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?

Yes, absolutely. English husband do not want a hot holiday. I come from a country with many childhood sunny 40C holidays, so really am not bothered either. Have consumed many such things over the years.

We love Devon and many other counties. The weather has always been decent also.

For me the holiday can contain any experience , even just a coastal walk - have you tried Hartland ???? Winds and black sheep hanging off rocks, behaving like goats? And many other little wonders - endless list

St Davids city in Wales, absolutely magic. Perhaps because I am foreign, I feel on holiday even when I go down the road and look at the varied houses in styles foreign to my country's ones.

Honestly can’t understand how we (a family of 5) could afford a week or two abroad every year. We’re on a good income, but our holidays abroad aren’t every year and are always taking the car and driving to Northern Europe. Even then, not much change out of £3-4k.

pre kids we went lots of places but it’s just not doable now.

we do have a week in the uk at some point - Easter or October, usually. It’s still a holiday.

We went to Cornwall a few weeks ago and the weather was glorious! We had a brilliant time and the beaches were beautiful.

The thing with UK holidays is that it's just so unpredictable, but at the moment we couldn't afford a holiday abroad with how much more expensive our bills/mortgage have become,

At home it's a short break, it's only a holiday if I go abroad. There's nowhere in the uk I want to spend more than a long weekend.

We had 2 uk holiday post covid in 2021, it was dire. Before covid we always went abroad and started going abroad again as soon as we could post covid.

Couldn't resist sharing this, I was considering a break in Norfolk /Suffolk. Regarding holidays in the UK, expensive, unreliable weather, I'm tired of castles and like the art galleries and enjoyable free parks, public spaces and infrastructure you get overseas.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/aug/21/uk-spider-species-comeback-rspb-fen-raft?

Quite a few friends holidayed in the uk this summer and their photos are wet, very wet.

we were lucky with our few days in London but I’m so glad we went somewhere hot for a week - without that week of sun I’d be feeling really low right now.

I’m sure there’s beautiful parts of England up north but the weather is hard to get beyond for me.

We've had some amazing UK holidays. For years while the kids were younger we did two weeks UK camping in the summer and then had another holiday abroad in either May , April or October.

Two weeks in Woolocombe - weather was great most days and we hired a beach hut for the full two weeks. Did day trips on the few cloudy days we had.Amazing memories.

Two weeks Dorset - we counted 10 days out of the 14 as being hot beach days. Did have two awful days of storms half way through and had to abandon the camping due to tent damage but luckily found a last min holiday cottage.

The Gower - two weeks of very mixed weather but the campsite was so beautiful and the views so amazing. Managed a few nice beach days but mostly toured the area and had a great time.

Filey - last year. Hired a beach hut but the weather was grim! Did enjoy a few days out and we were lucky to be with good friends otherwise we would probably have come home early.

Had lots of great holidays in Cornwall but the weather can be so changeable there. Heatwave one day and freezing and blowing a gale the next.Been in April and had a heatwave but then July was rainy and cold. October half term was strangely ok and one of our nicest weeks there.

Can't afford to go anywhere other than the UK and even then, it was 3 years ago, I think, that we last went away. It still feels like a holiday even if it does drizzle and feel a bit chilly.

We haven't been abroad for 9 years now, we holiday in UK usually twice a year with the odd extra weekend. The idea of spending a whole day sitting by the pool fills me with horror, we like to be active, walking or visiting some of the beautiful places on offer. We take a practical selection of clothes and the weather rarely keeps us in. However the costs in the UK are getting ridiculous and eating out at tourist places is very hit and miss now, even a chippy supper is heartstoppingly expensive. Next year we are thinking about a river cruise, they look expensive but are AI, including food, booze, daytime trips and some evening entertainment so probably no more than we spend now

I like the UK but I'm afraid on a cost/ benefit ratio it feels poor value given its very weather dependent and I think a lot of accommodation is borderline grotty too given the price- if I had young kids I can see the appeal of places like Haven- but as we no longer do I'm afraid I stick to places where the local town/ city is a nice potter, weather is usually lovely, the sea and beaches are clean , hotel has nice grounds and pool for sitting reading a book and decent wine is around 7 euros a glass. Hiking round in Rohan gear in wind and rain to me isn't holiday- would rather be at home. I guess though we are all different.

If you're doing a UK holiday and you don't like rain then I suggest going along the southeast and east coast where it much drier generally. East Anglia is the driest region of the UK and the southeast the warmest.

Last year we went to the lake district in summer and it rained. This summer we went to Jersey and it rained. Where I live it has rained most of the summer. If I wasn't going to Greece in a few weeks I think I would be thoroughly depressed, its the only thing keeping me going right now.

I have already booked a holiday abroad for next summer, I am just not risking the weather again. UK holidays are for short breaks only now, not main summer holidays.

Just back from a week in Cornwall and Devon , lucky enough to have a family static in ilfracombe . We went to st Ives in air b&b for two nights which was £350

main thing is kids enjoyed and it was my 2 years olds first experience of the beach

had a nice day on carbis bay , but our first day there was a wash out .

since back I've booked next years hol- abroad and all inclusive .🤣

with three kids it's draining still having to go food shopping : decide what to eat for tea ,
doesn't feel like a holiday to me where as abroad does.

the weather in this country drives me mad , I don't want it hot , I can cope with grey and cloudy as long as it doesn't rain the whole time .

Maybe, as I live in the West Country, UK holidays aren’t that inviting. We have lovely weekends on the Dorset and Devon coast but a whole week isn’t quite the dream for me.

Went back to the UK in June this summer. It rained almost everyday for two week. Around 14 degrees.

Yes, the countryside and architecture is beautiful, but let's face it, you just don't get the weather that you do elsewhere.

@FrillyKnickersAndNoFurCoat honestly if I was going on holiday in the UK I would probably go to somewhere like Broadstairs - I used to live in Canterbury and that was always our day out- didn't feel that much different to Cornwall to me and some nice restaurants and good sandy beaches.

I love them. I didn’t go abroad until I was 16 and have fantastic memories of UK caravan holidays.

Now I do go abroad every couple of years but still very much enjoy UK holidays and short breaks whenever I can.

Nope I'm not keen. Spent the BH weekend just gone in a Kent village and spent a fortune. Wandered around the town in the pissing rain on Saturday, sheltered in a cafe, more wandering, sheltered in a pub, bit more wandering then dinner in a local restaurant. Ridiculous amount of money (4 adults).

I love a UK holiday but I don’t need certain weather to have a good time.

if you want more reliable weather why not try East Anglia, it is more predictable than other areas of the UK and has the least rain.

Not a summer beach type holiday , no never…..I like guaranteed sun so go abroad for that….I do a few days at a cottage if it’s a rural break ….or a couple of nights at a hotel for a city break ……not too bothered abou.t the weather for these

I’m not sure it is for many….I live in the NW ….wouldn’t dream of a week in Cornwall or Devon due to the unpredictability of the weather

Although I enjoy going abroad, its so expensive! When I was married and children were little, we had a folding camper and went camping in Cornwall or Devon or Wales. No need to worry about sunburn or it being too hot for the little ones (mild concerns about trenchfoot on some holidays!) but yes it was never really a holiday, more 'a change is as good as a rest' . We went to SW France using Eurocamp a couple of years once the kids were pre teens and I spent way too much time worrying about sunburn and the hot sand!

Nowadays I just want to read trashy novels and relax on holiday without worrying so have a caravan for me and the dog.

Whether you sit by a pool or not, it’s fucking miserable to be on holdiay when it rains…..anyone who says different is telling pork pies……our friends ( kids 12 and 10) just got back from 2 weeks in Austria and Germany ….stayed in airbnbs …..lots of hiking….swimming in lakes…..water activities …..and most importantly , lots of sunshine…

We holiday in the UK but where we go and what we plan to go to see is not weather dependent e.g. went to Aviemore/ cairngorms in April for a week and York for a long weekend in February. We’ll kayak and cycle in the rain.

But the cost of accommodation is getting ridiculous for a decent two bed place and we have a holiday abroad in October to get some sun before the dark winter.