Do you think Cornwall will be 'open' in July?

[NoSoapAndGory]

Hi all.

A purely speculative post to gauge opinions, as I know we don't know, don't have a crystal ball, etc etc.

We have booked a self catering holiday cottage near Bude for the first 10 days of July. We live in the South East, so it's about 5 hours drive to get there on a good day. We have a dog so would need to stop at a service station at least once.

As part of general future-focused conversation, DH and I are ruminating about

1: will we be 'allowed' to go
2: if we are, would we want to anyway?
3: if it's 'allowed', will the Bude community welcome us or hate us?
4: will the tourist industry want revenue or not?

Etc. Etc. Etc.

Anyone else having similar discussions, and if so, what are you thinking?

Oh @BubblesBuddy you get funnier and funnier with how wound up you seem on this thread

You know ‘Chelsea tractor’ is a joke, right? Because who needs one if you’re not a farmer/live rurally/enjoy high adrenaline off road sports...

Watching all the clean as a new pin 4x4s being shuffled along tentatively through narrow lanes not wanting to get too close to the hedgerows is high entertainment come August.

Nobody is jealous of your two 4x4s 🤣

Please remember (and this thread seems to be forgetting this) that people who live in Cornwall also want to go on holiday after coronavirus is under control.

It’s really that simple. You holiday to Cornwall so the Cornish can holiday elsewhere.

BubblesBuddy: no, I don't feel like we'd be particularly welcome! I'm just surprised we've been reminded to pay the second installment with no reference to the situation or what their policy would be if our holiday couldn't go ahead.

@OrangeSamphire not Bude for us! I think part of the issue is the possible closure of facilities (including on site swimming pool, possibly beaches will be closed too) but more that there is no guarantee our holiday will be movable since the owner hasn't actually indicated what their policies are.

Oh sorry @fratercula, I thought you’d said Bude, must have been another poster!

You definitely need clarity. They might not know what to do themselves and are desperately hoping to get back to normal. But they need to communicate better by the sounds of it.

Could you email them and ask for a guarantee the holiday will be moveable if lockdown is still in place? That’s what center parcs did for us.

Our holiday cottage owners brought out a new clause for Covid. Essentially, if there’s a second lockdown, up to the day beforehand, then we get either 80% refund or rebooking for next year.

We go to Cornwall every year, not usually in August. We are booked for October this year, for example, so we are now going in August and October because I switched our ‘abroad’ holiday to a ‘U.K.’ holiday.

Given that we were supposed to go abroad this year, we would hope to therefore go abroad next year instead. I was a bit ‘meh’ about the idea of a lockdown meaning we switch the holiday to next summer, but....first world problems.

I think the policy they’ve got is fair, I’ll be paying the balance and putting my money into Cornwall instead of France.

Don't be ridiculous BubblesBuddy, jealousy has nothing to do with it. Where the fuck would I park it for a start? I live down a tiny Cornish Lane, with on street partking. Trust me, you want a little car when you're trying to squeeze into one of the rare nearby parking spaces. I'm not afraid to get up nice and close to the Cornish hedgerows when I'm driving round the tiddly lanes, yet every shiny 4x4 I've come across thinks they own the road and refuses to budge over. Very practical. No thanks, I'll stick to my old banger

Daffodil101 I'm glad they got back to you. That sounds reasonable. I hope you get to come down in August.

I just love being sneered fir having a Jaeger car and then told it’s a joke! Aggressive / passive in my book. You just come across as not liking people. Sad really that you cannot welcome or embrace others without insulting them. Everyone knows what and who you are describing as the people who own Chelsea tractors. It’s always a finger pointed at richer people who are despised. I live in an area with muddy lanes and steep hills. I drive off road at point to points when they are on. I really don’t like being sneered at by Cornish people.

Cannot type: For having a larger car...

You’re making a lot of inaccurate assumptions there Bubbles, which show up an unpleasant and superior attitude.

Few people particularly care about material wealth here. It’s not something widely aspired to in Cornwall. It doesn’t bring fulfilment. Living around nature with lovely people does though.

And nobody is sneering at you. There’s a big difference between that, and having a giggle at the inevitable log jam of impatient faces all getting cross with each other in their 4x4s when they find they can’t drive them particularly well on the narrow lane between Rock and Polzeath (among other places).

Bubbles, if you hate the Cornish so very much, please don't come. We welcome people here who appreciate what we have to offer, and can also understand that this is some people's home all year round. We really don't need visitors who do nothing but sneer. There are other places you can go, and many, many other visitors we will welcome.

I think it’s you who are sneering at visitors. I’m happy to spend money in Cornwall but I don’t like being called names, being ridiculed, being ripped off and not being made welcome. I do feel like selling up. No buyers though I suspect so you might have to put up with me spending money, driving a Chelsea tractor and paying my taxes to Cornwall for a bit longer!

But definitely not this year. I would not want to give you anything.

Why do you think people cannot drive big cars? Why do you have a giggle at someone else’s expense? Is that what you teach your children to do? I do find it rude and unwelcoming. So in that regard I think I have superior manners. I don’t think I’m superior in any other way. I have two big cars and I come to Cornwall and spend money and so do my guests but if I’m laughed at I do wonder why. Anyway as I said I’m not coming for the foreseeable future.

😕

@FraterculaArctica

Most likely that payment request was automatically sent by the software on a set date.

Bubbles you are making a fool of yourself. At home a big car may be needed daily, rurally they are not always suitable. To take the huff when this is pointed out is a bit daft. As a rural dweller for two decades I had a three door rav 4, great for seeing over the hedges when the horses were out, would also happily take a bale of straw, bags of feed, then a mini convertible which I absolutely adore and miss taking out when the sun is shining this last month.

Honestly no-one is jealous of second homes, big cars, they are just stating the unsuitability of a big car on daft narrow lanes with scant passing places.

I'm confused why you justify having a chelsea tractor for point to points, Ive parked at those and at three-day events in my little normal sized car without any issue. Of those in my school car park who drive the big chelsea tractors, only one actually lives and works on a farm, the rest on a normal road. But hey maybe thats just me happy to take my normal car off road.

Big cars aren't needed in city or countryside. They are just a big ego extension, a lifestyle thing to look good. They guzzle carbon and they are dangerous to other road users. In my humble opinion, they are ridiculous, selfish and look really silly as well.

DH is handyman. Rather than having a van he had a bigger car. Nothing ridiculous or selfish about it.

I have mainly lived down a single track, unmade up lane. Have never needed, or wanted, a Chelsea tractor. If I've ever ended up in a ditch on either side of said lane, I've asked the local farmer to pull me out with his actual tractor.

daftgeranium you need a big car to tow a horsebox, it not always about looks.

Few people particularly care about material wealth here. It’s not something widely aspired to in Cornwall. It doesn’t bring fulfilment. Living around nature with lovely people does though.

OrangeSamphire yes! Summed up beautifully.

*Few people particularly care about material wealth here. It’s not something widely aspired to in Cornwall. It doesn’t bring fulfilment. Living around nature with lovely people does though.

OrangeSamphire yes! Summed up beautifully.*

So true