Whitley Bay (Tyne & Weir) - Self Catering - any ideas???

[butterflymum]

Have really had a notion for taking the family to Whitley Bay (Tyne & Weir) on holiday (used to go myself as a kid and want to let hubby and our kids see the area - know it will be different from when I was young but still really fancy going IYKWIM! ).

Anyways, trouble is, as hotel rooms or B & B are usually very cramped for a family of 5, we would prefer Self Catering. Unfortunately, despite numerous searches, I can only find two such properties in the whole area (indeed closer to Cullercoats than Whitley Bay), and of those, the suitable one ( Southcliff Apartments) has no vacancies (1st 2 weeks in August - I know that it is soon and so very short notice, but as I said it was a notion).

So, does anyone else out there know of any other self catering options in the area that I have somehow (in my what feels like a hundred searches) missed?

TIA for any suggestions
butterfly

butterflymum, I found this one:

the cara

which is a B & B but also has a mobile home at St Mary's (wherever that is!) Click on Facilities.

Whitley Bay TIC is on 0191 200 8535 - might be your best bet.

Good luck!

Thanks janh.

That one didn't come up in my searches (probably because it is on a B&B site). I have tried phoning but line seems engaged, so have sent an email instead.

Will also try the TIC tomorrow, forgot about them (although have looked on the Tourist Board website with no luck).

Thanks for taking the trouble to post.

butterfly

Well, butterfly, I hope you get something but as it is such short notice, maybe you'd be better looking at later in the year eg half-term?

My brother lives at Washington and when we visit him (not so often these days as my kids are quite old now and his youngest is 22) we often go to one of the local beaches, and even late autumn/New Year it's quite a nice day out - as long as you wrap up! (When the kids were younger they would paddle in January - coats and bare feet - brrr!)

janh,

Just a quick update. Believe it or not, the website you suggested (The Cara) have only 10 minutes ago sent me an email to confirm that the Caravan they have would be available when we want.... Yippee.....ah, but alas, no. It was Sunday when I sent off my email asking them and since then, as I was having no luck (other than hotels which did have rooms but were a bit small for 5), we have decided to go to Scotland on holiday instead.

Never mind, if nothing else, it proves mumsnetters to give out good suggestions and is always an option for future years.

Thanks again for your interest.

butterfly

Oh, what a shame - isn't that always the way! I wonder why it took them 5 days to email you...maybe they had a provisional booking and were waiting to confirm. Still, you can always have your nostalgia-fest another time.

Hope you have a great hol in Scotland anyway - which bit? Other mumsnetters may have helpful hints on what to do there!

butterflymum - you may have had a lucky escape! I live in Monkseaton which is 10 mins walk from W.B. centre and it's a great place to live but not so sure about a holiday. How long is it since you've visited? We moved here 7 years ago and since then (and probably before then) there has been much controvosy about how the town should be developed and nothing has actually happened. We no longer have a funfair and the town has become a favourite destination for hen and stag parties. Bank Holiday Mondays are a total 'no go' area for families as it's full of people combining a day at the coast with getting extremely drunk. I also know someone who rented a caravan as a temporary measure when they were between houses and they had to move out and rent a house instead as the site seemed to be full of families put there by the Benefits Agency and my friend witnessed children being put out of the caravan in the middle of the night so the parents could have an argument. Did I really say this was a nice place to live? It is, but not a family friendly resort I hate to say.