What holidays did you go on as a child?

[Holidaydream]

Just curious really. We never went to France or Spain etc or further afield when I was little, we would go and stay with relatives in fun cities or lovely parts of the countryside which I adored, and have wonderful memories. But at the same time I remember poring over travel brochures wishing we could go abroad as well!

Where did your family go on holidays when you were young? Did it instil a sense of adventure? Do you take your own kids back to some of your favourite places now?

The Vauxhall Holiday Park, Great Yarmouth every bloody year!

Millport!

Well a couple of times. Rest mainly Scotland or once to Blackpool.

Some years no holiday. Was in high school when I went on one and only holiday to Spain with parents.

Camping holidays across Europe. We'd drive down to the ferry from Scotland and across France, Switzerland, Northern Italy and into what is now Croatia. We had a then Yugoslav au pair for a while and she's go home for the summer. My sister would stay there for a while and we'd pick her up. I have memories of a river-side town in France we'd always go to, Lausanne, Lake Como, Florence, Venice, Split.
All great, except my brother and I had dreadful car sickness.

A long time ago now, when very few had holidays abroad, so typical U.K. seaside holidays, except one year when I was early teens, when my folks thought it’d be nice to drive around Scotland.

It put me off any sort of driving holiday for life! My DM would endlessly be telling me to get my nose out of that trashy magazine and look at the beautiful scenery.
At that age I couldn’t have given a monkey’s about the beautiful scenery - I was bored witless.

Nowhere apart from day trips on the Yelloways coach to Blackpool up to 9 years old - my parents had got married, bought a run down house and had two kids in the space of three years and my mum gave up work so we were really skint. But then she got a job on school dinners and saved every penny for two weeks on a quiet Greek island over Spring bank holiday. This was the early 80’s so we stayed in a cheap pension, no pool on the island, and only a couple of shops and tavernas. I do have photos of us at Alykes in Zakinthos when it was literally a crossroads with a taverna on each corner, and the airport was a portacabin and you sat outside until they pulled your bags off the plane - no customs or security. But those islands were idyllic and we played in the sea all day, picnic from the bakery on the beach, and then out for tea in one of the tavernas.

I’m now 50 and my parents are long gone - they died early, as did my brother. Those holiday memories mean the world to me.

Looking back I was very fortunate, my parents took us on wonderful holidays.

In the UK , Cornwall, Devon and the south coast
Abroad, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Lichenstein, Italy.

We mostly went to Europe.
Spain, France, Monaco, Greece, Portugal.

We always went for 2 weeks and our stay would be a mixture of beach/pool days, fun excursions and cultural trips.

We also went to America several times.

Camping trips when I was younger with cousins and wider family.

I don't remember holidaying in the UK, except for the Isle of Wight a couple of times, unless we were visiting family.

With my own DC, we usually have 1 abroad holiday for 7-10 nights.

But we will also have 2/3 UK based holidays (3-5 night stays) staying at CP / Haven etc, plus 4ish shorter camping (tent) holidays for 1-3 night stays.

The first holiday I ever had was when I was 17 and I went to Scotland skiing with a group from college. The first time I went abroad was a day trip to France when I was 21.

Mallorca, Malta, Disneyx2, Eurocamp France, Ireland, Cornwall, west coast of Scotland

My parents never enjoyed “cultural” holidays and I loved history so I did a lot of travelling around European cities in my late teens/early twenties.

DD is 4 and has never been abroad (partly due to the pandemic) but we might take her next year. I am feeling guiltier about the climate impact of flying these days so I don’t think we will go abroad more than every few years (also it’s expensive!) This year we’re going to a Haven caravan for a long weekend.

Holidays were the one thing my family really splurged on (and I do the same), my parents cut back in all other areas to go abroad as much as possible, as well as lots of UK short breaks so I know I’m incredibly lucky. Usually skiing, a self catering holiday in the med and usually somewhere like Greece in the summer. Never long haul and my mum was an amazing bargain hunter! It inspired me to work in travel and I try to give my daughter the same kind of opportunities and experiences that I had because it gave me so much confidence - I’m a bit more adventurous than my parents were but we go to some of the same places.

Luckily my Nan owned a static caravan in Dorset, which she didn't charge us for,so we holidayed there 3 times a year until I was 15. Loved it! Made friends with several other families who also owned caravans there and were usually there the same time as us.

We went to Torquay 8 years in a row!

(California raised)
Ski-ing M-F, in term time, once each year.
This was very common -- most parents at my (state) school were doctors-teachers-lawyers so could afford it.

Also Usually managed a long weekend in Arizona seeing friends/relatives of my parents. Sometimes some type of other road trip to see places.

DH had a week or 2 in exact same caravan, summer school hols, somewhere down in Devon every year.

DBro & I were lucky. We went abroad quite a lot & stayed with Canvas Holidays or similar. Brittany, Spain & Switzerland all of which were great. I remember a holiday in Bournemouth when I was 9 & we had such a lovely week. My paternal Grandma came with us. I can even vaguely recall a holiday when I was about 2, to Llanfairfechan (sp). I remember lying in bed in our whitewashed cottage & glimpsing the sea through a window high up in the wall behind me. Also remember staying at a B & B in Cornwall & there was a massive thunderstorm that lit up the bedroom.

Oh I forgot - Wales to stay with my mum’s best friend who’d moved there with her DH and kids. Turned out she was having an affair with someone in the village.

We almost always stayed somewhere for 2 weeks at Easter, once somewhere in rural Essex where the local village bakery baked fresh hot cross buns which we got gorged ourselves on and kept running the few minutes away the bakery was to buy more!

We got a train to a caravan park. Our caravan didn't have a loo or running water. We had to pee/shit in a bucket, and get water from a public tap.

We went to France mostly, two weeks in a Caravan, though we occasionally flew elsewhere (Menorca, Kos). That was up until about age 13, then we started visiting Italy for a week and doing shorter city breaks throughout Europe. We did America once (Florida) but didn't enjoy the long haul flight.
Some the happiest memories of my life are from those holidays, I'm desperate to repeat it for my kids.

My nana went a lot to Butlins and abroad and always promised but never did to take us kids with her. Either she thought we’d cramp her style (boozing) or my mum was overprotective.

None

We didn't go away every year, there was a lot of 'going out for days' as my Nan used to call a staycation (a proper, sleeping in your own house, staycation)

I think I was about 7 when my Dad took me to stay in a guest house in Blackpool for a week. That felt really posh, we even had commemorative photos taken at the breakfast table which were presented to us in special pleather wallets.

Later on he bought a caravan which I loved as it had gas lighting inside. We went to Wales and Bolton Le Sands a lot.

We went to Yugoslavia in about 1985 which was the only time we went abroad as a family.

After I left Uni in 1993 I went abroad with my boyfriend a few times. All coach trips to France, Italy and the Netherlands.

Fond memories of all of it, even my Nan's day trips with elaborate picnics in a variety of car parks dotted around the north west!

Mad hippy holidays, traipsing around the globe in an old estate car for months on end. It was brilliant and definitely had a huge impact omn my personality :)

Butlins, Southend, clacton, Skegness, isle of white, camber sands, France (to stay with family)

I grew up in the far north of Scotland, we always had self catering holidays in Scotland because it took so long to go anywhere further, I only went to England once as a child. To put that in context a lot of people I was at school with didn't leave the island as a child.

We went to Spain every year, usually somewhere different each time. First holiday I went on was to Bulgaria.
We would occasionally have a holiday in the UK, usually Butlins or in a caravan on the Kent coast.
I definitely want to take my sons to Spain.

Mostly NI / Donegal with family, a couple to France. I loved the Ireland ones the most. Wish I could take mine now but it is so bloody expensive - we have to drive to take ddog and the ferry is ££££££.