to be feeling just a little bit sorry for ourselves re holiday disappointment?

[timetogohomenow]

Currently being battered by the wind in a tent in Cornwall at 3:30am so I accept that I may be being a bit unreasonable here but...

AIBU to be so disappointed in how our holiday is turning out? After months of sweating away at work in the heat, we come away on our first camping trip as a family and apart from one day, the weather has been utterly rubbish for the last 8 days.

Camping is not the fun holiday I remember it being... trudging through the mud to go to the toilet in a portacabin, air beds that keep deflating, showers that are not much more than dripping taps, neighbours who talk loudly into the night... not as fun as I remember it being pre-children.

DD's behaviour has been a nightmare in comparison to at home and I feel like all we've done is have a go at her. I suppose she's only 4 and excited but things like running off or not listening in potentially dangerous situations can't be tolerated. That's not been any fun.

Cornwall... a beautiful county but my god the crowds. I knew it would be busy with it being August (we had no choice to come any earlier or later) but literally everywhere we've tried to visit has been a complete ball ache to try to get parked. Some places we've just had to drive through as there was no chance of stopping. Where we're staying there's no public transport we could easily use. The traffic is terrible! The supermarkets where we are are like scenes from an apocalypse film. How the locals cope living down here I do not know.

I know I'm just being a miserable so and so and I realise how lucky we are to be in a situation where we can (just about!) afford a family holiday but AIBU to be so disappointed? We've got 4 nights left and I just feel like packing up and going home! Please tell me in years to come I'll look back on this holiday with fond memories and not lament about the time we spent probably as much as we would have going abroad to stay in a wet, miserable, busy place in a tent!

I bet you can camp in southern France with much better weather for not much more than Cornwall. Campsites, fuel and eating out in the UK, plus entrances to indoor activities to get out of the rain are expensive.

Unless you actually live nearish to Cornwall, it's not a great choice if you're on a budget. There will be loads of other places where pitch fees, eating out and fuel is cheaper.

And if you're looking at a cottage, you could probably spend less doing AI abroad.

It's been another lovely day in Cornwall today. And the sea is so warm I haven't used my wetsuit all season.

I'm up in the north of the county where the roads are not crowded at all...why do people assume all of Cornwall is like St Ives/Porthcurno?

But hey ho..."silly season" is almost over and September is often the best month of all. Bring it on!

another lovely day in Cornwall

another this decade perhaps.

another lovely day in Cornwall

another this decade perhaps.

Are you kidding? We've had a heatwave and drought here this summer too!

Am in north Cornwall and have been to the beach 6 days out of the past 10 days. Would have been 7 but had something else I needed to do today. I think there has been 2 days in the past 10 where there has been alot of rain and 1 day with a brief passing shower. It wasn't that long ago we had a long heatwave and were worrying about the affect on agriculture of there being no rain.

Crikey I've just read the Cornwall live article in which they have basically has just copied and pasted my posts from here... it must be a very slow day in Cornwall if my middle of the night ramblings are newsworthy!!

We've had another nice day today which I'm thankful for but I'm going to bow out now before I make the national papers!

You're famous OP

www.cornwalllive.com/news/cornwall-news/hilarious-mumsnet-rant-compares-cornwall-1948932

I know, I especially like the comment questioning my intelligence!! Ouch! I think my moan was more about camping than Cornwall but at least one person has taken it personally...

For clarity, I recognise the irony of complaining that tourist areas are too busy when I myself am here as a tourist. I bet I'm not the first person in the world who has visited somewhere and wished it wasn't so busy though!

I'm actually quite embarrassed that my middle of the night ramblings have been posted on a 'news' website! I know MN is a public forum but really? It's hardly cutting edge news!

Go home, get a takeaway and watch a family movie together.

Life is too short to be miserable and soggy in a tent.

Gosh, go home!!

I loved camping pre-dc but we've completely binned it and even given away our tents since I decided that putting yourself in a position to get even less sleep than the pitiful and soul-destroying rations I'm just about surviving on from the baby is categorically not a holiday!

If I were you I would've gone home ages ago, but I'd definitely cut and run. Either have a lovely 'holiday at home' with takeaways and days out, or look and see if you can get a Premier Inn somewhere you fancy going and rescue a bit of the holiday vibe.

I live in a touristy area and generally avoid all attractions and popular places until the rush dies down and we can enjoy them in peace again!

Hiya,
Saw your post on Cornwall Live and had to come reply.

As a cornish mum I had to come on.

I completely understand your frustration and I can say as a local living here all my life summer is pure hell down here. Road packed, carpark full, supermarkets look like an apocalypse as you said which is actually what I say to my other half every summer. Everywhere is completely overcrowded and our infrastructure just can't cope with the sheer amount of people coming down here.

I am sorry your trip is going so poorly. All I can recommend to you is during the rest of your trip try going to the places you haven't heard of. The areas that aren't talked about online and in things like poldark. I'd always recommend holiday down here out of holiday times. Cornwall really is an amazing place but during the holiday times it's just horrible.

I hope you find a way to enjoy the rest of your holiday a d I hope our weather picks up for you. Xx

Thank you for your kind message April, it's much appreciated.

I've just been on Cornwall live and they've done yet another article about my post! I really can't believe it! I'm getting a bit of a slating for blowing off some steam at 3am in the morning while my tent was being battered with wind. Anyone would think I've declared war on Cornwall itself with the way some of the people are going on! 😢

I don't think it's really fair that my intelligence is being called into question on there because I came to Cornwall in August - I work in a job which means that's when I have to take my summer holiday. I can't go in June or Sept like some of them have said as I'm not allowed time off work then... I'm not sure what people are finding so unusual about that. I can't be the only person in the world who has a job with restricted holidays?

Cornwall live if you're reading this, you really need to find something more news worthy to write about. Your two articles are just lazy journalism. My initial post wasn't a slagging off session about Cornwall. It was more about how I was disappointed with the weather on my holiday after having had weeks of a heatwave while I was stuck at work. It was about how camping wasn't as easy/fun as I remember it being years ago when we last went.

Since I posted in the early hours of Monday morning, the weather has generally been better. We've had some nice days out, seen some lovely places and had a good time. I've enjoyed the second part of my holiday more than I thought I was going to at 3am on Monday morning. What I've not enjoyed is the slating I've had on Cornwall live but then that's more a reflection on them than me. It's very easy to read snippets put together in an article and come to the conclusion that I'm a dumb 'emmet'. Those who sound like they don't like tourists, what do they think they'd do if everyone stopped coming down and spending their money in the county?

Op don't sweat it

Lazy bloody journalism

Idiots

I’m so looking forward to the tourists going home round here.

Pleased your week has improved.

How pathetic to slate you.

Must be desperate.

Ignore!!

Those who sound like they don't like tourists, what do they think they'd do if everyone stopped coming down and spending their money in the county

That's an excellent point. Cornwall's economy has very little except the tourist industry. It already counts as 'deprived' in that local wages are lower than average, especially in relation to housing costs.

Without tourism, it would probably be in a similar state to the very poorest areas of the Welsh valleys, with similar troubles brought by being a long way from major cities.

Tongue in cheek suggestion, but maybe they need to limit tourism? Cap visitor numbers at certain levels and issue visas or something? Only allow people to go every other year? If you went last year, you have to go somewhere else this year and give someone else a turn?

Add a big tax on second homes for the benefit of full time residents too.

Ugh I couldn’t live in Cornwall during the summer. I feel so sorry for people who have to. I guess the rest of the year makes up for it though? My sister has just moved to Truro to work (doctor) for a year. She so far has found it fine except for a surly bus driver who was a bit aggressive with her. I did say maybe he’s so fed up after spending the summer carting around revolting scumbags like the spitter^^.

Ignore the bone idle journos. It is obviously a slow day for the news there.

I am glad your holiday has improved somewhat though, and hope you enjoy the rest of it more.

I have to say that camping isn't for me so I have to admire your determination. I am in the "don't get camping" brigade. I was rather amused by a PP who would prefer to go to prison for a couple of weeks.

OP I've lived in Cornwall all my life and am in the tourist trade, please don't take any notice of Cornwall Live as you're correct they are lazy journalists, the day they get something right I'll dance in the sea. We've had a very very busy season but I hope I've managed to stay courteous to all our guests and even if they've been rude to me I try to ignore them. Please don't think we're all rude locals because you're quite right we need our tourists and I for one appreciate them butnotwhentheyparkonmydrive
Hope your holiday hasn't been too bad and your trip home will be safe.

In the late 60s my father was convinced by a Dutch business friend that the Dutch coast was a great place for a camping holiday. So we all set off and spent 3 days in torrential rain camping. On the 4th day my mother asked my dad how long it would take to drive to Italy. He told her 2 or 3 days and so they did! Needless to say the weather was better in Italy!

YANBU to be unhappy about the neighbours in their tents being noisy and the difficulties your daughter's behaviour creates.

YABU to complain about Cornwall being busy in August. Probably been the case since the railways went there in Victorian times. As for not being near public transport, a bit of research before choosing where to stay could have prevented this.