Going on Holiday in the UK - WHY?

Going on Holiday in the UK - WHY?

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simons123

Original Poster:

164 posts

19 months

Tuesday 28th May
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Carried on from another thread, where I seemed to get a negative reaction to a comment i made about the UK. Thought id start a new thread.

The idea of going away in the UK depresses me so I always aim to go abroad. Other than bits of Cornwall (which is a 5-6 hour drive) and hardly warrants a full week, it's all pretty much meh (IMO).

Overpriced hotels, crap weather, nothing really interesting to see or do All very depressing. I like the Cotswolds but not really a holiday place. Horses for courses and all that but I'd rather stay at home then waste money in the UK.

Been all over India, China, Cambodia, etc so like doing more then generally sitting around a pool. Just think the UK is one big expensive, depressing dump and I work to get away from the UK as much as possible (it's still my home though so no plans of leaving). But if I'm stuck in 1 place for a week then at least you want is nice weather, good food, good hotels, nice beaches (none of which can be found here). Cant even go in the sea in the UK as it's filthy...for the life of me cant understand why anyone would choose to holiday in the UK, except those with young kids or the elderly.

Is it just me and few others who think this way?

simons123

Original Poster:

164 posts

19 months

Tuesday 28th May
quotequote all
Antony Moxey said:
Perhaps the OP might like to ask the millions of visitors from overseas why they visit Britain for their holidays rather than staying in their own countries or visiting anywhere that’s not Britain. It’d also be interesting to know exactly how much of Britain and abroad the OP’s visited to be able to give us such well thought out view on holidaying in Britain compared to the rest of the world.
Doubt there are millions of visitors from abroad going to Devon or Skeggie tbh....I'm pretty sure the vast majority of them would only be interested in London, Edinburgh or the Cotswold.

simons123

Original Poster:

164 posts

19 months

Wednesday 29th May
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valiant said:
Dont understand why booking a cottage isn't more popular.

We've booked Devon in July for a week for £1300. We can take pets, have tons of room and a large garden and free parking. No doubt the owners will leave us a 'care package' to welcome us and the cottage is beautifully appointed.

We'll take a cooler of food with us with basics and probably arrange a Tesco delivery if needed when not in the nearby pub or by the beach.

For £1300 what's not to like? Far cheaper than a week in Tenerife for a similar sized villa and no faff with airports, luggage restrictions or getting up at silly o'clock to make the 7am flight.

We like a holiday abroad but if you do it right, a holiday in this country can be just as special.

We used Sykes as well. Was painless booking with low deposits and a massive range to choose from. Wouldnt use Airbnb. Heard too many stories to put me off.
Because im guessing the cottage is miles from anywhere...need to drive to get to anywhere decent (then hope you are lucky you can find a parking spot that will probably cost you about £6 for the day), you will have no swimming pool like you would in tenerife so literally what would you do in the cottage other then watch TV like you would do at home?!...also ordering food in from tesco to cook, doesn't sound like a holiday to me........rather save my £1300 and stay at home then do that

simons123

Original Poster:

164 posts

19 months

Wednesday 29th May
quotequote all
Antony Moxey said:
okgo said:
eat better (and probably vastly cheaper) food.
That's certainly not a given by any stretch. I think it's an absolute nonsense that you can't get decent food in this country, and at a reasonable price too.
That's nonsense though isnt it....where can you get decent food in the UK for a reasonable price? Minimum for a pub meal now is around £17 and that's usually just reheated, frozen crap.....in Spain you could eat fresh fish or Paella for the nearly half the price you would in the UK......not to mention a beer here is around £5-6 a pint....in Spain you would pay half that.

simons123

Original Poster:

164 posts

19 months

Wednesday 29th May
quotequote all
Antony Moxey said:
simons123 said:
Antony Moxey said:
okgo said:
eat better (and probably vastly cheaper) food.
That's certainly not a given by any stretch. I think it's an absolute nonsense that you can't get decent food in this country, and at a reasonable price too.
That's nonsense though isnt it....where can you get decent food in the UK for a reasonable price? Minimum for a pub meal now is around £17 and that's usually just reheated, frozen crap.....in Spain you could eat fresh fish or Paella for the nearly half the price you would in the UK......not to mention a beer here is around £5-6 a pint....in Spain you would pay half that.
Oh for goodness sake - where can you get decent food? What a bloody stupid question. There's no point trying to answer because you'll only point to your one example in Spain which trumps the entirety of the UK hospitality sector. Go abroad, enjoy and have a great time - seriously - but don't try and pretend to know about something you have no interest in, or will ever experience.
I have been away in the UK you know....devon, cornwall, wales....i know how much things cost here and i know you cannot get a decent meal in UK holiday spots like Padstow or Poole for anything less then £40 a head (thats not reheated, frozen crap).

I also guarantee that millions of people, like yourself or a other poster mentioned, are not coming on there holidays in the UK from abroad. They will go to London, Edinburgh, The Cotswold.....no one from Spain, for example, are going to places like Norfolk on there holidays I can guarantee that.

simons123

Original Poster:

164 posts

19 months

Wednesday 29th May
quotequote all
ATG said:
okgo said:
simons123 said:
That's nonsense though isnt it....where can you get decent food in the UK for a reasonable price? Minimum for a pub meal now is around £17 and that's usually just reheated, frozen crap.....in Spain you could eat fresh fish or Paella for the nearly half the price you would in the UK......not to mention a beer here is around £5-6 a pint....in Spain you would pay half that.
Exactly right.

My wife and I both had a dish at a place the other week in Southern Spain, beachside, turbot and prawns with potatoes etc it was £18 each.

You’d do amazingly to find turbot here for anywhere near that. And as you say, a beer was half that of the UK.
If you want to sit in the sun on a beach, and that's all you want to do, then ... strangely enough ... you'll get more reliable weather south of the UK. But quite a lot of people find that type of holiday very boring, hence why they choose to do something different. Horses for courses.
You dont have to just sit on the beach though if you go abroad so dont get your point.....take cornwall for example...it's very pretty but it's a nightmare to park, it's full of people everywhere, restaurants are a complete rip-off as is the price of beer.....what exactly is there to do in cornwall other then drive to different spots of cornwall stuck in traffic, trying to find somewhere to park (sounds like hell not a holiday), there is no swimming pools to relax around, the sea water is filthy.....in padstow for example there is a limited number of restaurants, all of which are a complete ripoff. Doesnt sound much of an holiday to me.

simons123

Original Poster:

164 posts

19 months

Thursday 30th May
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av185 said:
Leptons said:
What are your plans when it rains or there’s a perpetual sea mist for 4 days solid (like last time we went to Devon)?
Try Yorkshire.

Devon fails to even make the top ten of sunniest UK places over the last 30 years. No wonder many on here invariably post the weather is crap.

In fact the East Riding of Yorkshire is on average sunnier than Devon and Bridlington is sunnier than Torquay.

As we all know Yorkshire also offers far better beer and pubs at reasonable prices better scenery friendly welcome and driving roads too.
I liked Whitby the first time I went but second time I went about 2 years ago it was absolutely packed full of chavs, the restaurant choices is extremely limited, hard to park and the accomodation choice are woeful. Couldn't spend more then 2 days there before getting bored......went to Robins Hood Bay for the day...well we thought it would be a day but it actually turned into 10 minutes as there is sod all there and the 2 pubs were too packed..... Scarborough is an absolute dump although I do love the park (japanese gardens there).

simons123

Original Poster:

164 posts

19 months

Thursday 30th May
quotequote all
zarjaz1991 said:
I only go on holiday in the UK.

I’m single, I go alone, I don’t speak other languages and pitching up alone in a foreign country isn’t always the smartest thing to do. It can be bad enough in the UK but at least I know what I’m dealing with and can speak the language.

I last went abroad aged 20, though that wasn’t alone. No great desire to do so again, though I won’t say I never will.
Personally think it be much harder to go away in the UK alone and nearly everyone is groups, couples.....go abroad and there are loads of solo travellers of all ages / backgrounds and much more to see and do alone then if in the UK.

simons123

Original Poster:

164 posts

19 months

Friday 31st May
quotequote all
One of the few places in the UK I do like is Dartmouth in Devon. Absolutely gorgeous mini harbour, harlyn bay beach is nice as far as UK beaches go ...but again the accommodation in Dartmouth is atrocious, overpriced, the restaurants are garbage and overpriced and there is nowhere to park.

simons123

Original Poster:

164 posts

19 months

Tuesday 2nd July
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PistonBroker said:
The weather is literally the only problem I can see with holidaying in the UK.

I holidayed in Cornwall as a kid and only have good memories. But I imagine I've conveniently forgotten getting drenched and having to sit in playing board games because the weather's awful.

We're off to Looe with the outlaws later this month. It doesn't help that we live in the South West now anyway, so it doesn't seem like quite such a break to me. We head for the beach most weekends anyway. But I appreciate it's a treat for the outlaws as they all still live in Redditch and a chance for the M-i-L to have a holiday as she's on sticks now.

I'm still not ruling out my wife and daughter insisting they need a last-minute to Mallorca next month if the weather in Looe turns out to be rubbish.
The weather the only problem with the UK?!

How about the absolutely abysmally bad accomodation choices we have to put up with, the rip off restaurants and bars, the severe lack of parking.....the fact that the VAST MAJORITY of the UK is an absolute cesspit with the odd exception and those odd exception are way too crowded anyway....the fact that you cannot even go into the sea as not only is it freezing, it's filthy full of raw sewage.....the UK is a depressing dump.... remember being in Bosnia the year before last and thinking how much nicer it was there then it is here......

Example of the points I have made = I really like Dartmouth in Devon. Pretty stunning place...but yet the accomodation there is few and far between and the accomodation you can get is a complete rip off. It's a nightmare to park and there are hardly any restaurants despite being a popular place.

simons123

Original Poster:

164 posts

19 months

Tuesday 2nd July
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MC Bodge said:
This is a slightly weird thread.

How (or Why) do many of you manage to live in the UK?
Living here and holidaying here are two totally different things though....living in the UK is pretty awesome compared to most countries