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Holidays : Holidays at home and days out

Vivienne14

Vivienne14

Kentish Brummie Moderator
Staff member
We’ve had the focus of our holiday arrangements moved in the past. Today Covid may be restricting where we can go, but there may be some inspiration from the past in making summer fun. We’ve been there before.

In the 1940s the Brighter Birmingham campaign (as part of Bevin’s Holidays at Home) was successful across Birmingham with parks and recreation facilities put to full use and a rolling programme of events were in offer.

In the 1970s there were more attempts to get people to take holidays at home as foreign holidays started to bite into British tourism. Holiday camps were still an attraction but not for much longer as as our expectations were changing and the foreign holiday beckoned more and more people.

So what will we be doing this summer ? Do you remember those good holidays at home ? Can we draw inspiration from holiday history ?

Viv.
 

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Smudger said:
II can`t go abroad anymore because of wife`s health, so i`ve booked a week in sunny Bridlington in June & if she`s still fighting fit another week in the Stratford on Avon area. Here`s hoping !
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We have two holiday lets in the centre of Stratford and are really missing going there. I was born there and we married there 20 years ago today. It will be the first year we have not been able to spend our anniversary there. Still we started the day off with a bucks fizz and a walk and will continue our celebrations looking out at the River Lea rather than the Avon. Weather here is mild and sunny.
 
We gave up going abroad many years ago as since then we have always had 2 dogs who came with us , now we are sadly down to one dog and he is coming with us to Devon in May, (if Covid allows)
 
We have a short break canal trip booked for May, outstanding from autumn 2019, we were inspired by Timothy West/Prunella Scales. As time passes we get more doddery, shall we be able to operate a narrow boat now, we've done it before but we were twenty years younger then. We have a No Locks route worked out. Wish us luck.
 
Maybe none of the railway camping coaches were actually on the beach, but on the south coast there were some ex-railway coaches which were converted into holiday homes at the top of the beach , in particular in the Wittering/Bracklesham area. I remember visiting a family who had on ein the late 1940s/early 1950s
 
I'm lucky, I'm a short(ish) drive to the Brecon Beacons and the Gower Peninsula so day trips are sorted and we still go family camping (weekends) here in Wales. Growing up in brum day trips were often to places like the Cotswolds and we'd have caravan holidays.

It would be nice to think brits will stay in the UK and boost the home economy when restrictions are lifted but truth be told the draw of a €1 pint and €2 full English will be too strong to ignore for many.
 
devonjim said:
We have a short break canal trip booked for May, outstanding from autumn 2019, we were inspired by Timothy West/Prunella Scales. As time passes we get more doddery, shall we be able to operate a narrow boat now, we've done it before but we were twenty years younger then. We have a No Locks route worked out. Wish us luck.
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you can do it jim...photos please if you can :) :) :) in fact if and when any of our members can take a break please post your photos think we all need cheering up a bit now

lyn
 
Richarddye said:
We have a new thing (at least for me) in the US, instead of vacation we have STAYCATION (don't blame me) :cool: . Just stay at home...........
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We're beginning to use the word "staycation" also in the UK. It's being used in two contexts: 1) stay at home and just go away for day trips without an overnight stay, or 2) perhaps more commonly, have a holiday away from home but staying in the UK and not going abroad. Dave.
 
farmerdave said:
We're beginning to use the word "staycation" also in the UK. It's being used in two contexts: 1) stay at home and just go away for day trips without an overnight stay, or 2) perhaps more commonly, have a holiday away from home but staying in the UK and not going abroad. Dave.
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We do about the same thing............The US is very large so that you can see different cultures staying in the same car. Mostly one night from home depending upon where you live.
 
Vivienne14 said:
We’ve had the focus of our holiday arrangements moved in the past. Today Covid may be restricting where we can go, but there may be some inspiration from the past in making summer fun. We’ve been there before.

In the 1940s the Brighter Birmingham campaign (as part of Bevin’s Holidays at Home) was successful across Birmingham with parks and recreation facilities put to full use and a rolling programme of events were in offer.

In the 1970s there were more attempts to get people to take holidays at home as foreign holidays started to bite into British tourism. Holiday camps were still an attraction but not for much longer as as our expectations were changing and the foreign holiday beckoned more and more people.

So what will we be doing this summer ? Do you remember those good holidays at home ? Can we draw inspiration from holiday history ?

Viv.
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Vivienne It might look as though it's all change from today , it's happening slowly but it's on the move . Yippee
 
Strange isn’t it that wherever we live we never seem to enjoy visiting our local beauty spots. We moved to Torquay as I had such fond holiday memories but rarely after the move did we visit those places, now having moved back to Cornwall we rarely go, or plan to go once the lockdown is lifted, to the many beauty spots here.
 
nickcc101 said:
Strange isn’t it that wherever we live we never seem to enjoy visiting our local beauty spots. We moved to Torquay as I had such fond holiday memories but rarely after the move did we visit those places, now having moved back to Cornwall we rarely go, or plan to go once the lockdown is lifted, to the many beauty spots here.
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I live in County Durham, about 10 miles to my local beach which we visit 2/3 times a week whatever the weather. Lots of gorgeous places to visit which we do/will visit when this damn virus is sorted. Maybe not the hot sun & warm sea that you get in Spain or Greece but who cares anymore !
 
nickcc101 said:
Strange isn’t it that wherever we live we never seem to enjoy visiting our local beauty spots. We moved to Torquay as I had such fond holiday memories but rarely after the move did we visit those places, now having moved back to Cornwall we rarely go, or plan to go once the lockdown is lifted, to the many beauty spots here.
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Nick, I guess to each his own but we have lived in an number of places mostly because of my work. We have lived in Western NY, Tulsa OK,back to NJ, SC and now TN. All but the last two we had our children with us so my wife who is an educator made sure we investigated the local area and visited the local sights. Because the US is so large (not always a good thing) the culture in NJ is so different than Tulsa which is American Indian country.
Even now it is just the two of us we explore as much as we can with COVID, we will review an area on line and go find it usually within a 100 miles. We leave our garage and drive and do not walk around just drive through usually National Parks which we are blessed to have many in TN.
For me personally, I have had 6 major surgeries in the past 5 years and thanks to Vanderbilt Medical Center I am still here and have a ravenous appetite for what’s around me.
The Forum has been a great motivator for our next trip to Europe, I have watched at least 4 zooms on archeology and history and it has fanned my flame and curiosity!
My apologies for getting off topic but please explore around you and what wonderful and so much history you have. We only get one turn at this, optimize it, you won’t be sorry!
 
We moved to North Devon in 2001. We can hear the sea from our house (I say it sounds much the same as M42 did in Alvechurch) we however do still love to visit the beach especially out of season, there's an half hourly bus service all year around on which we can use our bus passes. On the down side during the summer we have traffic jams and choking pollution. I suppose this could be worse this year if there are more staycations. One of the churches runs a holiday at home week to which the local ring and ride service provides transport.
 
Smudger, Richard & Jim,

It sounds like you've all got it sorted. We're not beach people and rarely visit them unless with relatives over, and never did in the 40 years I lived in Bournemouth. Here I much prefer to go up in the mountains, lots of wildlife and no darned tourists! My Greek son-in-law's place is 2,000 feet up and stays a nice temperature even at the height of the summer, when it often reaches the high 30sC at only 800 feet up where we are. We just like to sit outside in his garden, which has a great view over the bay, have a cool drink and chat - can't beat it. Why would I want beaches with the hordes of Genghis Khan and the burning sun beating down on me? I don't even swim! :)

Maurice :cool:
 
sospiri said:
Smudger, Richard & Jim,

It sounds like you've all got it sorted. We're not beach people and rarely visit them unless with relatives over, and never did in the 40 years I lived in Bournemouth. Here I much prefer to go up in the mountains, lots of wildlife and no darned tourists! My Greek son-in-law's place is 2,000 feet up and stays a nice temperature even at the height of the summer, when it often reaches the high 30sC at only 800 feet up where we are. We just like to sit outside in his garden, which has a great view over the bay, have a cool drink and chat - can't beat it. Why would I want beaches with the hordes of Genghis Khan and the burning sun beating down on me? I don't even swim! :)

Maurice :cool:
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Maurice, I think you have it figured out!
We like the beach, my wife looks for shells and I try to fish(joke) at least I have the rods. We love the mountains here in Middle TN we are a long way from the beach but lakes and mountains are in abundance.
 
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