Summer holidays in the UK - thoughts?

[Hosebush]

Currently on holiday in Cornwall. It's beautiful but it's cold today. It's been chilly for our last three summer holidays here. It was amazingly hot the first time.

What are people's thoughts on summer holidays in the UK. Do you do them? Do you wait and see what the weather will be like before booking? If not, how do you make it work?

Nope. Unpredictable weather, too samey, holiday places are stupidly crowded and expensive. Love a weekend break but for my main holiday, no.

I always think of staying in the UK as we've always been lucky with the weather the past few times. One of my favourite holidays ever was to the Isle of Wight. But for the past few years I've booked a holiday abroad, usually AI as it truly is a get away from it all type holiday

The uk is much more expensive. We onyl do it so we can bring our dog

We had a week in Cornwall earlier this summer, had one 24 hours of rain but that was it, plenty of time on the beach. But we are also outdoorsy people so a bit of mizzle doesn't really put us off. I'm not someone that wants to bake in the sun!

I made a decision a couple of years ago to spend whatever I would have spent on a med sun/ sea/ sand holiday on a couple of uk festivals, maybe three. I get more out of them and it means there are a few things to look forward to throughout the summer. Camping in the British weather isn't ideal but being able to go to the festivals makes up for it. I get bored after a few days abroad by a pool, but never get bored at festivals.

We do them but we also go abroad for a warm fix.

Yes, we love our summer holidays in the UK and have been all over in recent years. The Lake District, Scottish Highlands, Anglesey, Isle of Wight, Devon, Peak District and Norfolk off the top of my head.

But neither DH or I are sunbathers. We don't sunbathe on holiday either. We like sightseeing, visiting museums, walking and long pub lunches so it doesn't really matter what the weather is doing.

Granted, we normally book a caravan and like to sit out of an evening with a glass of wine and have a chat so it would be a bit miserable if it rained ALL week but we certainly aren't seeking out heat as part of a summer holiday.

I think if you love laying on a beach then a UK break is risky.

We did a week’s camping in Cornwall this summer. Beach everyday (once we’d wrung out the leaking tent).
Usually camp in the south west, sometimes also camp in France.
I’d hate an AI in a hot place as much as some would hate my damp camping. It’s just preference.
We have a few European city breaks booked this year for various reasons too. Always enjoy those.

We just did a week in Cornwall and had a nice time. But the weather was rubbish. Mad dash to the beach any time the sun shone, praying the clouds will lift so you can actually see the sight you have paid to visit. Wouldn't mind so much if it wasn't so bloody expensive! Wouldn't bother at all if we didn't have family there.

The West of the UK sticks out into the Atlantic (Cornwall in particular) and is generally cooler and wetter than the East. Always in Cornwall we expect to get wet especially in July or August. The driest warmest holidays have been in East Anglia.

I always book my holiday two days before I go anywhere, abroad or the UK, so that I make sure I only go somewhere that's going to have good weather. I book the time off work then see where I can get a flight from my local airport that's looking hot and sunny nearer the time, or where I can get last min accomm in the UK if good weather and go there. I have had too many shit weather holidays to take the risk.

We went to Cornwall for a week this summer. It took us 9 and a half hours to drive there from our home in the East Midlands and the same amount of time to drive back. The weather was crap on most days. I have vowed to never go on holiday in Cornwall ever again.

We had the first week of august in kent this year. We had 1 dull day but it was still warm. Every other day was sunny, around 21c with blue sky's. It was wonderful. I think you need to go away june, July and early August to avoid it being chilly.

We had a week in the New Forest in July. 3 days were too hot, rest was good.

We've had some great UK (and Ireland) holidays.
We tend to do something different each year like last year we did UK, this year we did Tenerife.
I'm not that bothered about hot weather though and I think the UK isn't really set up for very hot weather anyway with no air con etc so cooler is probably better.
Unless it rains every day I'm pretty happy but even then you take waterproofs and make the most of it.

I don't holiday in the UK for the sun. I holiday to see what's around and to experience some beautiful walks. We did a campervan trip around Scotland visiting lochs and castles and it was glorious. Some days were sunny, some were overcast, but we still had the best time.

In Cornwall it's the same - we go on long coastal walks, visit farm shops and little villages, go swimming, etc. If we wanted hot weather we'd go abroad.

We always have holidays in the UK and one abroad each year. If we go to hot countries we do it in October to avoid the heat. We have similar holidays whether we are here or abroad.

Our summer holiday this year was in Scotland. We had lovely sunny weather but we did a lot of museums (more interesting in the UK when you know everything will be in English), archaeological sites, beaches (much quieter than in hot countries and nicer for it), castles, and walks in the countryside. Ate in small independent cafes and restaurants.

We are going to Greece in October, the weather will be slightly warmer than we had in Scotland but we'll do similar things, museums, archaeological sites, beaches, and walks in the countryside. We'll eat in small independent cafes and restaurants.

I grew up on an island so I am not excited by lying on a beach for a week, that was all there was to do growing up. I want culture when I'm on holiday.

For me holidays are about food, culture, architecture, etc., that’s why continental European holidays are my favourite. I like trying to speak another language, trying new food, it just feels like more of a proper break to me. I’ve never really been on a UK holiday apart from seeing family around the country, or a weekend away.

I almost exclusively holiday in the UK. I like camping, but my Dad has arthritis and dementia so we've embraced Airbnbs in recent years.

I adore it. But then I'm not bothered by it being sunny and would rather cut off my left foot than sit on a beach or next to a pool.

I don't need sun and pools to feel like I'm on holiday. I need to be withy family or friends, relaxed happy and visiting places I enjoy or going hiking.

We don't go away for a UK beach holiday as we live by a stunning sandy beach that we go to multiple times a week in all weathers.

We do go on city breaks in the UK though.

We normally holiday in the UK. I love it! We're interested in history so there's loads to do, lots of outdoorsy things available too, and plenty of beautiful beaches.

Loosely the weather in the south west and west generally is not as dry or warm as the east. So for a better chance of good weather try Norfolk or Suffolk. It's always a risk though. Our worst holiday was a rainy Norfolk holiday one April, but that was an outlier, it's normally much better.

We've done the south west, East Anglia, Lincolnshire, Yorkshire, Northumberland and parts of Wales. Pembrokeshire reminded me of Cornwall but with less tourists!

Really acceptance is what's needed for a UK holiday, you'll need a variety of clothing and to plan some wet day activities as a back up!

As a contrast we had our first family holiday abroad with our teens. Whilst it was wonderful, hot and sunny the stress of delayed flights and lost luggage took some of the shine off!

We do a couple of UK breaks each year, mainly as the husband loves to fish and we can take the dog but only for max 5 days. Any longer starts to drive me mad. Everything costs a fortune, we have less appliances then at home to make good food with if we don’t want to spend a fortune on food. The weathers unpredictable and shops tend to be the same as home.

Two years running we tried Devon as our main holiday and whilst it was beautiful, we only had two days of sun, the rest was wet and windy meaning we couldn’t really do half the stuff we planned and just spent even more money.

To feel like im truly on holiday, it does tend to need to be abroad.

Yep we always holiday in UK, usually twice a year. I'm struggling more and more with heat so a holiday abroad in July/August would be unbearable.
We are outdoorsy anyway and take the dog so our holidays tend to be a mix of: walking, national trust/historic houses etc plus some things for DD (13).
We like to go somewhere different each time and the UK has got such a diverse range of landscapes etc that there's always somewhere new to explore.

We want to see as much of the world as we can.

You can't see the Niagara Falls or the Pyramids in the UK for instance.

UK was fine when kids were young, we camped all over because what they wanted was freedom to run, and you can do that on a holiday site in UK rain or shine. But since the kids have been older we want to take them to see the world. Partly because we are not sure if them staying in the UK for their adult lives is the best option.

We are not sit by the pool types, we are also not hike up mountain types, we are somewhere in between.

Uk holidays are always unpredictable and end up costing a fortune