I'm being ripped off

[doesthismakemeodd]

We are on holiday in the UK in a place well known for tourism staying in a house that belongs to relations so is free us (we are lucky, we know that) we have been here before and know it well but even then haven't done a huge
There is a beach nearby. House owners are joining us later in the week and want to know what we will be doing beforehand and when they join us.
I feel they think we are odd when I say we will just chill, and go to the beach.
They have suggested a place with amusements or a NT place that is outdoors and costs £20 pp to get in (there are 6 of us)

I have looked at the "what's on magazine" . I don't want to do any of it.
I just find "days out" in this country such a let down
Am i the only one?

I have young children so different parks and cheap entertainment works for us. We also have NT membership. I do like the occasional paid for day out but it does have to work for us.

£20 per person for a good NT property isn’t bad.

Have you done the national lottery reduced tickets thing? We generally look for offers on the fancy days out of spend the day on the beach too

Mine are generally happy chilling on the beach if the weather is nice but if it's raining we all need some trips planned or we get cabin fever. It doesn't have to be something expensive or a whole day thing though

Mine are generally happy chilling on the beach if the weather is nice but if it's raining we all need some trips planned or we get cabin fever. It doesn't have to be something expensive or a whole day thing though

You didn't say how old your children are. You do know those "whats on" magazines only include commercially sponsored activities don't you?

We go for walks (try the All Trails app for something suitable nearby), hire bikes, kayaks, nature trails, fossil hunting, sandcastle building, picnics, body boarding. No need to spend a fortune. But don't be miserable - this is a beautiful country and you are lucky to have free accommodation.

Yep, I get you, ‘doing stuff’ is so bloody expensive. Just forked out £70 for 3 of us (1 adult and 2 DCs) to an amusement park type thing in wales. Took packed lunch so didn’t spend extortionate amounts on food but still a lot to spend. At least the kids enjoyed it though! Luckily our kids like walking, so we’ve had a couple of whole day walks as well, which with a packed lunch don’t cost anything. And they are still of an age where they can spend a good couple of hours on a beach creating massive sandcastles.

I don’t find most stuff a let down. I do find you usually get what you pay for too. £20 pp farms are always a bit better than £10 pp farms, for example. But I do find them extortionate so have to limit them and plan wisely. If I was going on a weeks holiday in the UK then I’d probably plan two days out. One to something decent and one to something cheap and cheerful. (Having said that, we stayed at a house with a pool for a week a couple years ago; we did nothing but swim all week. So we don’t always feel the need to do days out. Weather was blooming glorious though.)

Ooh and geocaching is free and available pretty much anywhere

I completely agree with you OP. Everything just seems too expensive and a bit crap. National Trust is very overrated.

I’m wondering if you’re in the SW. I can never believe how expensive days out are down there! And I don’t think YABU. Even if your accommodation was free.

Some of it is expensive and crap. Some of it is expensive and good. Some of it is cheap and good. It depends on where you go and what you do. I'd count a day at the beach as a day out (a free one) so if I was near the beach, I'd actually challenge myself to visit a different beach every day (in fact this is what we often did on days off when we lived by the sea).

I don't think NT or HE offer much for children, they're more aimed at older people who "get it" and they rarely have play parks or other things that kids would enjoy IME. I think some people forget what most kids actually like doing (and it's not shuffling around a mouldy old house or castle on their holidays). I don't have quiet bookish kids who want to know about Whitby Abbey, though, I have bouncy kids who want to go down slides.

If I was on a proper holiday for a week or so, I'd probably only plan to do one "big" day out to a theme park/amusement park etc, because most of those are fairly identical to each other and you can go to one anywhere, whereas the holiday location itself usually has much more unique and interesting features like rivers, lakes, hill walks, beaches, woods or whatever. But then we're the sort of family who once went to Aberdeen for a week's holiday in August and went to 5 different beaches.

Glad it’s not just me! I took dc to a castle near us last week, it is lovely but it cost us £46 for the three of us for entry to the gardens only. Then coffee, a tuna sandwich that dc shared, a scone and two ice creams was another £24. I considered getting a membership but balked at £149 for a family one.

I agree OP. I remember absolutely haemorrhaging money on a soggy holiday in Dorset - forking out so much for dusty old museums that took three seconds to walk around. I felt fleeced. Much nicer to go for walks, play on the beach, explore rock pools etc. Save a bit of money for fish and chips or a cinema visit or a boat ride - something DC will remember.

I get you OP. It's not just that things are bloody expensive, I also hate the fact that it always feels like the rest of the world has the same idea and everywhere is so busy!

I think if they’ve let you have the house for free you should arrange a day that they would enjoy and pay for them too as a thank you. Have you looked at NT membership if you’re a family? They’re probably presuming you're members if they’ve suggested it

Fine but don’t be miserable if you have children, they need days out of the weather is rubbish on holiday. Of course beach etc is fine if sunny

Maybe it's area dependent but I have found some brilliant playgrounds at NT places- both for my current toddler and for other children I have being looking after in the past.
We went to 1 last week where my daughter would have happily spent hours in the park and most near us have great trails for the summer holidays (although my daughter is a bit young to get them). She also really enjoyed looking round the house- liked pointing at pictures of children and animals, got very excited by the model of a duck, danced to some 1920's music playing and was amazed by a sparkly ballroom. Ok we didn't read every sign like I might have done a few years ago but it was certainly a good day out.

Yeah, most NT places I've been to are much more about the outdoors than actual houses. Maybe that's because I go with the DC so gravitate to the kid friendly ones, but plenty of places with playgrounds, trails, animals to see and generally areas where kids can run about and climb. It might vary by area though.

If you're talking about going to a NT property, you'd do best to sign up for a year (if you do it online you can usually get 15 months which will mean it will cover next summer as well), which costs around £120 anyway for a family membership for (check what this means) and then you have access to all the NT properties across the country and free parking at beaches and other NT attractions.

I disagree about them not having much for DC, there's usually space to run around, things to climb on, picnic areas, bike trails, wild life, all sorts of things. Really good value for a family.

Days out can be an expensive let down, but there's nearly always a way to make it a lot cheaper than the headline price (2 for 1 deals almost always available, annual passes, always take a picnic). You just have to be a bit strategic, eg if you buy the NT membership, use it loads this year and move on to something else when it runs out.

My kids love NT, a good walk, a play in the play area if there is one, ice cream and hot chocolate in the cafe, occasional mooch round the shop for a new book 📚

You can get a free NT Family pass this summer: https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/from-24th-july-75000-free-national-trust-family-day-pass-single-use-via-in-your-area-4170576

I've just booked my 3rd free national trust family pass of the year. Will have gone more than the year I had a pass!

If you met me you wouldn't think I am this miserable - I do realise I am coming across like this on here!
Our 4 DC are aged between 15 and 9 - we have a lot going on in term-time - it's quite nice for us to not have to worry about where we have to be next, for us to eat a meal all together without having to time it for who has to do homework or get to their next activity etc - just chilling is fine.

We will arrange a day that they would enjoy but it will be £££ I know. We have done this before.
Previously went to a botanic type garden. Cost us £12 per person admission just to go in and wander round (it was quite interesting and the kids loved running round so that was quite good I suppose. We hadn't taken a picnic so it then cost £10 per sandwich for lunch, (Kids were younger then and wouldn't' eat much of it as all the plain cheese had pickle etc all the ham had mustard- nothing plain- I remember nearly crying afterwards at what we had spent when they had eaten so little - I don't mind paying if everyone enjoys it you know?!
It was then £3.50 per hot drink for the adults.
So for 2 hours wandering round a garden it was nearly £200.
The house owner is definitely in a different tax band to us so absolutely doesn't see it.
I am usually a really generous person but I just feel like this whole "day out" concept is so expensive - we don't do it that often from home either (.e.g music festivals or trips to themes parks in the holidays that I see others do on social in the holidays)

Rookie mistake not taking a picnic. People might think that going to the cafe is somehow 'part of the day out' but seeing as it's usually a lot of money for crap food at the end of a long queue, it's really not spoiling the day to take your own food, or eat before or after visiting the attraction.

If you don't want to make your own food, get £4 meal deals from a supermarket, or Greggs/McDonalds etc, much cheaper.

Now mine are older. I would rather not go out at all in the UK and just go to Italy for a week or France for a week every three months.