What is the worst holiday you have had in the UK and why?
Posted by Desperate-Drawer-572@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 230 comments
If you have had a holiday in the UK which was really bad, where was it and why was it so bad.
Could be cost, lack of things to do etc
plantkiller5000@reddit
The Lake District has reliably rained the entire trip every time I have been there. Also the towns are too busy with fellow tourists. Bonus points for the pencil museum though.
kumquat_may@reddit
Wales would like a word...
Choice-Demand-3884@reddit
I live in the Lake District. It's raining now.
Purrtymeow04@reddit
Whats the best month to visit
Darloboy@reddit
It is pure luck! I’ve been in the height of summer and had awful weather, I’ve been in February and had bright sunshine and mild enough to be without a coat on one of the Windermere boat crossings!
PennyBunPudding@reddit
I've been three times in my life and all three times it's been scorching hot lol I'm clearly very lucky
Choice-Demand-3884@reddit
High summer can be brilliant. June, July, August. Weather can vary between dales though. It can be tipping down at Derwent Water but over the fell in Ullswater it can be bright sunshine.
Super-Surround-4347@reddit
I think it's the most overrated place in the UK. Beautiful? Yes. But full of American tourists. Much better places imo.
EyeAware3519@reddit
Why would you go to the Lake District and spend time in the towns? Put some waterproofs on and go for a hike.
WallsendLad70@reddit
Think most people know the lakes has good fells. People also like pubs, restaurants and stay in hotels or B&Bs - which are often in towns.
Choice-Demand-3884@reddit
The towns are worth visiting - they're nearly all lovely and there's a lot to see in Keswick, for example. They just suffer from the sheer number of visitors (especially the ones who arrive by car). And not everyone is willing or able to go hiking.
EyeAware3519@reddit
Eurgh. No thanks. I visited Keswick a couple of years ago and it was hell. Just drive two miles out of town and park up in Kettlewell, the walk around the lake is even wheel accessable in most places. The walk up Catbells is doable for anyone with a moderate level of fitness. If you spend your whole time in Keswick you're doing the Lakes wrong.
WallsendLad70@reddit
Lucky we live on Tyneside and can pop over to do a good fell as a day trip. Blencathra is my favourite and easy just to get in and get out.
West_Yorkshire@reddit
Not really sure what you expect from the official wettest place in the UK
I_hate_cross_country@reddit
Ive been to some of the world's greatest museums, British, natural history, science etc, for free, yet they have the audacity to charge for to enter the pencil museum.
plantkiller5000@reddit
It’s worth it though, you can see the world’s largest pencil
Aburlypad@reddit
The worlds largest pencil, you say? How much is admittance?
Casey_Carrot@reddit
£6.65 for an adult, £5.85 for a child, £5.55 for senior. £33.50 for a yearly family membership.
Aburlypad@reddit
Seems like a pittance to see the worlds largest pencil. Thank you internet person.
quite_acceptable_man@reddit
I feel it only fair to warn you that it's no longer the world's largest pencil, but it is the world's largest colour pencil. It is Deep Cadmium 06 which is a very pleasing shade of yellow.
It also remains the largest pencil in a pencil museum, so really you're getting two world records for the price of one.
bellathebeaut@reddit
And if you complete the quiz handout they give you with the correct answers you win some pencils to take home!
Casey_Carrot@reddit
You are most welcome. :)
I_hate_cross_country@reddit
You can see it from outside the window without paying if you are tall
Choice-Demand-3884@reddit
I paid for my car by renting a stepladder to tourists.
inspectorgadget9999@reddit
Hmmm. That's a good point.
Much_Winter2202@reddit
The London Transit Museum isn't free but it's really fun. It was better than the Natural History Museum IMO which was so crowded I couldn't really see the dinosaurs
Choice-Demand-3884@reddit
Ticket lasts for a year as well!
will2089@reddit
I genuinely feel the omnipresent rain is part of the charm but when you do get a sunny day it’s absolutely glorious.
TeapotJuggler@reddit
Canal boat holiday in the midlands with my parents and brother aged 12ish? (ie the age you start wanting as much independence from your parents as possible). Canal boat was tiny.
It rained ALL week. Had to get outside regardless to operate all the locks etc. Mostly just read books on my bed all week haha (before I had a phone/smart phones existed).
I would actually like to go on another canal boat holiday, but would do it in very different circumstances !
oafcmetty@reddit
Well we’re currently in a caravan in Essex…
ENWOD@reddit
Haha - whereabouts as there are varying degrees to Essex?
oafcmetty@reddit
Near St Osyth. That’s a nice little town, but Jaywick…
ENWOD@reddit
That is certainly a part of Essex....
Houseofthebewildered@reddit
It’s a sense of freedom you don’t get with other holidays
Jezbod@reddit
I think that is what the Americans call "cruel and unusual punnishment"
itsfourinthemornin@reddit
I let my son pick a hotel, it seemed fine from reviews and a good location. Third night we were both feeling a bit worse for wear, think we overdid it that day. We figured we'd head back to the hotel, have food there and sleep it off for the next day that we'd take a bit easier. We get back to the hotel and they pretty much had no meals available which they didn't bother to tell us when we asked for menus - I had a joke of a salad and son had chips, basically all they had left and both disgusting. We couldn't manage finding somewhere else especially not feeling not too good. To add insult to injury, I think VM was having an outage so we had little access to the internet or entertainment either for the night.
Both woke up feeling like hell and then decided to go home early. We had to arrange train home first and pick up for when we got home, so left about 10 minutes after check out time in the end after sorting that and packing up, they wouldn't even refund for being 10 minutes over or the shit show the previous night. Kind of added an extra dampener on the trip alongside feeling unwell. Least we enjoyed the actual activities.
We are going again in summer, settled for an AirB&B so I can cook for us instead when needed and staying a little longer!
hamanger@reddit
You didn't stay at Sachas by any chance did you?
itsfourinthemornin@reddit
Haha nope! I don't mind central stays for overnight but avoid if I'm there longer. never liked the looks of Sachas - it ALWAYS comes up.
My memory is atrocious for things like this - it was a chain, I just forget which at this point. All was good online and looks wise, those moments just spoiled it completely. Put me off chains all over again too!
AloneChance0@reddit
Pontins at Camber Sands, the rooms in the on site accommodation were grimy, filthy and everything there was just poorly maintained and unkept, it was an absolute shit tip.
vegan_voorhees@reddit
A friend of mine won a weekend there during some convention that was on and invited us with him and his girlfriend. We took one look at the accommodation and decided we'd drive back after the convention stuff.
No lie, our school took us to Aushwitz in the 90s and that was the first place that sprang to mind when we saw it.
pajamakitten@reddit
You know what you are getting when you choose Pontins though. No one going to Pontins expecting it to be clean.
BlondBitch91@reddit
I’ve driven past it on the way to the beach and just thought “Jesus that looks grim” - thanks for confirming.
OverlyAdorable@reddit
Sounds like a typical Pontins. We went to one that was the same. My sister got food poisoning at one and threw up down the curtains. It smelled better after and even if we'd left it, it wouldn't have been noticeable
nintendofan2_0@reddit
Haha same!! Absolute shit hole, not surprised they’ve all shut down. I had a piece of glass in my foot as they didn’t clean the room properly 😆
StereotypicallBarbie@reddit
Butlins 80’s hen weekend… absolutely horrific!
I’ll never forget the sights I saw that weekend as long as I live.. filth!
Lopsided_Soup_3533@reddit
I worked at butlins i bet i could tell you more stories lol
DryJackfruit6610@reddit
Ohh you have to now!
Lopsided_Soup_3533@reddit
Go ahead ama
CommissionFair1999@reddit
We need an AMA! (Please!)
Lopsided_Soup_3533@reddit
The first time im interesting enough to do an ama is butlins. I worked at butlins when Stephen mulhern was a redcoat too lol but please ama
AromaticVacation3077@reddit
Oh pleeeeez tell us a few
StereotypicallBarbie@reddit
I don’t even want to say some of the things that went on there.. not even anonymously on Reddit!
The very least of it was the state of the chalets.. when we walked in there was shit (literal poo) smeared across a mirror and all over the shower.. and even on a counter! And the smell of damp clothes or carpet? was unbearable..
The drugs that were flying around.. and the absolute fucking idiots just getting wasted as much as possible and doing stupid shit! (It was an adults weekend but still)
I’ve not had a sheltered life at all… but that was an eye opener even for me!
AromaticVacation3077@reddit
Oh good lord!
CrossCityLine@reddit
You can’t leave us hanging there.
Bellatrixforqueen@reddit
Same but the 90s one.
StiffAssedBrit@reddit
Norfolk Broads on a hire boat that turned out to be about 100 years old, despite being "refurbished". Found that due to recent rain, we couldn't go through two bridges either side of the yard, so we're basically stuck to a limited stretch of river. Then there are way too many boats. If you weren't moored by 2pm you were lucky to get a mooring at all, and nowhere near anywhere. No shops. No facilities. Went hungry one night as we couldn't get a mooring near a shop, town, pub or anything. Went to bed at 8pm because the battery couldn't keep the lights or heating on. Spent last two nights back at the boatyard with a faulty engine. Supposed to be 7 nights. Left after 5. Never again!
Chris-TT@reddit
Interesting. Usually Blackpool comes up as the scummiest place in the country. I own Putt Above, which is an activity bar close to Blackpool Tower. I do, however, live near Bristol, but there has not been one mention of Blackpool yet. I honestly do not think it is anywhere near as bad as people make out. A couple of days a year, I enjoy a night out in Blackpool, and the Pleasure Beach is decent fun.
heidivodka@reddit
Normally it’s down to the people who visit and not the place itself. Went a few weekends ago and our group got accosted by two very drunk lesbians who were trying to make eachother jealous. My friend nearly had a fight with one of them(she’s from leeds) whilst the other one kept trying to grab on to me.
The other time was over 20 years ago and the youngest lad in the group got shit faced on absinthe before leaving the b and b. Then tried grabbing the back of trams whilst they were move then he wanted to swim, in the dark with a rough sea. God we had to baby sit him all night.
Even after all that I have a soft spot for Blackpool.
andreafromaccounts@reddit
The "she's from Leeds" validating that she was up for a scrap is hilarious, Leeds is so outrageously friendly but also the one city where I can guarantee seeing blood on a night out 😂
heidivodka@reddit
She doesn’t want people to think she can’t handle herself at 4ft9 but by Christ she would knock someone into next week. You only really see this side when she’s had a drink but I know she is a secret Tasmanian devil.
Ill-Basil2863@reddit
Blackpool is what you make of it. There's plenty ty to do.
Robyn2055@reddit
Went to Darlington and Yorke around the staycation / Covid era. Don’t ask.
CapMost2573@reddit
Pontins, Southport.
Don’t think I need to say much more
Illustrious-Motor595@reddit
Went camping in Anglesey with family when I was a teenager and it rained hard the whole time. One side of the tent collapsed during the night from a combination of the weather & being a pretty old tent, so my stepmum woke up at 4am covered in water. We left the next day & the tent went into the bin before we left!
LiliWenFach@reddit
We pitched up in Dwyran and an amber weather warning hit unexpectedly. Our tent collapsed during the night - on me. When we were trying to repair it a gust of wind nearly lifted it off the ground - with our two kids still inside it! I threw myself through the door and onto the groundsheet before it could take off. We bundled the kids into the car and then unloaded and rolled up the tent in 50 mph winds. Did it without losing a peg or guy rope. (It was a new tent). Very proud of our teamwork! As we were driving home at dawn, soaking wet, still in our pyjamas, our son asked 'are we going to the beach today?' Lesson: if the weather on Anglesey is going to be 'a bit choppy' or 'a bit damp ', don't bother.
derpyfloofus@reddit
The weather here is either glorious or horrendous, with very little in between. It’s worth coming back when it’s nice!
Melting-Sabbath@reddit
Manchester, the city center is dirty, there aren't too many places to visit, and I'm not into football, I was expecting so much from Manchester. I spent 6 days in Manchester, and honestly one weekend would be enough. It's crazy how the second most important city in the UK is so far behind for tourism activities.
For you who is Mancunian Liverpool it's 100 times more fun to visit and the Scouse accent is prettier.
blackzero2@reddit
I wont say it was the worst, but the first time I spent a weekend in Manchester, I was so excited...but was thoroughly disappointed. Idk if it was my expectations or what. On the flip side, spent a weekend in Glasgow and it was an absolute blast
andreafromaccounts@reddit
It seems Manchester is easy to do "wrong". Unlike a lot of cities the actual centre is the worst part, particularly Piccadilly Gardens, even worse if you're staying somewhere like Sacha's where people rent rooms by the hour.
Manchester is done well if you stay somewhere out of the city, usually South towards student areas that slowly turn to affluent areas. Then exploring Ancoats, NQ and heading to the gentrification of Salford. Tram network is sufficient and confident cyclists can get about fine. Get a train out to Buxton or RHS Garden Bridgewater if you need nature. If you're into history Quarry Bank Mill is decent. Driving and ubering around central Manchester is pretty hideous, but that's not unique.
Danglyweed@reddit
Went to Manchester 2019 for a gig as my band had abandoned Glasgow that year, was SO excited, and then SO fucking disappointed in Manchester . Glasgow is king in this situation.
Super-Surround-4347@reddit
I also got a horrible vibe from Manchester. Seemed really unsafe. Random men wandering around spitting around the town centre etc
THXORY@reddit
I lived in Manchester about 15 years ago. There's something depressing about it as a city, it's concrete and unpleasant. Very little green. And the weather makes it even worse because it's always drizzling. It has an awful lot of very visible social problems which add to the unpleasantness too. I always remember groups of smack heads who seemed to be always sitting on the ground outside one of the Spars near Piccadilly Gardens. For some reason they were always eating Muller Fruit Corners.
CelDidNothingWrong@reddit
Something absolutely hilarious to me about heroin addicts digging into a Muller Corner
THXORY@reddit
I know! It's surreal isn't it.
WallsendLad70@reddit
In honesty unless it’s a food or nightlife/ music scene you’re after, there aren’t many UK cities outside of London, York, Edinburgh or Dublin which you would say fit in with the requirements for‘tourism activities.’ Most are concrete business centres where people go to work or have a night out.
CrossCityLine@reddit
Manchester isn’t the second city.
jamesdownwell@reddit
OP didn’t say “second city” though. They said “second most important city.”
CactusCastrator@reddit
The only other theoretical claimant is Birmingham and Manchester has the advantage that it isn't universally shat on by people who don't live there.
pajamakitten@reddit
Birmingham is the second city, there is no 'theoretical' about it.
CrossCityLine@reddit
This guy knows.
chrisr3240@reddit
Are you from the UK?
Any_Preference_4147@reddit
I spent a weekend in Manchester once. Never again. It's one of the ugliest cities I've ever been to and the vibe was awful, I hated every minute.
jelly10001@reddit
Granted this was 10 years ago now and I only went for three or four days, not six, but I had a great time in Manchester. The People's History Museum is still one of the best museums I've been to, Manchester Cathedral was worth a look around and it was easy enough to get to Dunham Massey on public transport. Then although Salford itself wasn't very nice, the exhibition about Lowry in the Lowry Centre was interesting and I say this as someone who isn't really into art.
Danglyweed@reddit
Second most important city according to who?
MissFlipFlop@reddit
Went in February this year and loved it ! Amazing place. I'm also not into football
CrossCityLine@reddit
It’s a fucking shit tip.
1980heron@reddit
We went on a family summer holiday to - I kid you not - Walsall, in the midst of the 90s recession. There is one tourist attraction (a leather work museum). Most of the high street was boarded up.
teddycatcat@reddit
Brighton Airbnb with elderly parents, one with dementia, the other yet to be diagnosed. Their internet was not working and without dad's iPad to entertain him we were stuffed. Mum woke at 4am screaming about Christmas cards, not being able to order them cos she was getting a new computer and wouldn't be able to use the new internet (this was October 4th) - woke dad up in the process and proceeded to get dressed. He then managed to smear faeces all over his lower half, and wouldn't let us clean him up - so we just got in the car drove 189 miles home with the car stinking and windows open. They're both passed now but I don't miss those days.
AromaticVacation3077@reddit
This is so awful I laughed. You know that kind of laugh where it's the only option because what else are you going to do?
Suitable-Ad2831@reddit
Dementia is tough for all who have to live with it, both patient and carer.
Ill-Basil2863@reddit
2 weeks in cornwall when the first COVID restrictions were lifted. Cost me about 3k for two weeks and couldn't get moved for traffic.
Klakson_95@reddit
Blackpool. In March. During a thunderstorm.
As if Blackpool isn't bad enough already, couldn't even go on the big dipper or up the tower
Capital-Squirrel3522@reddit
Butlins and Center Parcs. Would rather holiday in the devil's bum crack.
steptoeshorse@reddit
We did centre parcs once. It's basically Butlins but for middle-class twats. Hated it.
WallsendLad70@reddit
What were the middle class twats doing that you hated?
Larrygengurch12@reddit
I don't mind Centre Parcs but the coffee is pretty shit and most of the activities are far too expensive
DryJackfruit6610@reddit
🤣 which center parcs,?
bopeepsheep@reddit
Airbnb in Scotland with then-partner's family. He was really ill on the drive up so we had to break the journey unexpectedly; I had a grim evening meal alone in a pub, being harassed by drunks. He woke up at 3am hallucinating (but also proposed dramatically, which was funny at least) and I had to manhandle him into a cold shower to get his temperature down. The next morning he was fine but I was knackered, couldn't read road signs in the falling snow, and we got lost for an hour or so. Got to our destination nearly 24hrs late, his mum blamed me 100%. Explained about his illness and joked about the proposal to lighten the mood. She told me she wouldn't let him marry me. Later, she got drunk and called me by the names of two of his exes. The next morning instead of "good morning" she snarked at me for knitting, again calling me by the wrong name, so I told her to f off and leave me alone. Went for a shower; his cousin knocked on the bathroom window to tell me he could see me. Ugh. Sat in bedroom by myself, not yet dressed, when his mother barged in to "discuss my behaviour"; I called for my partner to come and remove her and she called me controlling (!). Partner got only her side of the story and had a go at me for a full 10 mins (while I got dressed, dried my hair, etc) before his aunt overheard and came in to defend me a bit. I spent as much of the rest of that holiday as I could either on my own or hiding out with his dad & aunt, who were both avoiding his mum.
It wasn't the worst holiday I spent with him and his horrible mother, but it was the worst UK one.
WallsendLad70@reddit
Chris. Glad you didn’t accept the proposal.
StreyyK@reddit
Family trip to a caravan in Cornwall. Took 5+ hours to get there. I easily get car sick and the place is full of windy roads so I dreaded every day trip. It was the middle of summer but pissed it down every day so no beach or anything - just went to some towns (which I'm sure are lovely but weren't much fun as a kid) and random sanctuaries and stuff my parents found on leaflets. Loads of arguments because we were constantly tired and bored. Then drove back and we got stuck on the M6 due to a closure.
After that my parents promised we'd either go abroad on holiday - or if they couldn't afford it - we just wouldn't go anywhere. They were true to their word.
WallsendLad70@reddit
The South West can be wet. We stayed in CentreParcs Longleat for a week when the kids were young and it bleached down constantly.
Rich_27-@reddit
Rhyl 2022
Was in a caravan near the entertainment building, lots of drunken Scousers shouting and fighting all night
tightloops1971@reddit
Pontins Weston Super Mare, car park was a tennis court everybody parked where they liked so we were blocked in. Room was filthy and had sewer smells coming out of the sink. Room was dead opposite a roller coaster. bed linen was like paper. No customer service at all looked like one poor girl was running the entire site. Neighbours on all sides were noisy drunk chavs. Town itself was a shit hole and the beach was two miles of mud. Literally not one good thing about the entire experience, fucking awful.
Outrageous_Shake2926@reddit
Teignmouth September 1974. Family holiday when I was a child. Parents booked a weeks holiday (Saturday to Saturday). There was heavy torrential rain everyday. We went home on the Thursday.
Degora2k@reddit
Download 2016. Rain, rain and more bloody rain.
4566557557@reddit
I had some weird Scottish woman trying to climb into my tent on the Friday night and got mud and water all inside so I was a bit miserable for a few days. That weekend put me off UK festivals
Automatic-Canary-762@reddit
My friend and I did a last minute overnight trip to Cambridge over the school holidays as we’re both teachers. Got to our Airbnb, it looked absolutely nothing like the photos and then it turned out the property was being shared with other people, which the owner gave us no pre-warning of.
Swiftly returned the key to the key box, requested a refund and headed off to the closest Premier Inn. In the stress of it all, I left my phone in the back of our Uber (which he thankfully returned) but the whole ordeal meant that loads of our time in Cambridge got eaten up.
slophiewal@reddit
In Butlin’s defence it is absolutely grim but my kids fucking love it - so we tolerate a long weekend every summer
slophiewal@reddit
Pontins, I can’t remember where. My skint single mum collected vouchers to take me and my brother away, when we arrived there were slugs in the shower and mould up the walls. Needless to say we stayed for about an hour then she turned around and took us home.z
sharkkallis@reddit
Bamburgh in a caravan. Rained horizontally for three straight days.
CollegeFabulous3535@reddit
Same and it's the only holiday we've left to come home early.
Affectionate_Bat617@reddit
When it's not raining, it is a beautiful area
TrinityTosser@reddit
Llanaber on the Welsh coast. April 2024. Constant heavy rain which caused some landslides which caused a power cut for days, which led to no hot water, heating or ability to cook in the cottage we'd rented. Loads of roads closed as a result of the landslides so difficult to get out & about to do anything. Sacked it off and came home three days early.
TimenyCricket20@reddit
Camping holiday in Peak District as a body conscious teen going through puberty who hated camping and wasn’t fond of showering. Campsite was heaving and had one small shower block which was a decent walk from the actual tents. Was suggested I showered and walk back to the tents in my towel-didn’t shower for the rest of the trip. Hate camping as a concept anyway. Midges out in full force and the campsite had peacocks that would scream the place down all day every day starting at about half past four in the morning. Woke up so cold and damp one morning that I had to lay shivering in a sleeping bag from about two in the morning till nine when my family woke up. Swore blind I would never set foot in a campsite again.
FOARP@reddit
Answer: camping holiday in Harlech in 1998.
Why: rained, rained, rained the whole time. Ended up just quitting and going to Norfolk instead.
UnfeelingSelfishGirl@reddit
Went to North Wales just after I'd finished my A levels, 4 hours after arriving I fell off a castle and snapped my tib and fib, an ambulance arrived and on the way to the hospital one of the paramedics got told that his dad had had a heart attack so we changed the hospital we were going to so he went to the one his dad was at which added 40 minutes to the painful journey. Then I had to have it moved back into place which might be the most pain I've ever felt, and then following day had surgery to pin it during which I died.
hiddenkinkz@reddit
Took my son camping many years ago in Devon. To say that the rain and wind was biblical is an understatement. The entire campsite flooded. Tents were destroyed, people left in droves. It was dreadful.
donniespinks@reddit
Butlins adult weekend. I’m a well travelled 40 odd year old who thought I had seen it all. Turns out I hadn’t. I can absolutely positively say; don’t ever let your partner go to one.
DryJackfruit6610@reddit
I need to know more
donniespinks@reddit
That’s easy; go to a Butlins adult weekend. It’s like being in a massive shit nightclub for 48 hours where everyone is hammered constantly and everyone has a room less than a mile away.
Lear_ned@reddit
A campsite in Aberystwyth. I got drunk with some locals and a bloke pulled out a crossbow and asked if we wanted to go hunting rabbits....at 3am.
AromaticVacation3077@reddit
We went to Cornwall without a car not realising you really need a car in Cornwall. 'We'll take public transport' we thought not realising public transport in Cornwall is sparse, unreliable, and erratic. We went towards the end of the season not realising half the cafes and restaurants would be closing up. We booked a Premier Inn not realising it would smell of Jeye's Fluid and fags and be at the top of a steep hill we had to trudge up and down eight times a day. We booked Rick Stein's months in advance to be sure to get a table not realising you also had to book a taxi months in advance to get back to the hotel because as it turns out there are only three taxis in all of Cornwall. It wasn't Cornwall's fault really. It was us being crap at holidays. Cornwall is gorgeous.
Independent-Ad-3385@reddit
They also have a really stupid system with the taxi licences which means most of them can't go beyond the boundary of whichever town they are licensed in and getting a taxi from one town to another is basically impossible.
Do_not_get_involved@reddit
I've had a lovely holiday in Cornwall without a car. We were based in Falmouth but also took a train to St Ives.
AromaticVacation3077@reddit
Yes I'm really crap at holidays.
Independent-Ad-3385@reddit
We went to Trowbridge for a weekend with a red letter days voucher that was about to run out. There were literally no other options. The hotel was meant to include dinner but they told us after we'd eaten it that it wasn't included and would cost £50. Trowbridge has some alright charity shops but there's shite all else to do.
Firm-Statistician772@reddit
Butlins. Dirty smelly hole. Couldn’t wait to get home. The entertainment wasn’t too bad though.
Motor-Command-2680@reddit
Bed bugs. Reighton Sands Haven. Nightmare. Never again.
jelly10001@reddit
Two come to mind.
Cornwall: Flew (to Newquay airport) then rented a hire car, however my Mum had trouble driving it, with a random passer by having to help her. We wanted to eat at Rick Stein's restaurant, but we hadn't booked a table and of course they were fully booked. Then I had the worst period cramps for two of our days there, and my Mum wouldn't let me take painkillers because most painkillers say they are for 12 plus year olds and I was only 11 at the time.
Liverpool: The city centre was deserted on a Friday night, there were rows upon rows of boarded up houses and our hotel was one of those that looked nice from the outside but was very dated inside (oh and other guests turned up to breakfast in their pyjamas).
MrSam52@reddit
Cornwall as a kid, rained pretty much the whole time we were there (during summer).
In fairness we did go again and it didn’t rain and was much better.
MojoMomma76@reddit
Camping as a small child at Loch Ness in late summer. Electrical storm, my big sister was in a solo tent as she didn’t want to share one with me and middle sis. Brother was sleeping in the vestibule of our parent’s massive tent. Hers blew away with her in it into the loch in the middle of the night and we all got up to rescue her. We decided to go home and the exhaust fell off the car on the way back (moth eaten elderly car) and so had to wait for many hours to get it fixed. We limped back to Cheshire at 3am the night after we left.
kronikler@reddit
Buxton. It's quite clear why it's close to the setting and filming location of the League of Gentlemen.....
1000nipples@reddit
Now imagine living where they film League of Gentlement (send help)
Mysterious_County154@reddit
Pontins, I forget which one
Ended up bringing back bed bugs which was just the cherry on top. I think they are all shut down now? Thank god
rising_then_falling@reddit
Scout camp, Welford, 1986. Didn't stop raining for a week. Got caught playing cricket with eggs.
Musicality123@reddit
I liked Devon but the narrow roads were really off putting and terrifying. I've travelled all 48 counties and they were the worst in England easily.
I couldn't imagine living there and worrying about meeting other cars constantly.
Glittering_Pop7807@reddit
There is nothing to be worried about, if you meet someone you just reverse or they reverse.
The madness of summer, on the other hand, fuels my nightmares.
Musicality123@reddit
Yes, true, but the frequency of doing this many times was excessive especially when no where else in England has this issue to contend with on a daily basis.
n0p_sled@reddit
Ha! I laugh at you and your Devon roads!
Cornwall is a devil's maze drawn by a drunken fool. And a fool with no idea of gradient at that.
"The campsite is down a narrow lane, with a sharp right"
... essentially translates to "it's a narrow, 1 way track and if you meet someone coming the other way then one of you needs to reverse a good 300 meters. The sharp right is also on an incline that could quite literally topple your car if you come at it then wrong way. Our directions are the wrong way"
cloudstrifeuk@reddit
I wrote off my first car on a country road near St Austell.
My destination was St Austell.
Hard agree.
HumanBeing7396@reddit
Snozzle
Musicality123@reddit
To be fair I was warned by others prior about both Cornwall and Devon's roads. I must have just got lucky with where I travelled in Cornwall. Though as I say Devon it was all over.
I did each county top to bottom for a years long project.
SpecialistGeneral794@reddit
Ah yes gweek
Retiredandrelaxed@reddit
Like you, being a Janner and doing the local Devon roads….we were taught to use the horn going around corners…hopefully someone heard and paused at a space
Darkus185@reddit
Yeah my stepmum was killed on a narrow Devon road at a crossroad with overgrown hedges. No real inclination to take a road trip there. Then they have a speed limit of 60 😅
tommycahil1995@reddit
Drove around some of the most northern parts of Scotland where the roads are often like this. Drove 4 hours in terrible fog - like couldn't see 5 metres ahead it felt like - most stressed I'd ever been. Just complete luck at points to not have a crash
Lyrakish@reddit
Think it was New Quay in Wales. Caravan holiday. It rained the whole 13 days. All the entertainment in the club thing was awful. The arcade machines were all really out dated as well. So for every day we sat inside and watched daytime tv or just napped. It was brilliant sunshine driving back.
Terrible-Prior732@reddit
Stayed at the Adamton hotel in Ayr. It was, and I expect still is, utterly filthy. I can away with complementary worms 🤢
Awkward-Cap1879@reddit
Two for me. Holiday number 1 was with my then boyfriend and we decided to rent a tiny little cottage in Hastings for a week. We’d known each other a couple of years by then and had been arguing quite a bit so had booked a break away from real life to spend some quality time together. We went on 8th September 2001, it was cold, weather was rubbish, there was no parking within about a quarter of a mile and you had to pay for it. The boiler started not working properly, the bathroom was on the bottom floor of the house which creeped me out at night and 3 days into our holiday the Twin Towers attacks happened and I remember we just sat in front of the tv for hours terrified out of our wits because no one knew whether it was confined to the US or if we were going to start seeing things happen in the UK. We ended up going home early, it was a miserable week but it did end up bringing us closer together because I realised I couldn’t think of a life without him.
7 years later and we were now married with an 18 month old baby, we took the first holiday since we became parents. We booked a holiday park near Torquay. It was June, it had been sweltering weather the week before but the day we left it was lashing it down all the way down the motorway. We finally got there and the chalet we’d booked was disgusting, it was cold, damp, smelt funny and I actually found a dog biscuit under the sofa. I wouldn’t have let an animal stay there let alone a toddler and we left within the hour and found a hotel along the coast for a few days. I did actually get some money back on that awful holiday and just wish I’d looked at the trip advisor reviews before I booked because our experience was far from uncommon.
BTW Butlins gets a lot of hate but we had several holidays there in the years since and it was always clean and tidy which was a damn sight more than holiday number 2!
Large_Studio_7744@reddit
Went to a caravan in Par or was it Praa in Cornwall? Thought we were going to the one with lovely sand and clear blue waters for a week with the kids when they were young. However, we booked in the wrong place. Couldn’t understand why there were three tall industrial chimneys in the middle of the camp site!!! Only found what had happened when following the directions to our booked caravan!!! It was near St Austell and the three chimneys were to do with the clay industry! We had trains shunting all around us at night! Gypsies came and camped in the middle and daughter got bitten by one of their dogs. The playground equipment was rusty and broken! It rained most of the week. The small beach was full,of litter and the clay made the sea a weird colour!!! We went to the nearest holiday shop and booked a holiday abroad for the following year!
SmokyBarnable01@reddit
Went on a spur of the moment trip to Yeovil. Thought it was one of those cutesy, picturesque English county towns with loads of history, real ale pubs cobbled streets etc.
Clearly I didn;t do any research.
Stuck_Duck16@reddit
Camping in a tent for a few nights on a hill in Osmington Bay. Wind and rain were horrendous. The tent leaked and I got up in the night to move the car to see if it would act as a wind break. It did not. Nearly stayed in the car for the night!
fozzie1984@reddit
Either
18 years old me and GF went to London for the weekend , she forgot her ID so couldn't go out for the evening to a club , hotel room had no windows and stank of BO and Weed and then the condom broke so we had to find an all night pharmacy
Or
Me and another GF went to butlins for an over 18 weeks , she got spiked and spent all weekend ill after we had reported it to the authorities, butlins offered to upgrade us but we just left after Saturday night
Snoo-84389@reddit
I saw the title of this thread and I immediately thought "Oooooo, I wonder how long until Butlins gets mentioned?!?"...
And here it is, in the 2nd comment 😀
FlatCapNorthumbrian@reddit
I would’ve expected Pontins to be before Butlins.
Fuzzy_Strawberry1180@reddit
That's where my post was about Blackpool pontins lol
bossanovaallnight@reddit
First comment now!
Snoo-84389@reddit
😁
slophiewal@reddit
A Butlins upgrade is definitely not worth it 🤣
Fuzzy_Strawberry1180@reddit
Blackpool. When I was 7 we came back day early lol faeces on blankets in bedroom, rained constantly
FlatCapNorthumbrian@reddit
Haven Haggerston Castle: two days in a row several police cars attended with blues and twos, the site stunk of weed, drinks were a rip off, pool had green algae or something like that in between the tiles, the soft play was shut for the whole week for no given reason and the entertainment was exactly, and I mean exactly the same for the year before.
reditor6632@reddit
Pontins in Prestatyn.
Odd-Paramedic-3826@reddit
weekend in glasgow without research on which bits are nice to stay in. turns out the merchant city is a bit grim
pixypippi@reddit
much much worse places to stay in in glasgow m8 hahahahh atleast u were close to everything!!! what was grim about it??
Odd-Paramedic-3826@reddit
I think i just caught it on a bad day. there were a lot of junkies about, the streets were pretty dirty, and that weekend there was a match on and we had to go back to the hotel early cause people were getting rowdy. lovely city otherwise and I will definitely go again sometime
Danglyweed@reddit
Never rains in Glasgow /s must be a lie
pixypippi@reddit
oh yeah nah that does sound like a bad weekend in glasgow, im sorry u caught it at that time!!! we'd love to see u back :D the moxy hotels are cheap and cute!!
alphahydra@reddit
I can imagine accomodation listings being a bit over generous with their definition of Merchant City, and tourists ending up somewhere that's more Trongate than Ingram Street.
pixypippi@reddit
oh yeah, kinda like if it was listed as the west end but it was more maryhill lmao
Competitive-Fig-666@reddit
Some of the hotels can be a bit junkie ridden. That one across from the polo is grim
GrumpyOldFart74@reddit
It’s like 5 minutes’ walk from George Square - nowt wrong with merchant city.
At least you weren’t in Paisley or Govan (in both of which I’ve had fine nights out)
dgreen1415@reddit
Butlins in October. Was freezing and tested positive for covid when I got home .
pajamakitten@reddit
Not the worst thing you could have tested positive for after going to Butlins.
Honest-Sleep-6848@reddit
Anglesey.
Danglyweed@reddit
Primrose valley private hire 2013, was mouldy as fuck, I ended up with pneumonia. So didn't see or do fuck all for the week. Took our kids again in 22 or 23, with haven, was lovely except for the pink chicken and upon stripping the beds at the end, pissy mattresses. Got a full refund.
We've done abroad the last two years so husband says its time for a home holiday with the dog this year,can't wait...
Glass_Chip7254@reddit
I went to a campsite in ‘Barmouth’. Or at least, it was advertised as Barmouth, but might in fact have been somewhere further along the coast. Rained constantly, was quite far to the beach, boring, cold and showers required 20p to operate. At some point, no-one had any more 20p coins and we had to ration them to have a shower, basically the main heat source in the near-constant rain. At some point, we could no longer shower as we had no more 20p coins. Supermarkets seemed to be miles away. I was very glad to leave and get back to our house, which was actually warm
gettin-swole@reddit
God any holiday in the uk is awful.
Psychological-Bag272@reddit
Went to Glencoe a few years ago. Then-BF booked a hobbit style accommodation with tiny electric heating and shared bathroom detached from the accommodation.
It was December. Of course, the weather was shit. Torrential rain every day. In the middle of nowhere, local cafe which was the only food place nearby shut at 7pm. This was totally bad planning on our part.
Revisited the highland a couple of years later in July, it was the best UK trip I've ever had.
derpyfloofus@reddit
I recommend it in mid to late October, the colours then are something to behold.
Psychological-Bag272@reddit
Thank you! I am desperate to go back up there. We have 2 dogs now so will bring them. Need a bigger car though!
s1pp3ryd00dar@reddit
Camping at Kielder forest during an extended midge season. Nighttime was like an episode of the X-files. (S1E20 btw). Billions of the bitey buggers literally ate us alive.
The only relief was when the weather changed suddenly into storm force winds and hail. And then it stayed like that for 5 solid days. The tent rained in. Mate brought butane not propane so it froze (yes it was that cold the gas froze in mid September!) Everything was shut as it was end of season except finding a local's pub somewhere (with stereotypical stares of 'you should not be here' from the regulars). And anything else needed a 30min drive to Bellingham. Mate paid campsite two weeks upfront and insisted staying the full duration,
I managed 10days before me and my other mate went screw it, loading the car and headed for home, driving part way bare foot as all my footwear and socks were sopping wet and I was on the verge of trench foot.
Shinyandsmooth8@reddit
I’m typing this from a tent in the rain and wind and cold
FitSolution2882@reddit
So come on then, tell us?
Snoo-84389@reddit
Thanks Dave!
Ok-Committee9283@reddit
8yrs old I’m 30 now. Went to a caravan park on the coast of Northumberland. It had costal access and some giant sea wind farms. Our neighbours got pissed had a disco then screamed at each other in the caravan and the grounds. We were legitimately in the middle of fucking nowhere, couldn’t find a shop/ cafe/ restaurant ect as it was the time before internet on phones.
On the plus side the entire family fell in love with Northumberland and we’ve all been multiple times since 😂
BG3restart@reddit
When I was a kid all of our family holidays were camping and usually they were fabulous and we had a great time. One year, my dad had a really bad back and didn't peg the tent down as diligently as usual. There was a bad storm that night and the tent lifted in places. Everything got soaked and the next day it was still pouring so nothing would dry out. We had to go home.
EpicEpicnessTheEpic@reddit
Many years ago, me and the wife decided to do a Norfolk Broads boating week. Went early July and it was the most tedious week we've ever had. It didn't help that after three days the weather turned bad and we just spent hours cruising along trying to find something to do.
Never again.
Admirable_Holiday653@reddit
Pontins at Brean Sands. It was truly horrific. Cold damp cabins with tiny,thin cramped mattresses. Plastic School chairs at the table. Ripped curtains that didn’t meet in the middle. The cabin was utterly filthy dirty. Visited the club house which was known as the mega fun factory which could not have been further from the reality. Stayed two nights instead of the four and happily returned home.
BrewtallyCozy@reddit
Stayed at Castle Deudraeth in Wales. Ate at their restaurant and my whole family and I got food poisoning 🙃 We all had different food too.
ci_newman@reddit
Park Dean - Camber Sands.
We love a Park Dean holiday, but that place was GRIM. Used nappies laying on the ground, water leaks in the shower trays and totally rotten caravan floors. We vowed to NEVER return there.
BertieBus@reddit
Pontins in Norfolk. Had never done a pontins/buttons so had zero idea of what to expect.
Room stank, accommodation was just run down, our son was not quite 2, didn't want him playing on the floor because of how gross the floors were.
It also took about 7 hours to get their (bank holiday traffic etc).
TepidHalibut@reddit
For a couple of summers, I'd been revisiting holiday locations from 50-55 years ago, and one September, I spent a week in Anglesey. Storms, rain, wind, cold and locals who didn't want any furriners there. Got a few books read, but I won't be rushing back.
Different_Fall1391@reddit
Butlins. Was not our cup of tea at all. We went to bed early every night and couldn't wait to get home.
We used to have a touring caravan. One year we made the mistake of taking it to the Isle of Sheppy for a long weekend.
Possible_Lion_876@reddit
Haggerston Castle. Everything about it was awful
death-in-tipton@reddit
Went to Scarborough and got serious food poisoning. Was from a piece of fresh roe from a chippy.
Material_Break3593@reddit
Caravan in Rhyl. Trapped my thumb in a caravan door and blamed the country wales from age 7 until I was about 19
Unusual_Resident_784@reddit
Family trip to pontins Southport in 2013. Like being on holiday in a Russian gulag with family members who won't stop arguing. I believe its since been condemned.
the_original_ed@reddit
middlesborough.
THXORY@reddit
Vile place. Still a bit behind Blackpool though.
GrumpyOldFart74@reddit
You went on holiday to Middlesbrough?
You from Peterlee or something?!
thewednesday1867@reddit
I went to Middlesbrough once. After watching Boro beat Lazio in the UEFA Cup, we went on the beer, and it was dreadful, and then things took a significant turn for the worse when we ended up in Jumpin Jaks. I did end up having a chicken parmo though, which was the highlight of the trip.
Organic_Reporter@reddit
Parmos are possibly my favourite discovery since moving to the north east (not Middlesbrough). Love a Parmo.
kowalski655@reddit
Nuff said
dgreen1415@reddit
Middlesbrough
THXORY@reddit
It wasn't a holiday per se, but I went to Blackpool for a weekend with a friend a few years ago. Without a doubt the worst place I have ever been. Felt like it was some kind of post nuclear war dystopia. Truly horrible place.
when_music_hits@reddit
All of them! Miserable weather, high prices, cheaper to go abroad
robbie-jobbie@reddit
London. Was shocked by the wasteland, multiple non-white people and was arrested under Sharia law for showing my ankles.
CrossCityLine@reddit
!dick
spoo4brains@reddit
When I was with GF (now ex) we used to go up to Yorkshire to visit her mum, then go up to visit Northumberland. After a couple of days I got bad food poisoning so was laid up for about 3 days, then when we set off for Northumberland, my GF started throwing up 15 minutes into the journey, so we went back to her mums and she was laid up for the rest of the trip.
Happy days!
Suspicious-Case3861@reddit
I can't really say I've had a bad holiday I've had not as good holidays but thankfully they were all good.
You can always make it a good time unless something is really really wrong
cbaotl@reddit
Thankfully no bad holidays with my husband so far but I’m sure one will come.
As a kid we went to Skegness. The restaurant we liked burned down, my sister got knocked over by a police woman chasing some guy, and my dad stood on my big toe and broke it. Think the next year our parents scrapped together every penny we had to have our first holiday abroad
Delicious-Fee-6225@reddit
Stratford upon Avon was pretty lame
So_Southern@reddit
The one in Edinburgh where I woke up with a horrendous migraine and spent all day wanting to vomit. Went out for some dinner and vomited the whole thing up
Felt slightly better the next day
shiveryslinky@reddit
Well, drove two hours to our lovely holiday cottage today to find out that the owner is ghosting us and we've not been able to get in. Happy holidays!
OverlyAdorable@reddit
I can't remember where it was exactly but it was South West and not Cornwall. It would've been about 20 years ago. They said everywhere nearby was dog friendly so we took our dog. Nowhere allowed dogs. Even our accommodation said they don't usually allow dogs and that there was an extra charge. Not only that, we weren't allowed to leave our dog unattended and they weren't allowed off the lead anywhere. We couldn't do anything as a family because someone would have to be with the dogs
RecentTwo544@reddit
Mate who is basically Karl Pilkington without the intelligent side booked a group of about 8 of us into a caravan/static home type place in Nequay about 20 years ago. Was quite "young person" oriented, nightclub on site, etc. Probably would have been a laugh.
I say "would have been" as the season was basically over and everyone that age back at uni for the week he'd booked in September. There was a pub up the road which is like that scene in Top Gear where it shows them all walking in then immediately out again. We did stop for a pint in fairness and the locals said people staying at the campsite were defacto barred because they didn't want it full of rowdy students/young people, and they had their own place on site anyway. We were allowed to stay out of sheer sympathy.
Was so boring in the end one of my mates spotted a standing tap and hose near our caravan, so went to the local Halfords and bought a load of stuff to spend the day detailing his car...
EyeAware3519@reddit
13 years old. 3 weeks in a cottage on some Scottish island. Absolutely nothing to do but play patience/solitaire. Going back to school and hearing all my mate's tales of Spanish water parks made it even worse.
thewednesday1867@reddit
Cornwall when I was 11. Spent 2 days driving down from Sheffield whilst we did loads of sightseeing. It was red hot. We arrived at the caravan park in Redruth at tea time. Everyone was out drinking beer and having barbecues. The lady who took us to the caravan said she’d had to open the windows all afternoon because it was like a greenhouse. Got up the next morning and it was raining. It rained every day for a week. The day we got up to go home, it was bright sunshine. We had another 2-day drive home and it was red hot all the way back. We never holidayed in the UK again after that.
GlumAd9856@reddit
Butlins 80s weekend in Minehead.
It was like Freshers Week for people in their 30s/40s. I literally saw a guy pissing up against his accommodation wall at 11am.
I could live with the permanent fancy dress/drunken twats behaviour - but there was basically just nothing to do apart from spending far too much on their shit drinks. We went out to the bar and after a couple of awful rounds we decided to just go back to the apartment to drink the alcohol we had there. We then were basically just trying to get drunk enough to enjoy the nightclubs, which never happened.
We left early on the Sunday as no one wanted to hang around.
RecentTwo544@reddit
Working in the dance music industry, and having worked a Butlin's adult weekender, I can safely say the late 30s/40s crowd are WAY worse than kids in their late teens/early 20s these days.
Way more booze and coke oriented, always a nasty combo.
Harrry-Otter@reddit
Somewhere in north Wales, I forget the name of the town.
Weather was shit. Dogs, and accompanying shit, everywhere, was like fucking crufts. Everything was shut on the Sunday so there was quite literally nothing.
OtherRoof8261@reddit
Rhyl?
Harrry-Otter@reddit
No. I remember stopping at Caernarfon on my way home, so I’d guess it were somewhere on the Llyn.
Lazy-University-4839@reddit
Brean, I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. Felt like I was in some sort of post-apocalyptic hell hole
Puzzleheaded_Turn887@reddit
😂
I do have fond memories of that place but I get it. My memories are mainly as a teenager, meeting boys and getting drunk about 3 years in a row, so that’s probably why!
No-Actuator-6245@reddit
Pontins Camber Sands. The wife won a 2 night holiday and as we like Rye so we thought we would try it. To say some of the some (not all) of the guests were rough would be an understatement. Not deterred we decided to stay. At about 1am the first night we got woken up by screaming and shouting outside and soon after police and an ambulance. One of the neighbours had thrown one of his own family through the front window of a neighbouring chalet and he had nearly bled to death.
When we spoke to reception they seemed totally unfazed or sympathetic and made some comment along the lines of it’s not uncommon. We didn’t stay any longer than we had to.
Scottie99@reddit
Prestatyn, awful place.
mackerel_slapper@reddit
A centre parcs. Wife, a veggie, found bacon still on the grill. Complained about this and other things (horse hair everywhere was another.
Day three, son spilt rice crispies on the rug - hoover didn’t work so brushed them up, and the dirt in the rug would’ve made a sewer worker blanch. Last two nights I felt dirty whole time I was there. (To be fair they gave us a voucher and we’ve been to other shows parcs since with no problem).
Repulsive_Dig_133@reddit
Boys Brigrade trip to stay in some kind of old school house right next to a main road with a bog behind it. It was grim. Colditz dorms with bunk beds only fun I remember was shaking up parma violets in coke and drinking it so that the fizz would come out your nose.
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