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Original poster

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

122 replies

doesthismakemeodd · 24/07/2023 20:10

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?

OP posts:
Jujubes5 · 24/07/2023 21:10

Quirky local museums are usually free, or not much.

StormShadow · 24/07/2023 21:19

BarbaraofSeville · 24/07/2023 21:08

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.

Definitely. If you want some kind of food treat as part of the experience, NT and similar places almost always have ice cream.

Trees6 · 24/07/2023 21:19

It varies but on the whole, I agree.

The free museums in London are amazing.

Watermouth Castle in Devon. Big Pit in South Wales. Both are great places I’ve visited recently.

Stonehenge was a ripoff. A real grift.

Most theme parks aren’t worth it imo.

IdSell · 24/07/2023 21:24

Are you willing to say where you are? I bet Mumsnetters would be able to suggest a few places?

LegendsBeyond · 24/07/2023 21:25

We do whole day walks which the DC enjoy. Also cycling & we have NT & EH memberships. I couldn’t spend an entire UK holiday “chilling on a beach.”

noglow · 24/07/2023 21:26

I understand but also some of my favourit memories of childhood are going to random days out. So I'd try and do at least one tbh.

StefanosHill · 24/07/2023 21:26

We do free museums a lot or a membership and visit loads

I find full on days out really ££

kandoh · 24/07/2023 21:27

I like days out. The dc always have lots of fun and I like to have mentally ticked off places, either locally or on holiday. I feel it's a bit of a shame if we've visited some place but not gone to some of the big attractions.
I count the beach as a day out though! Lots of our days out are free as we're in London (the last weekend we did musuems both days and spent less than a tenner - picnic lunch and no gift shop). I don't mind paying for big days out as DC1 loves theme parks, and we have a disabled person in the family so don't have to spend ages queuing, and get one free carer ticket.

Northernsoullover · 24/07/2023 21:31

Have a holiday in SE Wales! St Fagans, Big Pit, and the National Museum in Cardiff is free (apart from parking) We have lovely beaches in the Vale of Glamorgan too.

Floralnomad · 24/07/2023 21:33

You are the total opposite to me , my kids are now adults but we always did loads of days out . We live 30 minutes away from a beach and surrounded by countryside and I can’t imagine just going to a different part of the country to stay indoors or go to a beach I may as well stay at home . Even when we go to Centerparcs we go offsite most days . I still go to NT places once or twice a week .

wejammin · 24/07/2023 21:34

Highly recommend Treasure Trails, they have them all over the UK, last time I checked it was £12 and you just print off a copy per person (or can download to phones). It's a trail round the local area with loads of clues, pretty cheap and takes 2 or 3 hours. Out favourite one was Lindesfarne but we've done them all over.

I agree prices for 'attractions' are nuts, the worst are always some kind of lights trail or dinosaur day etc. For me and 3 kids it's £100 to look at some models in the woods. No, ta!

WelcomingGnome · 24/07/2023 21:36

Yes I get what you mean! I usually feel like the pressure is on to have an amazing time if it's £££. Hate spending £10 on a dry horrible sandwich.

National Trust membership is really good value and they have loads of fun activities for children over the summer. We always take a picnic and a flask of tea. Wherever we go in the country we try to fit in a visit to a local NT even if that's as a stop off on the way there, as an alternative to the services!

QuiltedHippo · 24/07/2023 21:39

wejammin · 24/07/2023 21:34

Highly recommend Treasure Trails, they have them all over the UK, last time I checked it was £12 and you just print off a copy per person (or can download to phones). It's a trail round the local area with loads of clues, pretty cheap and takes 2 or 3 hours. Out favourite one was Lindesfarne but we've done them all over.

I agree prices for 'attractions' are nuts, the worst are always some kind of lights trail or dinosaur day etc. For me and 3 kids it's £100 to look at some models in the woods. No, ta!

Agree they are brilliant! Gives purpose to visiting some random little place and fills plenty of time

Cuwins · 24/07/2023 21:44

wejammin · 24/07/2023 21:34

Highly recommend Treasure Trails, they have them all over the UK, last time I checked it was £12 and you just print off a copy per person (or can download to phones). It's a trail round the local area with loads of clues, pretty cheap and takes 2 or 3 hours. Out favourite one was Lindesfarne but we've done them all over.

I agree prices for 'attractions' are nuts, the worst are always some kind of lights trail or dinosaur day etc. For me and 3 kids it's £100 to look at some models in the woods. No, ta!

We love these too. Haven't done any with my DD yet as she is too small but have done them as groups of adults and had a great time.
They also often get you to explore areas of places that you wouldn't otherwise have seen.

NobodysNose · 24/07/2023 21:46

I spent most this thread agreeing with the OP that days out are too expensive and then...

"I understand but also some of my favourit memories of childhood are going to random days out."

Bam! This reminded me that my own childhood and memories are the same. I loved random days out at various weird museums and houses etc.

crackofdoom · 24/07/2023 21:54

You just have to keep a good eye out for a bargain (easier if you live in the place concerned as you're usually better connected through social media, but googling "What's On" in the area you're in could throw up some gems).

We're off to Newquay Zoo tomorrow. 2 free kids' tickets with every paying adult for I think the duration of the school holidays!! (and yes, we are taking a picnic!).

Goldbar · 24/07/2023 21:54

I've never particularly found that the price paid correlates with the fun had by my DC. They've had great fun doing a few rides at a cheap funfair with a balloon at the end. Conversely, one of the worst days out we've had was at a well-known theme park where the queue for the kiddie rides (age range 3-8) was at least a couple of hours for the main ones. What small child wants to spend 6 hours standing in line to do 3 rides? The tickets plus lunch (some overpriced, cold pizza) came to well over £100. And we ended the day tired and grumpy and wished we'd stayed at home 😂! One of the holiday occurrences my DC remembers most fondly is paddling in a partially flooded ford with a whole load of other children. It had been raining all week and this was the first time the sun had come out for days. With hindsight, we were lucky DC avoided tick bites or worse (we shouldn't have allowed it, looking back!) but they still talk about how fun it was and it didn't cost a penny.

Wigglewigglewitch · 24/07/2023 21:54

There’s an amazing weird museum in cheddar, I think it’s a cannibal museum, super quirky! Cheddar gorge is a great day out with younger kids because you get multiple activities. Everything is so expensive in the UK though - we went to a woodland chalet holiday camp type place in Dorset which had loads of great activities on site (all extra cost) and days out nearby (all £££££) - I haemorrhaged money. It cost the same pro rata as a 5 day all inclusive trip to Spain.

Smallinthesmoke · 24/07/2023 21:57

Thanks @MotherWol for that tip- that's a day out for the family sorted, really appreciate it

GettingStuffed · 24/07/2023 22:01

If you're in the Bristol are there's a unicorn trail. Large painted unicorns are dotted around the city. The trail itself is free and it's all accessible by bus on a family day ticket

Hop this helps someone

Hollyhead · 24/07/2023 22:02

Definitely buy the whole NT membership if you opt for that, you’ll only need to use it once more this yet to break even!

Knittingflapjack · 24/07/2023 22:05

We always take our own packed lunch and a flask of hot chocolate for the kids and coffee for the adults. We spend some time the day before baking a cake and making some savoury things for an extra activity. The cost of buying food can double the price of a day out.

Tiqtaq · 24/07/2023 22:09

I always found days out really expensive so based them around the Tesco Clubcard catalogue which meant we could go to quite a wide selection of places free.

Changingmynameyetagain · 24/07/2023 22:09

If you buy a promotional pack of heinz products there is a free day out promotion running and you can use them on the treasure trails packs.
We're in Northumberland on holiday and we 'bought' one for the area we're staying in.