To refuse to go on days out in the UK anymore ?

[Heswall]

I have spent half the day mumsnetting from my phone because we have been bored rigid on a "day out" at a local national trust event.
The egg hunt clues were crap or missing, I ended up offering lunch at Frankie and Benny's if we could get the hell out of there and warm up.
I am sick of having to buy tons of layers of warm clothing that get taken off and then lost - if anyone finds an age 11-12 Joules Aire bodywarmer can I have it back please ? - I am sick of paying £60 in petrol and entrance fees for an hours entertainment at best.
For the price of Alton Towers I can fly two people to Spain, I feel I have done every farm, theme park, old house in the half of the country I live in.
AIBU to stay shove the staycation and save up for warm sunny weather and pastures new instead ?

Do you (I'm not addressing anyone in particular) think it is harder to have days out without a car? Obviously London etc is done by train but a lot of other places are seemingly in the middle of nowhere so we are a bit more limited, although it isn't too bad when you plan a lot.

We won't be able to afford a car for a long time so I'm just randomly pondering really.

We went to the Riverside Museum (old transport museum moved to new location) in Glasgow. Free to get in and free activities. Took our own lunch and used the picnic area. DD and moody teenage sister really enjoyed themselves.

Fuzz - yes, at very least it take a lot more planning. Our recent trip to Ragley Hall - set the satnav and go contrasted with our previous vist somewhat over 30 years ago. It was the first time DH ever took me out for the day - we were students in Brum - he carefully researched timetables. Train into the city; bus out to Ragley - then (he admits now) he was horrified when he found we were at the end of a drive with no house in sight. It wasn't too far for a couple of 20 year olds but probably a bit much if you had small kids in tow.

But the ride can be part of the fun - DH always used to take DD to the World Museum in Liverpool by train rather than driving, less hassle and less boring journey.

we went to the museum of scotland on mothers day which is free but coffee cake and whatever cost us 30 quid I agree but some days out can be fun but very expensive i try and do them few and far between now adays as my kids are now adult prices ,

But the ride can be part of the fun

I agree! Despite being fully reliant on public transport, my DCs don't go on trains all that often, so it's still got a bit of a buzz to it.

We are planning a day trip to IOW - won't actually get masses of time there, but hell, they'll be on a boat! Apart from a brief narrowboat ride last month, they have never been on one. Very exciting! :o

You know what I really want to try - not really a day trip though - geocaching. I don't know if it's the kind of thing you can do for just one day though.

fuzzpig - you need a decent GPS. Our SatNav was hopeless.

YABU, there's lots of awesome stuff to do in the UK, and it's not justified (environmentally) to take a flight somewhere just because your children are incapable of looking after their overpriced fashion wear. I mean an occasional overseas holiday is probably not too much of a problem but really it shouldn't be a regular thing, and there are so many beautiful places in the UK that there really is no need. I don't really go to NT things because it's expensive but there are millions of places you can go to for free and even cycle to within your own town if you look (admittedly am lucky to live in town with more than usual historical shite lying around everywhere, but really most places have something worth seeing).

Op, YANBU, but you did forget to mention rip off car parking prices and crap coffee that costs a fortune ......

Um, GPS, is that like the map thingy like wot's on my iPhone?

A day out including a boat ride is always good . Getting to an island is always special too, somehow.

£3.50 to park at Stonehenge yesterday ....

I told them I didn't have any money and the nice attendant allowed me to park anyway.

Oh, that's nice. Its a shame about Stonehenge though - when I went there as a teen you could just roam around the stones. Nowadays I think I'd rather trudge over fields to a stone circle or hill fort.

we are members of NT, Historic Scotland and RSPB - we save that easily on a few visits and go somewhere most weekends. Also get discount in gift shops!
DS loves castles, ruined or otherwise and can spent many a happy hour exploring. Current favourites are Tantallon, Linlithgow Palace, Stirling. Threave castle is good because its on an island and you have to over in a little boat.
Take waterproofs, hot drinks and snacks in backpack to avoid rip off cafes and tearooms.

my dad used to take us to historic houses every weekend in the summer and spring, even then he would avoid national trust properties

FuzzPig - again. depending on where you are in W.Sussex relative to Winchester, I drove past Intech today and there is a bus stop right outside it. The bus route goes to Alton and then connects on to Guildford, but that's a long bus journey. Alternatively there is a Holiday Inn right next door, you could make a weekend of it, the same bus goes on into Winchester City Centre, which is lovely.

DementedMa - we tried Dumbarton Castle last year and enjoyed it with the DCs (we holiday near Loch Lomond every year), going to look up some of those you have mentioned. We are in English Heritage, which gets you in cheap/free to Historic Scotland (can't remember which). We also love Kilchurn Castle on Loch Awe, but that's a bit further, my grandparents lived near there, happy childhood memories.

Agree Grimma. Were doing st Michaels Mount again in May. Restaurant a rip off but dd big enough to climb to the castle at the top this year so looking forward to it(even if the boat trip out to it was scary !)

Between NT membership, Bristol zoo membership and Westonbirt Arboretum membership we have a lot of v fun v cheap afternoons out. We went to Bibury trout farm last week, it cost 4 quid each to get in, free fishing and caught our own dinner to BBQ onsite. I heartily recommend it.

fuzzpig

I dont drive either .But have found i can get to lot of places by trains or accessible buses .It does take a bit more planning though I admit

If you live near Stoke go to Hanley park - great playground for kids of all ages , there's about 4 playgrounds there plus a lake with ducks, fountains etc
We were there 2 hours, all free

I have photos of me and my brother climbing over the stones at Stonehenge in the 60s. I'm glad that's not allowed any more but it's such big business there now that it has been spoilt. You walk around the perimeter fence with hundreds of other people and don't really get the mysterious feel to it unless it's out of peak season. And £20 for a family ticket on top of the car parking .

If you had little money, you would soon find out ways to have cheap days out. Spending £27 on a 'snack' that couldn't even be called lunch, is not an option for us.

We used Tesco clubcard points and vouchers. I work out the cheapest way to travel anywhere (google maps will tell you the cost of the fuel and is surprisingly accurate) and I calculate food, drinks and parking costs into any day out. I take our own water bottles and never miss a chance to refill from a water fountain, (a drinking one obv) A picnic/packed lunch is par of the course for a day out for us.

We all have good quality thermals and these allow us to stay happily on a beach which most would consider to be cold. The dc love the freedom of a empty beach and imo, it's the cheapest day out. A day out to the beach is the only 'unplanned' days out we have. I never miss an opportunity to jump in the car and drive down to the nearest beach. The only cost to us is fuel and the dc love it.

Feels obliged to stick head round door of Premier Inn tomorrow to make sure it's pukka for Le Queen

If its good enough for Lenny Henry she'll be fine

Has he been to the Putney one? Panics now, LeQueen has high standards.