We are lucky enough to live in a place we love and I’m not sure we will ever get bored exploring Shropshire with trips across the border into Wales thrown in. We have an Airbnb booked next week that is pretty much sat on a very quiet Welsh beach, coastal walks and exploring by bike will be the perfect week. We camp across Shropshire and Wales too, great fun.
I’ve been lucky / unlucky enough to travel quite a lot, and have the opportunity to travel long distance several times a year. I do everything I can to avoid it, not only for environmental reasons, but I just don’t enjoy it more than places closer to home. Me and Mrs A are always perplexed that people spend so much money to travel vast distances to sit on beaches in exotic locations, genuinely our idea of purgatory and made us twitch when we’ve done it in the past, give me the Shropshire hills any day 🙂
As our little girl gets older, we will hop on a train and explore Europe and its history, although trips like that will be infrequent!
We live in a wonderful country 🙂
We had an Easter weekend away in the Scottish Highlands this year. Dunno if adverts are strictly allowed but search for Portsonachan and you'll find where we stayed. Total gem of a place, the setting is absolutely spectacular on the banks of the aptly named Loch Awe. Hotel had a slight Fawlty Towers feel to it, but in a good way, and the food they served was excellent. Very heartily recommended as a base for exploring the area, although it's nice enough to never have to leave the hotel area if you didn't want. For a 2-bedroom apartment for 3 nights inc. continental breakfast cost us about £250 iirc.
I will have 2 weeks on the east coast of Scotland again for the 49th time in August.
First time I ever flew was for my honeymoon, never had a holiday abroad as a child. Isle of White, Devon, Scotland camping or staying with family. One of my early happy memories is sitting in the back of Hillman Hunter in Devon having a take away jacket potato and a little pot of beans. Highlight of the holiday was this take away as we never had such things at home.
It will be 2 weeks in our caravan Lincolnshire with the family. We go away with another member of this forum and his family. Always lovely holidays. We consider ourselves very fortunate to even have holidays. Growing up the boys loved the caravan holidays, eldest is now too cool to want to go on holiday with us, but hopefully he'll look back and cherish the adventures. As a child my holidays were always to relatives in either Birmingham or Colwyn Bay.
@OP or anyone else who needs it, I have a spare tent which I'm happy to hand over for the cost of the postage. It's one of these:
https://www.vango.co.uk/gb/camping-equipment/1270-beta-450xl.html
It's well used but should have plenty of life left in it.
I live in East London if anyone would prefer to just pick it up.
some of the suggestions above had me about to look about for localish, camping options which might facilitate a weekend away.
then i remember its school holidays and i neither want to pay the premiums nor be surrounded by kids
then i remember the **** who stole all my camping kit, particularly all the bits ive never managed to replace
then i notice that my current, hand-me-down tent (cheers sis), is in full time use in the garden for homeless stepson2, has been for three months already and no end in sight.
im booking a cheap flight outta here.
yes, if you forget about the thousands of pounds and many, many hours spent on the car to tow said 22-year-old caravan, it probably does seem quite cheap 😉 😂We’re taking our 22 year old caravan to North Wales this year, again. Staying in a field with a tap and some plugs.
As above, some UK campsites are neither cheap nor quiet/relaxing especially during the school holidays, so you have to pick carefully or have a bit of local knowledge (which this place is actually very handy for!!)
I do like a UK holiday though, generally less fuss/stress if you can dodge the traffic jams, plus better for the environment & good to support local economies. And there’s still so much of the UK I haven’t seen! Always good to come across some Neolithic stuff too! Saw some on Anglesey but there’s loads down south too of course, Avebury being the epicentre but even in Kent we have the Medway megaliths - just randomly found in woodland or farmers’ fields!
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We have dogs, which were not prepared to leave in kennels, so always holiday in the UK in cottages (my last passport expired on 2010). It's never been much cheaper than probably going abroad, and with the COVID tax, UK holidays are far from cheap nowadays. We have not long come back from a joyous week just south of Harlech in a (quite reasonably priced, but no kids so no school holiday tax) holiday cottage, with that great weather (we'd take rain coats and jumpers...). Even managed a proper swim in the sea without it being a plunge pool challenge.
I went to New Zealand twice in the early 2000's and thought about emigrating, but realised I hadn't even scratched the surface of all the stuff to see in the UK, and am still enjoying finding it 20 years later.
Going to Skye in a couple of weeks. We very rarely go abroad for anything but work and I never went abroad for a holiday as a kid.
Flip side camping is not for everyone, personally I enjoy it and love exploring the UK. My other half really doesnt so much as I'd be happy to holiday under canvas in the UK it's not an option for us.
Currently in our old but gold caravan in harlech in the rain. Seasonal pitch on a farm looking over llandanwg. £1700 for 9 months a year. Good deal that is. Friend has just been rinsed for £750 for 6 nights in haven. 😐
We thought we would avoid airport chaos, and stop in the UK. Booked 2 weeks in Folkestone.
perfect, if you never want to go anywhere else or see anything different. Not everyone’s the same…£1700 for 9 months a year
We thought we would avoid airport chaos, and stop in the UK. Booked 2 weeks in Folkestone.
Lol
perfect, if you never want to go anywhere else or see anything different. Not everyone’s the same…
Seasonal pitches are seasonal shocker! 😀😀
You can move the caravan to somewhere else in the country the following year. Explore an area properly over 6-8 months rather than bolting around the honeypot areas in a week. You can pick the best weather too.
For me though camping and carvanning can do one! Every holiday as a kid was in a caravan, and they certainly aren’t cheap anymore. Camping, we did loads when my daughter was young as it was all we could afford.
Now it’s just me and the wife we’d rather have two or three short breaks in a decent hotel/cottage.
TheFlyingOx
We had an Easter weekend away in the Scottish Highlands this year. Dunno if adverts are strictly allowed but search for Portsonachan and you’ll find where we stayed. Total gem of a place, the setting is absolutely spectacular on the banks of the aptly named Loch Awe. Hotel had a slight Fawlty Towers feel to it, but in a good way, and the food they served was excellent. Very heartily recommended as a base for exploring the area, although it’s nice enough to never have to leave the hotel area if you didn’t want. For a 2-bedroom apartment for 3 nights inc. continental breakfast cost us about £250 iirc.
I've never stayed there but ridden passed it many times, we used to stay just up the road at Ardbrecknish House First stayed in 91 on a road trip in my MG Midget then went for our honeymoon in 99 and in 04 IIRC. Planning on a September visit there this year. Sadly on my own this time but I hope the memories make it good.
We're currently on holiday with family in S. Wales borderlands then off for a week camping in Anglesey next week.
Roads were very few delays traveling NE to SW on Friday despite first weekend of the school holidays and so much less hassle than kids in an airport.
Why Anglesey? Because only ever been there before to climb sea cliffs and saw someone else's holiday pics and it looked great so booked on a whim. So may places to explore so this year that's where the pin landed. Here's hoping for decent weather. Happy days 🙂
PS loving some of the other suggestions, random neolithic stones etc.
Couple of weeks ago we had 4 nights at a Camping & Caravan Club Ready Camp in Suffolk - kind of like a Eurocamp set up.
Cost us £180, plus £50 membership to get members discount. Doing same again at another site up north August Bank Holiday week.
We couldn't find a cottage for two for less than £400. Our eldest has just had a long weekend in Brussels with his girlfriend which he said was cheaper than they could find in the UK.
I gave up looking for a foreign break this year due to a combination of factors.
Finally booked a cottage for a week in Port William, Dumfries & Galloway. Back garden overlooks the sea and I can’t wait for a week of doing very little
Id be interested in wild camping but need a clue as to where
I can. Cant walk too far/happy to sleep in the car. I dont tend to sleep anyway, least of all camping
Got locked in a car park in Forest of Dean a few weeks back, that worked out well but couldve easily gone wrong. Nowhere to park off the road there. Various pubs in the area will let you park/camp for not much
Im in mid england
Id be back to Borneo or thailand , like chewkw, if I had the money, otherwise hostelling in the Canary Isles is probably as good n cheap as anywhere
Cottage in dorset for a week, and a further week camping on the family farm planned.
Can't be bothered with going abroad.
On the tent line i have a wildcountry homestead 5 that can go to a good home for a small charity donation if anyone is interested.
Based in Bedfordshire and can meet at chicky
If you see a small stone circle in welsh towns, that means they have hosted a national eisteddfod.
Been around a bit and it’s definitely quieter this year than last.
Lz at nealc
We've got a static caravan in North Wales so will be using that. We did pop down to Cardigan and stayed in a lovely little B&B for £113 for two nights - sme lovely beaches down there, and went dolphin spotting !
We've also had a couple of cheap overnight stays in Manchester after various concerts - just saves the hassle of getting a taxi home/or leaving the concert early for the last train.
Noticeably quieter here in Tobermory this year, despite the increase of foreign travellers. Expect that the price of petrol and food is putting people off, lots of “last minute cancellation” availability too whilst quite a few hospitality businesses are running reduced hours due to difficulty finding staff. Saw an article saying some businesses have seen a significant reduction in turnover in comparison to pre-COVID. Did consider taking the camper off-island for some short trips, but the 💩 weather has put those plans on hold - hoping for a drier autumn.
zilog6128
Full Member
£1700 for 9 months a yearperfect, if you never want to go anywhere else or see anything different. Not everyone’s the same…
Yeah I'm definitely not allowed to go anywhere else. Written in the contract that I can only be at home or there.
Interesting thread.
The majority of our holidays are UK, cheaper holiday cottages. We do very few paid days out - vast, vast majority of our holiday days are walking, cycling or canoeing. We limit cafe stops and maybe have one meal out over a fortnight holiday. Packed lunches and self catering are the order of the day.
Mrs_oab has never got on with camping, other than a night on a hill or riverbank. We found it's also difficult to keep bikes and kit secure with 5 of you camping - but we only tried once...
We do save up, and so have been fortunate to be able to afford a few foreign trips. We've driven to Massif Central, Les Gets and northern Spain. We've flown to Poland. Again, all these trips were self catered, staying in cheapest places we could (booking waaay ahead helps). Les Gets was most expensive because of uplifts and more pricey accomodation. Poland was cheap as the Easy Jet flights were direct and £60 each all in, return...
I've just worked out that this year's Basque Country and Picos de Europa fortnight cost exactly the same as last year's two weeks in Harris and Torridon. The difference in holiday cottage prices paid for the £700 overnight ferry...and they were nicer houses in Spain.
We have had our caravan ten years and it gives us cheap holidays. Ok fuel is expensive and we are currently on Orkney and ferries cost.
We often stay on caravan club cl’s dirt cheap and the camping and caravan club have a similar network that take tents.
At the start of the break we stayed at Altnaharra and had the non electric area to ourselves just like pre covid times and £10 a night
I need to start me a 'lighweight, cheap, 2-berth caravan' thread...hmmm
Currently in our old but gold caravan in harlech in the rain. Seasonal pitch on a farm looking over llandanwg.
Argoed Farm? We’re off there on 19th August.
well if you're spending £1700 on a pitch and then paying again to go somewhere else, suddenly it's sounding less good VFM isn't it 🤣 and this [I]is[/I] a thread for cheap holidays... ooh, there's an idea though, you could let someone else less-well-off from STW use it when you're on one of your other holidays somewhere else? 😃Yeah I’m definitely not allowed to go anywhere else. Written in the contract that I can only be at home or there.
Just booked 2 nights in a campsite, non electric pitch, in Yorkshire dales for me and my son, in a small 2 man tent. 62.50!!!! i dont mind paying over the odds as its our main holiday but still. It reeks, and im not talking about the inside of the tent after 2 nights
Camping ain't always as cheap as you'd expect. Glen Brittle campsite on Skye is utterly delightful: great location well off the main, fairly quiet, basic facilities, no phone signal. It was £40/night for family (2 adults, 2 kids) inc electric though! It's a personal favourite we keep on returning to.
I need to start me a ‘lighweight, cheap, 2-berth caravan’ thread…hmmm
Caravan are going for insane prices right now, they market went bananas due to covid and it's still on a massive high. We've a 2006 caravan that cost us £4k to buy 5 years ago, fully-equipped and ready to rolk. Market value at the moment is £4.5k for the caravan alone.
Sadly it's got damp so it isn't going to fetch that price, and we can't afford the kind of 'van we'd like (newer and therefore less likely to suffer the same issue), so we are more likely to be looking at holiday apartments for the next year or two while we save up.
PM me if you want a chat about a project caravan, btw...
2 nights in a campsite, non electric pitch, in Yorkshire dales for me and my son, in a small 2 man tent. 62.50!!!!
Wow, we paid £30 per night on a 5-van CL recently for a fully serviced caravan pitch - 16 amp electric, superfast wifi broadband, waste water outlute and fresh water to plug into.
It was £40/night for family (2 adults, 2 kids) inc electric though!
Seems to be the going rate these days. But look at the price of a cottage if you want to feel better.
We've booked to go abroad for the first time in three years. Via the Eurotunnel. Arrgghh.
Camp sites are not looking cheap, when you can get a B&B for £60 a night
Camp sites are not looking cheap, when you can get a B&B for £60 a night
Usually nearer £100, and would likely be two rooms for a family, making it £200.
I stay all over the UK in property owned by climbing clubs for about £10 a night always in stunning locations. It was just the trips to Nepal to have a decent CV to get membership of my club that were expensive!
I need to start me a ‘lighweight, cheap, 2-berth caravan’ thread…hmmm
This is where it will start, but, will not be where it finishes 😉
We've had UK holidays for the last 7 years - mainly due to cost and the only available week for us to actually have a holiday is just after Xmas due to work.
Isle of Wight / Devon / Cornwall mainly. This year we may...go to Spain and combine it with visiting family but every time I look at it it's 3x the cost, flights and insurance alone are the same as the budget for uk accommodation.
We also run an Airbnb, it's priced at £75 a night, specifically to try to make it as cheap as possible for people to stay. After fees etc a two night stay does work out at £100 a night, but if you stay for 5nights we also heavily discount it.
Did consider taking the camper off-island for some short trips, but the 💩 weather has put those plans on hold – hoping for a drier autumn.
Weather on the East coast has been good. The area we are in is oversaturated with holiday lets, there are still loads available. Our house that we rent out that sleeps 4 is about £120 night in high season and we aren’t fully booked for August this year.
It was £40/night for family (2 adults, 2 kids) inc electric though!
Seems to be the going rate these days. But look at the price of a cottage if you want to feel better.
The quickest search of Hoseasons cottages shows that they start at around £425 for 4 people for a week, so not that much more expensive. We tend to pay around £6-700 for a week in a cottage.
But saying that a camping holiday is cheap because it's only £X per night doesn't take into account the cost of the camping gear. Tents and sleeping bags can be expensive, and don't often get used enough to make them cost effective. And the less said about the ridiculous prices of campervans, the better.
Family of 5 here, so we've done all the variations on UK holidays - plenty of camping, several cottages, caravans, etc. All have their merits. All end up costing similar amounts.
I need to start me a ‘lighweight, cheap, 2-berth caravan’ thread…hmmm
We bought ours 8 years ago and there's a 9yo one selling for what we paid for ours new at the same place.
