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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to encourage people to holiday in the UK this year?

380 replies

BaliPebbles · 07/05/2020 09:31

Growing up I did a few holidays in the Wales but as I got older we did the traditional Brit holiday of going to Spain (or Greece) for 2 weeks, lying on a deckchair everyday except one when we went out somewhere for a bit of culture (but became anxious of missing out on one tanning day), eating loads of creme caramel and then flying home and starting to peel before you left the arrivals lounge. As money improved, those hotels just got better and the destinations a bit more far away e.g. lying on a beach in Cancun.

I then lived overseas for nearly 20 years and went on some amazing holidays, still thinking that holidaying in the UK is just for the unenlightened.

Then we moved back to the UK with primary age children and we ventured to do a UK holiday. We were actually astonished at how great a time we had and how much happier the DC were and how much less stress it was. Mine don't actually want to be dragged through an airport and spend a whole day travelling, they don't want to go too far and away for too long. They like being in the car and stopping off. They like British things. Our UK holidays now consist of great food, interesting and off the beaten track excursions, somewhere nice to stay, history, culture and some activities.

Anyway, the reason why I am bleating on about this is because I just received a survey about using airlines once the lockdown is over. I filled it in and I realised that I don't actually want to go on a plane now for a long time. I don't want to add to climate change, I don't want to end up somewhere where coronavirus ramps up during my holiday, I do not want to be in a 5 hour queue either end of my plane journey and I don't want to listen to people coughing round me on a plane.

So, AIBU to remind people that we need to boost our own economy quite urgently and that actually, if you sit down and spend a couple of hours on the internet, you can make yourself a brilliant itinerary for a holiday in the UK because actually holidaying in Britain is great!

OP posts:
Spamellahamella · 08/05/2020 16:06

We had a UK holiday last year. The first one for ten years after always holidaying abroad. It was gorgeous. Lovely to get in the car and be there in three hours, and we were incredibly lucky with the weather. I think we probably will holiday in the UK this summer (if we can) if our abroad holiday is cancelled. I wouldn't be booking anything yet though

Theonewiththecandles · 08/05/2020 16:22

Yes there's places in the UK I'd love to holiday to. But if you don't drive it's nearly impossible. Flights to another country can be cheaper than trains. We regularly do weekends away to cities that are within 2 hours on trains mostly due to price, go much further and it's costs a fortune

TSSDNCOP · 09/05/2020 11:24

I have just found the perfect hotel for us in Cornwall this August. On the beach, nice rooms, lovely grounds. Now to sell the fact it's £13k for a fortnight to DH and he can't have an in flight G&T either Wink

Daffodil101 · 09/05/2020 11:25

Is it the Carbis Bay hotel?

Holidayaddict · 09/05/2020 12:06

@Holidayaddict apartments on the continent aren't "tiny"! All the apartments we've stayed in have been spacious and modern, had balconies/roof terraces, in complexes with several pools and beautiful landscaped gardens etc. One place we stayed in had an open pool on the sixth floor, it was amazing being in the pool looking over the coastline. They're not like pokey little flats in the UK. That apartment was quite expensive tbf - £500 for the week, but it was right next to the sea with a balcony overlooking. Back when the exchange rate was better before we started fucking around with Brexit it was even cheaper to rent these kinds of places

@Drinkveneer - that sounds amazing. Is this school hols? Do you have a link? Never found much when I've looked on the likes if Airbnb, Holiday Lettings etc. Maybe I'm looking in the wrong places!

Rebelwithallthecause · 09/05/2020 12:14

Or could it be The Ned?

#dreamy

Rebelwithallthecause · 09/05/2020 12:15

*ignore that, it’s not called the ned

ittooshallpass · 09/05/2020 12:15

We always holiday in UK. It's all I can afford.

ChangeThePassword · 09/05/2020 12:16

I think yabu to encourage people to holiday anywhere this year, considering we don't know what the easing of lockdown will look like or when it will be.

ittooshallpass · 09/05/2020 12:20

A UK holiday never feels like a proper holiday. There is no excitement, no adventure.

So all the people who have never been able to afford a holiday outside of the UK have never had a proper holiday? Just one with no excitement or adventure? Biscuit

OneandTwenty · 09/05/2020 12:26

So all the people who have never been able to afford a holiday outside of the UK have never had a proper holiday? Just one with no excitement or adventure?

no one is saying that, I just agree with the poster. I live in the UK, staying here is not a holiday for me.

If I was living in a ski resort, a stay in another ski resort wouldn't be a holiday either.

TheGreatWave · 09/05/2020 12:33

We used to go to South Devon by train, we lived in the Midlands so pretty much only saw the sea from one year to the next. Nothing can beat that childhood feeling of the train coming round the bend and seeing the sea for the first time.

UK holidays can be full of excitement.

Kazzyhoward · 09/05/2020 12:41

A UK holiday never feels like a proper holiday. There is no excitement, no adventure.

We used to think that, but in recent years, going abroad has become just a series of pains in the arse. Getting stuck in the horrendous traffic to get to Manchester airport, then waiting for the shuttle buses, then the awful security check experience, etc. We've had enough before we even get on the plane. Then car hire at the other end is usually a fiasco - long queues, crap old cars. Then the accommodation is usually faulty in some way, i.e. air con not working, etc. If I never flew again I'd die happy. It never used to be like that. We used to thoroughly enjoy our 2 or 3 foreign holidays back in the 80s. I think the cheap prices required by the masses had made the whole experience awful with everyone cutting corners to keep prices down.

OneandTwenty · 09/05/2020 12:43

UK holidays can be full of excitement.
of course it can. It's just not for everybody.

Some people hate going away and find it stressful. I prefer other cultures, other sceneries, other food, other languages and I don't feel on holiday in a place where I spend most of my time.

Some people seem to need to have their preference validated by the majority, it's ok to have an independent thought from time to time.

OneandTwenty · 09/05/2020 12:46

I think the cheap prices required by the masses had made the whole experience awful with everyone cutting corners to keep prices down.

it depends where you go. The competition has forced many places to step up, and some new legal requirements have imposed certain standards that didn't exist in the past.

Internet has also given more accurate information, with real photos of locations etc. I think it's much easier to go on a nice holiday nowadays than it used to, no so many surprises. It has a price though, that is true.

Holidayaddict · 09/05/2020 12:47

*no one is saying that, I just agree with the poster. I live in the UK, staying here is not a holiday for me.

If I was living in a ski resort, a stay in another ski resort wouldn't be a holiday either.*

But the whole of the UK isn't the same! Where I live (city suburb) bears no resemblence to, for example, the Scottish Highlands or the Northumberland coast. I love seeing different parts of my own country and think it's a bit odd when people have been all over the world but have never seen much of the country they live in!

wildcherries · 09/05/2020 12:50

Love that you spent decades, DECADES, travelling internationally for your holidays as 'tradition', a 'tradition' that actually isn't one for many, many families, but now you want to 'encourage' everyone to holiday at home.

Spot on.

OneandTwenty · 09/05/2020 12:52

But the whole of the UK isn't the same!
no, but I am here most of the times, we have more than enough weekends and bank holidays to go on mini-breaks, I would feel stuck if I had to take my "holidays" here too.

It doesn't mean everyone has to agree. I don't like cruises, others swear by them. Neither of us are wrong.

I can explore even more when I am too old to travel, or have a medical condition that forbids me from travelling any more. Or live in a pandemic that closed the borders Grin

As soon as we can safely travel again, we are off. If it's not too crowded because the majority stays in the UK and their own countries, even better.

DateandTime · 09/05/2020 12:57

@Theonewiththecandles were recently discovered UK breaks by train and wish we'd done it earlier. I'd you have a rail card and book trains in advance (just like you would to get a cheap flight) they can be very reasonable. I recently did the 80 mile trip to Oxford for £7 each return and we went to Devon for £60 each. We do have a car but this is so much more fun. It's a bit of an adventure and rather than being miserable stuck in traffic the journey is part of the holiday with a train picnic with wine

B1rdbra1n · 09/05/2020 12:58

As long as no one comes to my nice quiet seaside town 😶

Snufkins · 09/05/2020 12:59

I’ve never had a week’s holiday in the UK I much prefer going abroad so am happy to wait til things are back to normal.
Based in the North, places like the Southern counties or Scotland and Wales are a long drive away and not practical with public transport. Most of Europe is within 2-3 hours and the travel is more enjoyable for me than staying in a car, long haul though is a different story.
UK prices are ridiculous and on par if not more expensive than some of the travel I’ve done. Would much prefer a week somewhere with guaranteed sun, new places to visit rather than staying here as I don’t consider UK a holiday destination for my family and if we do ever venture anywhere it’s normally for a weekend only.

SerenDippitty · 09/05/2020 13:05

It’s true that some parts of the UK are a long drive. We turn our annual trip to Skye (from South Wales) into a road trip and have two stops on the way there and back - in nice hotels so it’s admittedly not cheap. We do some island hopping up there too.

notchickenagain · 09/05/2020 13:12

I still love cresting a hill in the West Country and seeing the sea for the first time. I CAN SEE THE SEA!! First one to shout gets a bag of Revels. A family tradition for over 60 years, now how can you say that's not exciting? GrinGrin

SerenDippitty · 09/05/2020 13:13

I think the cheap prices required by the masses had made the whole experience awful with everyone cutting corners to keep prices down.

This is true. Mass tourism has made going abroad less enjoyable. You can’t go to any iconic destination without it being ridiculously crowded. We went to Rome last September and went to the Trevi fountain and you could hardly get near it. And don’t get me started on the Vatican. Just dreadful.

isittheholidaysyet · 09/05/2020 13:15

I'm still struggling with the 'abroad' being cheaper idea.
I'm obviously missing something. I was brought up camping, with occasionally ferries to France. First time on a plane was my honeymoon. So I don't naturally know how it works or what to look for or where the deals are.

Surely you have two main holiday costs, getting there and back and accomodation. I can often find accommodation at a similar or cheaper price abroad. But then instead of £80 fuel, you need 6 flights or a ferry. Transfers to fights or driving to and from ferry the ferry.
How can that be cheaper?

Then you need to travel around when you get there. Taxis/public transport for 6 or a hire car versus petrol for you own car.

In recent years we've been to Belgium Holland and Portugal. Entry price to activities/days out was similar to UK.

Food. In UK I can self-cater easily and perhaps spend £30 on holiday 'treats'. And we might have one meal out and one fast-food treat.
In many places I've been to abroad we've found food to be astronomical in price. (Portugal wasn't bad, but that was the only place we found a reasonable sized supermarket) I'm sure we haven't found where the locals shop.

But for us, the abroad holiday idea is scupper by the cost of traveling there.