To want to go on holiday in the UK this Summer?

[windygag]

Accepted that our Summer holiday in Europe won't be happening but debating about booking something in the UK.

I have 2 young dc & both DH & I have been wfh since March. DH lost his father recently & I think we could all do with a break & a change of scenery.

I'm worried if we don't book anything then everything will be booked or too expensive but equally if we do book we may lose the deposit.

What are others planning to do?

I think you'll be OK for August.

I don't know if anyone who rents out holiday places minds answering this. I'd be really grateful for an honest answer. Would you keep a booking if it's somebody leaving an DV situation?

Thats a difficult question Plantlife, but I do know that there are several organisations which are able to help during lockdown.

I hope you are safe.

@plantlife That is such a difficult question. I think if it came from an individual I'd be concerned that I'd be breaking the law. If it was a request via a refuge I'd be much happier to continue. I understand that some have struck up deals with hotels and so forth during lockdown so that seems reasonable to me.

I think that insurance is invalidated if someone was allowed to stay while the lockdown is still in force.

Thanks all for the website recommendations.

Thank you for the replies. I'm safe for now. Renting a holiday home was my original plan before the virus happened. I know there's help out there. I'm in the vulnerable group so hoping for somewhere self contained. Thanks again.

We have several holidays booked in the UK in the summer - there is a bit of bad feeling but there have been very few corona cases in London over the last week. People in holiday destinations also need to appreciate that the taxes from the SE are currently propping them up and that their coastline does not belong to them .

Plantlife, are you aware that holiday homes can only allow you to stay for a maximum of 31 days. Hopefully that would be enough time for you to arrange something permanent.

We have a luxury yurt booked in Cornwall and planning on going in August. We don't tend to go to restaurants on holiday anyway and as long as the beach is open next to the site we should be fine. We can't all stay in lockdown forever otherwise society will collapse and lockdown was intended to flatten a peak in capacity not cure the country of Covid.

@DartmoorChef that sounds like a great idea. Not sure if you could cook all that in a yurt kitchen though but it would be a great way to have a fancy meal whilst away on holiday. I wouldn't mind paying for that at all to help out local businesses.

@womaninatightspot Do you mind me asking, say everything starts back in July, what would be the situation if I was at your cottage for a week with my partner, and during my stay I develop symptoms? How will that work with self isolation, the next guests due to arrive in a couple of days, etc. I keep thinking about this in terms of s/c holidays in the UK so hope you can enlighten me!

We're booked in the UK for August (we booked in 2019) so we are hoping that will happen.

We have a touring caravan and are members of the caravan club. They allow you to book without paying a deposit and cancel with just a few days notice.

So we have put our 3 week holiday in Spain back to next year and booked the last 2 weeks in August at a club site in Scarborough. We live in hope.

I don't limit my guests to 31 days, my longest guest was 5 months as waiting on a house purchase. Some holiday cottages have specific restrictions but not all. Tricky coming into the season though. I know lots of owners who rent out cottages cheaply long term over the quiet months as with old buildings it's important to keep them warm.

If someone contracted corona whilst staying I think it would depend upon the changeover. My bookings just now seem to be folk from the central belt booking for weekends. So I'd have four days to do a really deep clean and the virus won't survive on surfaces past 72 hours. If it was a short changeover I'd be forced to cancel the next guest with abject apologies and a full refund. I can't see anyone booking from terribly far afield for the forseeable future. If I had a longer booking I'd probably choose to protect it by blocking off 72 hours ahead.

I've just moved my holiday in August in the Netherlands until next year to be safe. My parents own a hotel in the UK and are taking bookings from 4th July but obviously will refund deposits if that changes. Not all hotels/accommodation will do this. The reason I moved our holiday is because the holiday park we ar staying with would only give credit and even then we have to pay the increase in cost for next years prices which i think is pretty shit.

I just read a news headline that we won't be 'free' until September so I think a holiday anywhere is out of the question until further notice. It's a shame but could be worse, at least we can go out and lockdown will gradually ease. We'll have better things to look forward to next year. Hopefully.

@Lynda07. Would you mind posting the link please to the headline you saw? I have had a google but can’t see anything. I would quite like to have a read. Thank you.

We would love a change of scene. However, if we were to book a holiday home in the UK, it is likely to be smaller than our actual home, may not be as comfortable, the kitchen may not be as well kitted out etc and, if it's a week of nondescript weather, we can't go out for meals (meaning we have to cook in the inadequate kitchen) and may be stuck inside a smaller, less comfortable house then there is little appeal in going.
What might make it worthwhile is if we found somewhere with an (indoor) pool and big enough for friends to come & join us.

I’m going to go against the grain - we were going abroad but I cancelled during Easter weekend and booked a cottage in the south west.

There’s a refund if we have another lockdown. God knows the tourism industry needs our support, I cannot foresee a situation where Brits are holidaying abroad and passing through airports and yet we are not allowed to holiday in the UK. There is some crazy illogic spouted on MN.

I’d get something booked with a decent refund policy and hope for it to go ahead.

We are away to Wales fo August however we have a house there so it is full of all our sons stuff a d toys so would be of scene. We dont have a garden at home but have a big yard and a small garden in Wales with a swing. It is killer knowing we are all cooped up here like battery chickens but we have this in Wales. However I am not a piss taker and won't be going unless advised that we can.

We were supposed to be in Cornwall right now . We've deferred until September and defer again until next year if this year isn't possible.

Having something to look forward to is helpful, you sound as though you could do with that right now

We're booked for Greece in August but it's unlikely, so have booked two short camping trips away with family same month, paid deposit only and are able to rebook within 12 months if unable to proceed due to Covid. After working in ppe for the last few months I refuse to have no holiday at all this year. Our teens are desperate. RIsk v benefit. Can afford to lose the camping deposit if by some miracle Greece is good to go.

I think there's a reasonable chance that a UK holiday will be ok by August.

I booked a caravan site yesterday for August... we have our own touring caravan. I know there’s no guarantee but a change of scenery would be nice