to wonder why on earth you would book a holiday at a caravan park in the town you live in

[Notalone]

Last year we stayed at a caravan park in North Yorkshire and got talking to a lovely helpful lady in a shop there. She said she loves the park we were staying at and often goes there herself. She then said she lives 3 miles away. I have just read another internet forum where someone has asked for advice about another caravan park in the same area we stayed in, and she also said in her posting that she lives in the same town.

Now a hotel I could understand if you were sick of the daily grind, but a self catering caravan break would be no different really to being at home, in fact your home is actually likely to have more mod cons. Could anyone shed any light on why you would do this - maybe I am missing the obvious

I have got no idea but one of my neighbours does this . They even come back for showers as the ones at the site aren't good enough apparently

Some people are nuts. That's why.
The ILs only get as far as the neighbouring county, almost identical in terms of scenery etc to this one.

i know some people who cant handle long journeys for health reasons or fear long journeys and just want to feel they have a break away a change of scenery its up to them i guess how they want to relax

We are going camping in the town we live in just because we like camping. We are also taking dd best friend and we have never taken her camping so being on the doorstep means we can nip home if there are any problems.

We are going to camp in our garden this summer if the rain holds off!

I suppose it's a change of 'scenery' is there entertainment on site?

I know Bubblagirl - it is up to them, but in this particular area there are quite a few seaside resorts so a journey to one of these would only be about 10-15 miles max (with great buses and trains too)I just don't see how it can feel like a holiday if you live there.

TravellingWilbury - your neighbours are definitely nuts!

Hassled - I guess it depends how far away the neghbouring county is but if it is almost identical....

notalone you are definetly right
Other reasons have already proven this .

lol i know but some people can see it that way there is a camp site just up the road and my parents friends went there every year sill had to shop in same town etc but i thin k they liked the security of being where they feel safe but sleeping in a different place also meant they felt they were away lol

Twinset - yes there is entertainment on site and it is a huge complex so maybe this is the attraction. Its costs an absolute fortune for the entertainment passes though and imo is not worth what you get. There is also a pool and amusements so perhaps this is why they go.

We have a caravan about an hour from where we live - not quite in the same city but close enough for me to have a go at throwing some light on this odd behaviour

For me it is great being at the c'van because

1. I can't see - and therefore do not have to think about - any boring domestic stuff (cleaning, washing etc)

1. I live on a busy road - its noisy and polluted TBH and the site is blissfully green clean and safe for the kids to ride their bikes etc

1. We don't have a telly at the van so we make more effort to talk to each other (me and DH) in the evenings - always get on really well out there

1. It doesn't seem to matter how much red wine you sink - you just don't seem to get hangovers when camping or caravanning - something to do with the thin or non existent walls I think - loads of fresh air coming in all night maybe? Whatever the reason this is a big plus for me!

5

Am embaressed to be defending this - would not camp out 3 miles away..but we only go about 30 miles and it works for us

I couldn't think of a number 5!

Philopastry - you don't have to feel bad and I am sorry if I have made you feel like this. Just to clarify things we live in South Yorkshire in the middle of industrial hell and the holiday park in question was in Scarborough which is probably about 60 miles away. If I could afford it and if I had liked the site enough (which I didn't - prefer smaller more peaceful ones)I would buy a van because this is an ideal distance for short breaks (as is 30 miles). It is only people who holiday in the same town they live in that baffle me. Your holidays sound fab and I am jealous!

Notalone - don't worry I'm not feeling bad just a bit embaressed about defending the indefensible!

I am nuts :D
We tow our caravan about 2 miles and set up in a lovely local caravan club site, there is a view of our village church & our zoo LMAO

The difference is that time is not an issue, theres lot to do, the kids can roam around and play in the park or the field, they can ride their bikes safely round the roads and back and forth to the shop.

You sit outside & chat to your friends/visitors until it's cold then go in the awnings and gossip.

It's cheap because there is no fuel cost, but so much fun because the daily grind somehow isnt there.

we went to a campsite 4 miles from home - i ur defence, we had a new awning to try out on our campervan and if it didn't work, not all of us could sleep in the van. So we did kind of need somewhere to do a trial run..
It was lovely - they had a heated indoor pool and a much nicer playground than anything inour town!

philo, don't you dare be embarassed

our static caravan is a 70 min drive from home but a completely different world, although still with modcons

quiet, unspoilt countryside, deserted roads, beaches, no McDonalds/shopping centres, total freedom for the kids

no ringing telephone, no emails, no Mumsnet

we get on the motorway on a friday evening and don't look back, we love it

I get a bit evangelical about caravans !

hi, my nan likes going on holiday with all her family, she was old, couldnt get very far, stuck in her ways and didnt have alot of money. so she ended up taking the whole family to a caravan park 5 miles away, my parents now live 5 minutes away from the caravan park and are going again this year!
we have so much fun and its compleatly diffrent to being at home.
like anyfucker says its like a diffrent world.

Why not? If it makes them happy then that is what they should do. When we first moved here and I found out about the whole Ibiza thing I couldn't figure out why anyone would go to Spain and then insist on eating English food/English entertainment etc.

Until someone pointed out to me that the people there were not TRAVELLING exactly, they just wanted everything to be like at home but with better weather.

in a world that is credit-crunched, air-mied to the max, collapsing under the weight of its own debts etc, why not enjoy this beautiful country that we live in?

you really can have a great time just under your noses

People who holiday in the same resort EVERY year all their lives are mad! Never bother to explore the rest of the UK, don't even go abroad even when they have loads of money and are in good health.
Just so BORING.

air-miled*

We go to IL's caravan every year (multiple times a year) which is less than 1 hour an away. It is actually only about 35 miles away, but windy roads.
It is fab, it is not our house and it is cheap.
Last year we went to Devon for a week and I nearly peed myself with excitement, wow spending 5 hours on a motorway! But it was lovely once we finally got there. Pre-DC we had lots of lovely holidays abroad to some amazing places, but we simply can't afford that now.
Sometimes we just need a change of scenery, be that 1 mile, 10 miles, or 1000 miles away (oh to be 10000 miles away ).

we are going further afield in August, to Longleat

Sorry, I had an urgent appointment with the apprentice!

Just to make you aware, I was not knocking caravans or holidaying in the uk because we do both every year. We have been anywhere ranging from 60 miles from home to over 300 miles from home in the UK. It was just the holidaying in the same town that I didn't get when you spend all year there anyway. Having said that as QOD, Veryscared and some others have said, if for various reasons people are unable to travel further and get the most out if being very close to home then good for them. It is just something that I would not do as I like to explore the whole area when I am away and there would be no fun for me personally to be in my home town.