January, gloomy as it is, is usually the month we all pick up and start planning our holidays for the year. Despite 11 months of Covid-19 disrupting all our travel plans, this one was no different – we’re just all looking at UK holidays now instead.
While Boris Johnson is reportedly ‘optimistic’ about the prospect of all types of summer holidays, there is a lot to contend with before people can consider going abroad. ‘The vaccine programme has got to continue to be successful,’ he said during a visit to Batley, West Yorkshire. ‘We have got to make sure we don't get thrown off course by new variants, we have got to make sure that we continue to keep the disease under control and the level of infections come down.’
With that in mind, many in the UK are starting to plan staycations on the basis that foreign travel might still be a way off – over nine million people may have been vaccinated already, but with a population of 66million in the UK it’s no surprise many speculate it will be a long time before travelling abroad feels safe again.
The thing is, it may sound simple to swap your usual foreign holiday plans for a staycation, but it really isn’t. Particularly, if you’re not made of money with a Cornish bolthole waiting for you. That was made very apparent by one tweet that got a lot of attention this weekend where one woman was quoted £20,000 for a week in the Cotswolds.
Yes, seriously.
According to said tweeter, Lucy Zilberkweit, the £20,000 quote was for six adults and four under five-year-olds, meaning the price per person was £2,000 each. Not to sound all Love Island influencer, but you could fly first class to Dubai and spend a week in a 4.5 star Hilton hotel for £2,295 per person.
Lucy wasn’t the only one, ‘I sympathise, I was looking at Cornwall holidays and nothing was under £5k for a week self-catering,’ replied one woman. And it’s not just a few cheeky Airbnb hosts hoping to catch a windfall thanks to the pandemic keeping us all on the island. Oh no, it’s all UK holidays that are way more expensive then they’re foreign counterparts.
According to holiday-making website On The Beach, holidays in Europe are 66% cheaper than staycations in Britain. Their research showed that a holiday in Brighton would set the average person back £2,558.96 compared to £1,021 for the same type of trip in Turkey. In fact, conducting our own research, we found you can get a non-stop flight to Ibiza from London for £42, while the cheapest train from London to St. Ives in Cornwall costs £84 and includes three changes, taking almost nine hours. On Booking.com, the cheapest accommodation for one night in St. Ives is £125, the same in Ibiza would cost £69.
And they’re only getting more expensive. According to Awaze, the UK’s largest holiday cottage operator, there have been double digit price increases for bookings in the summer when lockdown restrictions are expected to have lifted.
It’s no wonder then that so many are hoping it’s safe enough to travel abroad by the summer, where you can easily get a flight somewhere hot and sunny for less than £50 with cheap hotels aplenty. No volatile UK weather to contend with, no temptation to check emails, no slight resentment at the end of the week feeling like you haven’t ‘really’ had a holiday.
It shouldn’t be more to fly to Ibiza than to get a two hour train up north in the UK.
Unfortunately, it might be what we’re stuck with this summer – but it doesn’t have to be. At least when it comes to the travelling part. Train fares need not be so extortionate, particularly for such dreary journeys. It shouldn’t be more to fly to Ibiza than to get a two hour train up north in the UK – that’s actually quite embarrassing.
Hotels, admittedly, are more complicated. UK holidays are so expensive because historically, there hasn’t been too much demand. Most have always preferred a week away in the sun than a stormy weekend on the isles of Britain, meaning UK hotels and the like have had to keep prices high to stay afloat. Even with demand changing, they may still need to do that to cover the losses the pandemic has wrought – it is after all, a privilege to be able to holiday at all.
But with so much more demand, hopefully that can change – and UK tourism can flourish even if it is with Brits learning more about their own country – and many of us who’ve sat dreaming of our next holiday can come to afford one without getting out a second mortgage. In fact, if we’re hoping for stuff, let’s just wish for all of this to end before summer so we can get off on our European breaks too – we’ve never craved Sangria so much…
Click through for the dreamiest Airbnb's in the UK...
The Best AirBnBs In The UK - Grazia (Slider)
1 of 19Piper House, Stamford
Quite literally a big hose in the country. It's a converted granary with enough space to sleep you and 15 of your nearest and dearest. There is also a tennis court if you and your mates are that way inclined. £380 per night
2 of 19An Cala, Cairngorms National Park
Down the river amongst the trees in the Cairngorms National Park you'll find a cottage with a hot tub and open fires. The stuff of rustic, autumn getaway dreams. Sleeps 10, but you'll probably be just as tempted to go it alone. £250 per night
3 of 19Boutique Houseboat, Cambridge
Here's a little evidence of how nice houseboats can be. We're talking hard wood flooring throughout and a private garden with decking for when you want to come up for air. Only enough room for you and a luck someone I'm afraid. But intimate is good too...£115 per night
4 of 19Thornton Castle Tower, Aberdeenshire
Because why would you not want to live in a castle for a few days? IRL Disney Princesses rejoice, because you can (voluntarily) be locked (with the key) in this cute castle tower up in Aberdeenshire. £115 per night
5 of 19Alpha, East Sussex
If you're all about the view this gem down in East Sussex might be a shout. 'Alpha' fits seven guests, is on a nameless, private road in the middle of a nature reserve and I'd pay the place a visit purely for the underfloor heating. £400 per night
6 of 19Great Long Barn, Somerset
If you and your mates have been looking for an excuse to visit West Buckland, here it is. Quite simply it's a barn conversion, but a beautiful barn conversion suitable for all fun-times. The most exciting bit is that you can ask for two of the beautiful dogs to be part of the booking too!£900 per night
7 of 19Butley Priory, Suffolk
Creepiness aside, it's be pretty damn cool to be able to say you've slept in an Abbey. Great conversation material, right here in Suffolk. Sleeps 15 with five baths to share between you all. £600
8 of 19St Pancras Clock Tower, London
Question: is there any point visiting London without sleeping inside the clock tower at St Pancras station? Answer: yes, obvs. But you and your pals could be some of the few who can say that this is what they did, though. It get's booked up really far in advance though so move quickly if you fancy it. £158 per night
9 of 19Here Be Dragons, Westhall
You could go for any old room in any old establishment, or you could stay in a room in the fairytale house with an iron dragon perched on top of it. Just saying.£295 per night
10 of 19Dairsie Castle, Fife
Another castle for the wannabe princesses out there. It's entirely self catered, so no chance of the cutlery and crockery from Beauty and the Beast popping in to serve tea. But on the plus side you're only an hour away from Edinburgh if you get bored of the medieval vibes. £550 per night
11 of 19AirShip 002, Drimnin Highlands
You read that right: AirShip 002 is yours for the sleepin'. It's an insulated aluminum pod with all the standard amenities with the addition of a huge fishbowl type view of the Scottish coastline. £150 per night
12 of 19Old Smock Windwill, Kent
Who knew windmills could be romantic? Because apparently they can be. You'd have beautiful and dramatic views of the Kent countryside inside a three-floor fully restored windmill where you'll also be left a basket of fresh eggs from the owner's chickens when you arrive. What a treat. £175 per night
13 of 19Cosy Country House, Crawley
This is a cuter version of the sort of place that I imagine relatives of the Made In Chelsea cast to own. It's where they go and frolic in the summer and play rounders and touch rugby and drink mimosas in between country walks. You could live that life for a weekend... £225 per night
14 of 19St. Benedict's Abbey, Loch Ness
Another Abbey, but this time with an indoor heated pool for you to enjoy/pose by. You'd be staying in a self catering that's part of the wider holiday home known as The Highland Club and for where you'd be staying the price is pretty reasonable. £72 per night
15 of 19Riverside Cabin, Constantine
Quaint cabin in the woods anywhere? It's very cosy and was quite literally hand built with wood from the surrounding forrest. There's also an outdoor fire pit for marshmallows and stuff. £55
16 of 19Scandinavian Lodge, Cornwall
Fancy the Scandi but can't make it out to the Nordics? Don't worry you can get a similar type of vibe in Cornwall, don't you know? Well, kind of. Six people can go stay at this beautiful hot tub boasting lodge on the side of a big hill. £200 per night
17 of 19Tree Sparrow House, Cornwall
See here: the treehouse of dreams. It's got those endearing countryside vibes but is also super lose to the sea in Cornwall's Lizard Peninsula. The shower isn't located in your cabin, but the naked trek through the greenery is probs worth it.£110 per night
18 of 19Rockaway, Temple Cloud
You'll really be immersing yourself in another world with this one. Beyond your private room and out in the Rockaway grounds you'll find a vegetable garden and a scrapyard/quarry thing a little outside the site boarders. You'd be staying in a family home but look how incredible that inside-outside conservatory.
19 of 19Blue House On The Beach
The view from the bed, you guys. THE VIEW FROM THE BED! Can you imagine waking up to anything more beautiful (and in England, for that matter)? Down in Camber you need to find a way to stay at this house that's quite literally on the beach. Enough space for eight which'll lessen the financial blow and did we mention the view from the bed?