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!

Where are you staying op if you are near Truro maybe pop in to cafe chaos where i work near waitrose we give skills to people with additional needs and social skills work experience

I'd have gone home by now.

YANBU - Virtually every holiday I feel like I have wasted my time and might as well have stayed at home. It is especially hard when the weather is bad and you have young kids. May a holiday I have just said enough is enough and gone home.

I think you're absolutely crackers to go camping for that long. Obviously the weather will be shit - it pretty much always rains constantly throughout August. I don't know anyone who camps for more than 2-3 nights either. If the cost was almost the same how come you didn't go abroad? I'd definitely be packing it up, going home (we have the heating on) and chalking it up to experience.

OP, whereabouts are you? Happy to help find you some fun things to do!
Sun is shining in my part of Cornwall!

I camped with DD(6) for one night last week, and was amazed how quiet the camp site was - she slept from 10.30 - 9 am straight!! It was a lovely little campsite with playground, bar etc at £22 per night.... just for those who are demeaning camping in Cornwall (not you, OP!) The weather does make it a challenge, and I hope it gets better for your last days.

The "report" that the infrastructure of Cornwall can't cope is misleading - the tourist people suggested that visitors don't all flock to Kynance Cove and Porthcurno as there are hundreds of other places that aren't so crowded - it was an attempt to share the love and cut down on traffic congestion in "Poldark" places!

For your next holiday maybe stay in a Premier Inn. If you book a few months in advance a family room is not much more expensive than camping for the night. Then you have proper beds and your own en suite.

Two children eat free when an adult pays for one breakfast.

I'm originally from a small seaside town in Cornwall, that's very popular with tourists, and I never EVER go back to visit in July or August if I can help it. I have zero patience for it. It takes a major family event to drag me down there to do battle with the tourists and shitty parking wars and the general 'people fecking everywhere'-ness of it all :-)

just go home

I'm in a tent in the Gower at the moment. The weather hasn't been too bad although it always sounds worse in a tent.

I've enjoyed camping for years and grew up going every summer but I think this might be my last camping trip. The magic has gone.

Now I have teens they moan about helping to pack and unpack so I end up doing it all myself (single parent)
There is constant stress about charging phones and tablets
My back hurts from sleeping on crappy airbeds
Everything is slightly damp
It's getting harder to fit all our stuff into my little car with 3 adult sized people so we have to compromise and leave things at home (chairs)
It's not that much cheaper than airbnb.
I'm losing tolerance for all the faffing.

I've decided I'd rather have a nice relaxing holiday every other year than drag everyone to a muddy field to be miserable. And Cornwall is overrated. Pembrokeshire is just as lovely with 10% of the tourists and 4 hours closer.

KickBishopBrennanUpTheArse

Apart from the fed-up teenagers, you've summed up exactly why I switched from camping to self-catering. I like staying in a static caravan - still feels like being on holiday/camping-esque but it's dry with a proper loo and decent bed.

I was going to ask where abouts you are in Cornwall OP my DH is from Cornwall and we go every year so should be able to suggest something nice.

If your anywhere near Launceston then Trethorn is brilliant no matter what the weather is like,it has huge indoor play areas(and I mean huge)some of the animals are inside as well including the small animal petting areas,there's an amazing restaurant/cafe there as well and tons more things to do outside as well(if the weather turns nice)we go there nearly every year with our 5DC.

www.trethorneleisure.com/

Camel Creek adventure park(formally Crealy)in Cornwall is really good as well www.camelcreek.co.uk/ it has indoor and outdoor attractions there.

Crealy in Devon(I know your staying in Cornwall but depending where your staying the Devon one can actually be closer) www.crealy.co.uk/

Hidden Valley Discovery Park is great as well and lots of that is indoors hiddenvalleydiscoverypark.co.uk/

There's a massive Aquarium in Plymouth that's really lovely there and it is huge and they have a massive cafe(if you go there there is tons more seating upstairs in the cafe)the queue does get huge but they do honestly get you through quickly(we have two DC that are autistic so quick queue's for us are a God send)and there is tons to do and see there. www.national-aquarium.co.uk/

Bodmin Railway we haven't been there yet but were going next year,it looks amazing www.bodminrailway.co.uk/

I hope the weather picks up for you OP and with regards to the campsite I'd be naming and shaming them and I'd complain to them whilst your still there,the toilet and shower situation is really not on.

I have fond memories of holidays in Cornwall as a child. It’s indisputably beautiful but it’s become a victim of its own success with the crowds and high prices for accommodation.
We now usually go to Tywyn, mid Wales, which is lovely. Ample free parking right by the beach, never crowded and self catering houses and flats overlooking the beach are reasonable (if you can call around £800 reasonable!). Can’t guarantee the weather though!
We’ve also just had a nice holiday in the Breacon Beacons which was reasonable and we had our own swimming pool. The weather was appalling though!
A few years ago we had a lovely holiday in Broad Haven, Pembrokeshire, which was like Cornwall without the crowds - crystal clear sea, golden beaches with caves and rock pools, and wildflower filled lanes.
I don’t work for the Wales tourist board, I promise!

It isn't just Cornwall, OP but I feel for you as being wet in the UK is especially grim as it usually comes with being cold too. We have endured two weeks camping in France with an 8yo and a 15 month old. The weather has been ok but punctuated with days of thunderstorms and rain. Everything takes 20 times as long as usual as you have to keep running after the toddler to stop him invading other pitches, taking apart their solar lights etc. The 8yo got bored very quickly looking after him and we packed up in the pouring rain. Two nights in a French hospital with a toddler with asthma was a particular highlight.

We jacked in moving to another site in Germany and then Belgium as planned for 4 nights in an IBIS near Paris and two days at Disney. I am desperate to get home and we are haemorrhaging money. Camping is crap with a toddler I have decided. Next year we are off all inclusive if I get my way. It can't be any more expensive or hard work.

If I was you I would call it a day and.go home to the warm.

Good choice not to call it a day today. Driving out of Cornwall on August bank holiday Monday isn’t likely to be fun.

It has been a better day today! Apart from a tiny bit of drizzle first thing, it has been dry and warm enough all day. We managed a few hours on a lovely beach building sandcastles and then fish and chips in Padstow before a bit of crabbing from the harbour wall. Now chilling in the tent with some scrumpy cider... the kind of day I imagined we'd be having on this holiday!!

I think we're going to stick it out until Fri unless the weather turns drastically again but we've both agreed that this is our last camping holiday until DD is older and we're not going for as long next time!

Thank you to those who have responded and to those who have posted ideas and links for things to do, I'll have a good look through them.

Glad you had a better day - hope the rest of the week is lovely for you, too.

Yep love camping but always do it Adhock after checking the forcast. And we do take a lot of camping luxury’s with us and have a fab tent that blows up which makes all he different. But that amount of wet weather I would be on my way home

We did the 10days camping in Devon last year. OH wanted our DC to experience a camping holiday in the UK. I had done plenty of weekends camping before DC and had a laugh. However older and busier with work the idea of a camping break wasn't filling me with joy. My eldest stayed at home and looked after my dog, my DD was being good at being 13, my 10yr DS was desperate to play with others but there appeared to be groups of families and there DC playing and he was excluded and moped around with his sister refusing to leave the tent. The only one that enjoyed it was our 2 year old! We had one day of reasonable weather then it was rain, I ended up with the worst cold sore I have ever had an vertigo for the first time. Headed back to work feeling like crap. Never again....just back this year from two weeks in spain and it was lovely! We left our camping trip early and enjoyed a few days at the grandparents and then home..

Sounds more like it Op

Glad you've had a better day hope weather stays good now

It has been particularly horrendous here this year. I live in a tourist hotspot, wasn’t so much 20+yrs ago so we didn’t choose the tourists
I have felt sorry for people though as we had just glorious weather, but then I don’t get to go away in the summer because of my job so felt a bit smug that we were able to enjoy the empty beaches in the hot sunshine for once.
We’re at Heligan tomorrow (far superior to Eden in many ways) if you need inspiration I’ve also checked the weather for my washing and it seems to be nice all day.

Next year - cheap last min deal with Butlin’s or other holiday park with entertainment there if it's wet

Hasn't she suffered enough on this years holiday? Why would you wish that hell on earth on her?

Camping is a pile of old bollocks.
Unless you are in your 20’s, in the south of France in August with a bunch of mates you just know it’s going to end badly.

It sounds shit but surely camping in this country, it's a risk you took?
Go home and start saving for something more enjoyable next time!

Glad you had a better day op.

Ignore those posters saying 'it's the risk you took'. We all take risks all the time, doesn't stop us hoping for the best or sometimes underestimating the worst case scenario.

And nothing wrong with a bit of a moan to mn in the middle of a bad night.

I feel like if someone came on saying they'd been involved in a car crash, a smartarse would pipe up saying 'well you must know the statistics for completing a journey safely, you know the risks'.

Is "have some gin" the new "have a glass of wine"?!

Also camping is beyond shit.