Reasons to holiday in the UK

[nearlywed21]

Can someone please sell this to me?
Obviously due to the pandemic not even entertaining the thought of an overseas trip but what actual reasons are there to holiday closer to home? I'm looking at accom and nothing seems to be doing it for me. Prices are extortionate compared to abroad, seems especially uncomfortable coughing that up when its possible to visit as a day trip. Also what activities to actually do on a UK based holiday?
We can't decide whether to halfheartedly book somewhere in the UK or just hold out for whenever our next trip abroad is.

Go North . Yorkshire , Northumberland, Scotland . Just be prepared in case the weather is bad .Lots of things to see and do .Eat the regional specialty . You can visit beaches that are equally as beautiful as abroad in Scotland and the islands. Go by ferry. Northern Ireland is stunning too. I do like going abroad but I love the diversity of the UK.

If you don't feel any enthusiasm for anything in UK and don't feel in desperate need of a holiday you may be better to save and wait. The trouble is if you are waiting for completely restriction free and / or longhaul no idea how long that would be.

If you grew up in a rural area why not do a city break for a few days - edinburgh? Visit the castle, walk up Arthur's seat, enjoy some Scottish pubs. Good time to go this year as it's normally rammed with foreign tourists so numbers will be lower.

What's to like? It's easy - that's what. You just throw whatever you need in the car - no luggage limits, no stress of getting to the airport on time, no worrying about carrying stuff that will be confiscated, and obviously at the moment you don't have to worry about and pay for tests or stress about countries changing status while you're away.

What do we do? Go to the beach, walk in the hills, eat out, visit attractions, swim, run, explore - all the things we'd do if we were abroad!

Despite what lots of MN say, I find going abroad more expensive (and more stressful )

If we go to France (usually camping or mobile home)
I have a folder of passports, travel insurance, EHIC (when it was valid) ferry booking, accomodation booking, overseas breakdown documents, driving licence etc and take way more otc meds to cater for any ailments that might occur.

Holidays in the uk usually have shorter journey time, no stress about missing the ferry or euro tunnel, and at the moment no covid testing or quarantine. And often cheaper.

Weve been on holiday abroad before and now our kids are older will probably go when not subject to covid restrictions but I enjoy uk holidays too. We live in commuter-ville and although it's close to countryside it's great to go to the coast or peak district which is completely different.

We live rurally, and now stay in cities and towns for a holiday. We stayed somewhere really rural one year, and it was a PITA having to get in the car every time we wanted to go somewhere. There weren't many opportunities for walking from the cottage either as it was all farmland and privately owned fields.

What would you do on an overseas holiday?
If you're the sort of person who books a package holiday, lies on a sunlounger by a pool, dines at the hotel buffet every night and never leaves the resort complex then you're going to need to do a bit of leg work and research into your UK holiday because unless you strike incredibly lucky with the weather you're not going to get that experience here.
If you're used to self-drive holidays, city breaks, activity breaks etc then it's just the same here but sometimes a bit colder and wetter!

I am the sort "who books package holidays" sometimes because in the recent past is has been as cheap and much more convenient to book a package that includes flights, transfers and accommodation with the tour operator.

It doesn't mean that we go to all inclusive resorts and do nothing.

We have been to Rome, Sicily, Kos and Madeira in recent years with tour operators, and done our own thing - exploring, sightseeing, eating out etc when there.

IMO tour operators have upped their game in recent years to take all the hassle out of organsing the different elements of the holiday, yet still in keeping with the type of holiday the independent traveller enjoys.

When our journey home from Madeira went very badly wrong we were very glad that we weren't travelling with Ryanair. A bumble bee got stuck in the airspeed indicator www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/plane-circled-over-merseyside-after-16294050 which resulted in the plane arriving too late for our return flight.

The captain got up onto a seat at the departure gate and told us that he had run out of flying hours, and that Tui would bus us to hotels and pay for an overnight stay, then fly us back home the next day, which they duly did.

I was very impressed with the way that Tui dealt with this.

No worries about health insurance or uncertain travel arrangements. Easy to go home early if weather or other unpredictable issues occur. Familiar brands and food for fussy eaters.

So many threads with people unable to fathom not going abroad on holiday. Some of you did not spend your childhood on caravan holidays in Skegness and it shows

Have enjoyed city breaks. Interesting wondering around new cities, enjoying restaurants, theatre, historical buildings and whatnot. Bit of shopping.
We are booked in for a couple of nights in Bath in September. Will go to the spa etc and enjoy staying in a hotel and having a change of scene.

Cottage holidays, caravan, camping etc is not for me. I don't particularly enjoy walking / cycling trips. There are some gorgeous spots in Cornwall, Dorset and Devon but prices are through the roof. Haven't found any other costal areas particularly enjoyable with unpredictable weather. So city breaks only for me (for now).

We usually alternate UK and abroad. West Wales a lot to DH’s area to see his parents. Beaches are amazing there and the DC love the castles. We live in Devon so often go to Cornwall ad it’s easy. We do days out in historic towns and cities, bike trails, body boarding and kayaking, walking, museums. My oldest is autistic and prefers UK trips as she gets anxious with people speaking other languages. My DC and DH all hate heat and flying. Our foreign holidays are usually similar in European countries. Self catering with theme parks, beach, town/city days out.

I don’t understand how people manage foreign holidays cheaper than UK. We need separate bedrooms and regional airports are expensive so package holidays are always expensive when I look. Maybe I am too fussy?

The great thing about our island is that it is small and easy to get to places and there are all sorts of beautiful and interesting places to see and it's not too hot to go visiting them. We've done road trips and cycle trips with multiple stops and also based ourselves in single places,.but we wouldn't stay put all week we use it as a base and go off and explore. We are just back from a week in Norfolk where we had two beach days, two river days -one canoeing and one on a motor boat,.had a long walk one day and visited.Norwich for another day to see the sights. We generally come back knackered and skint and it is totally different to a week in the sun but I still like UK breaks.

On way to Norfolk now. It’s chucking it down and has taken 5 hours so far. It better be worth it!
I am so getting on a plane next time, even if there’s a zombie apocalypse never mind a cold virus circulating.

I find holidays by plane with children immensely stressful for all the reasons other people have stated. Doesn’t help that half my family loathe heat and sunshine.

Mind you I’m a Londoner so just being in the countryside or by the sea for a week is enough of a break. If you’re from coastal Wales then I’d suggest a boat on the Norfolk Broads, Edinburgh, Bath, York, Bristol, London, Hadrian’s Wall or Ironbridge Gorge.

We had a horrendous journey down to Devon last year and I was so missing the plane, no hours of sitting in traffic jams with arguing kids and get there really fast. Hopefully next year. Though I also realised last year don't go down on a Friday or a Saturday as that's self catering change over days and entire world is now self-catering due to covid.

Hope you have a nice time in Norfolk anyway and get some sun. The seals are nice from Blakeney and canoeing can be good if doesn't rain with canoeman. Norfolk broads can be nice. The steam trains are nice if it rains.

We have three quarters loathing heat here so temp is rarely an issue in UK but the rain can be challenging though we tend to always go places with an indoor pool and just go out as much as possible when its sunny. Last year we were lucky and had almost every day at 25C and sunny. This year think it'll be more like 18C and half rain but still after lockdown anything is appealing.

With airports we just get there an hour in advance and by the time you have done security you are at the plane. My parents always arrive about 4 hours in advance then moan about the waiting. If we ever have a wait we just get a meal.

Do a U.K. road trip using premier inns or similar - visit the places you have never been (or not since a kid) lots of nice meals, see a show maybe

I grew up on UK holidays, never went abroad until I was 19. That was 1977. My last long UK holiday was 14 solid days of rain in Cornwall.
So in the last 40 years I have been abroad 2 or 3 times a year.
When the DC were small we always did a traditional bucket and spade seaside holiday in the UK.
Yes the weather is crap.
I don't agree that it's easy to get there it would take me 8 + hours to drive to Cornwall and that's more driving than I ever want to do.

So in the last two years we have had several UK holidays and what has made it work has been;-

Staying no more than 2 - 3 hours away.
Upping the budget dramatically. Never mind that I could go abroad for the price I have booked large luxury S/C accommodation.
Like this
Or This
Short breaks so it it rains you are not stuck for a week (although if it's nice it's a bit short.

Don’t you miss rural costal Wales? I grew up in Pembrokeshire and most of our summer holidays since we had our 7yo have been there. It’s stunning.

Staying no more than 2 - 3 hours away.
Upping the budget dramatically. Never mind that I could go abroad for the price I have booked large luxury S/C accommodation.

This ^^ is key for a lovely UK holiday. although our holiday was 3.5 hours away.

We paid a lot for an airbnb for our UK holiday, but the accommodation was top notch, and I would happilay pay that much again for the quality of accommodation we had.

The house, the area, the location, the equipment was perfect. The kitchen was more well equipped than mine. The house bathrrom was huge, there were another 2 loos, the living area had comfortable seating, stunning views over the town, a snooker table and a dartboard, and the beds were insanely comfortable. And the welome pack had loads of goodies from the local farm shop and a bottle of wine.

@RampantIvy
Those two places I linked were fabulous. Three double bedrooms 2/3 bathrooms, amazing kitchen (though I didn't cook). Outdoor space with great views and furniture. So if necessary we could stay put and just get takeaway food. My adult DC came along, one couldn't get time off but worked from home while there.

If you searched my previous posts I’m pretty sure you can find quotes of me saying how much I hate UK holidays and I’m never going on one again 😂 However, it was actually making me really stressed trying to navigate all the will they / won’t they with our USA booking and I just couldn’t face going through it all again with Spain or France so now I have a UK holiday booked.

I’m feeling so much better having something to look forward to that has a much higher chance of actually happening than an overseas option! I asked the kids (teenagers) what they wanted to do and we’ve booked a couple of days in a spa hotel for the pool and then a week in self catering. I’ve booked cycling tours, an escape room, safari park and some historic sights so we’ll keep busy.
The last couple of days we're going to see my FIL who we haven’t seen for 2 years and he has let me hire a hot tub for the garden as a surprise for the kids.

I’ve made my peace with the British weather, but actually the long term forecast for when we’re away is looking okay, so I’m expecting some nice days at least.

Discount the weather for a start. Take appropriate clothing. It's not cold in the Summer, just often wet.

Even in inclement weather I adore holidaying in the UK. History, food, views, easy travel.

I camp mainly but do use holiday lets etc. The possibilities are endless.

The best thing I did was buy an actual road map book. I wouldn't know half as much about the geography of the UK if I didn't leaf through the pages of it.

I agree about a proper map. A satnav doesn't give you the bigger picture.