Tuesday 23 March 2021

Staycation.


'Staycation' really is a horrible word. Whoever coined it should be burned at the stake!

However, holidaying in one's own country is 2021's biggest new trend, as foreign trips are now illegal (other than for specific business, or political, reasons).

So, here are few ideas for that week or two away from home. There's Eastnor Castle at £57,540 a week, or Glin Castle at £41,925 a week, or Carlton Towers at £62,200, or for even much better value why not try Kirtlington Park at a mere £28,000 a week. All (I'm sure you'll agree) are lovely locations.


Yes, of course staying at home is going to prove a tad more expensive than visiting a Costa or the Maldives, but there ARE advantages. British rain is delightful in Summer, and sea, river, or pond water is extremely bracing. Most towns have plenty of Charity shops to visit, park benches are often totally free of charge, and the UK has the best fish-n-chips in the world. 

Have a great Summer; but don't forget your masks and hand sanitiser. I still can't decide which of the above I'll go for!

 

37 comments:

  1. Must be in the right country. We only had 3 nights away but even if we had stayed a week it wouldn't have cost a fraction of that and the scenery and attractions were world class. The daily breakfasts were sumptuous and the other meals excellent.

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    1. It'd be cheaper to fly to NZ, spend a month in the very best hotel, eat in the finest restaurants, and still have enough left over to buy a few big diamonds! I wonder how many takers they'll have?

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  2. Staycation is Stay at Home, UKation may be an option soon while going abroad will be delayed for a long while for me.

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  3. There was a raised eyebrow or two here when I saw those prices! To think I used to think that the weekly holiday rental on the Big House across the river from where I used to live was dear at £2,000 a week (10 bedrooms or so and in-house swimming pool and gym). I guess you pay for the address . . .

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    1. You can still only use one bed, eat a few meals, and stay out of one lot of rain. The other few 10's of thousands are for telling your friends where you've been.

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  4. I looked at staying in a city hotel for a couple of nights, a mere two kilometres from home. My god, the prices were ridiculous. I had a rethink on that.

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    1. The rise in popularity of camping vans is understandable.

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    2. I was once warned about camping.

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  5. When we are allowed out I will take my holiday home on wheels. I made provisional bookings in January and the Caravan and Motorhome Club don’t charge up front. Just 48 hours notice if you aren’t coming. Their prices hadn’t gone up since last year so 25-30 a night on average. That knocks a few noughts off those prices. Just crossing my fingers for some warmth and sunshine. Happy to stay UK.

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    1. You can also just pull-up in a well positioned lay-by, I imagine.

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  6. This summer we shall probably be either packing ready to move home or just sitting out in the garden. We have extra supplies of Bombay Sapphire and Fevertree tonic in our emergency supplies pantry.

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    1. We too have the Bombay Sapphire, but only Schweppes I'm afraid.

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  7. Funny. Staycation, I think, is a USian word, and for us it means actually staying at home, not taking a vacation within one's own country as it seems to do for you.

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    1. It's a horrible word; whatever it means. I always thought it referred to the country rather than the home... but I'm here to be corrected.

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    2. Not a correction at all: just observing the evolution & migration of meaning from one side of the Atlantic to the other. Not in love with the word either. It started as a made-up media/newspaper/lifestyle column word a few years ago during the great recession and now people actually use it in conversation.

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  8. Ah, I will me missing the charity shops this year I 'm afraid.
    Great excitement in les Pays Bas tonight: the speech of our demissionary cabinet. Questions will rise such as:
    What will happen to the curfew, 10 instead of 9.
    Where exactly is the secret Dutch factory with the big supply?
    Oh well keep calm and carry on.

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    1. Your final sentence is the best advice, even if we have to do it from our own homes.

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  9. If I had the money I would happily rent a castle (with staff) for a week or two, and waft around rooms and gardens as if it all belonged to me. I'm not sure I'd even invite dozens of other people to share it with me!

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    1. Personally I'd prefer a little old cottage in the countryside (which is what we already have).

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  10. We have looked at renting a cottage somewhere in the UK for a week this spring. They are mostly fully booked and the ones that aren't are for larger groups so cost a fortune. Which I wouldn't mind paying if only you could guarantee the weather.....some hope! Forking out hundreds of £ to walk the dog in our galoshes and eat in freezing "beer gardens is not my idea of any kind of vacation!

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    1. Stay at home, re-stock the wine cellar, and treat yourselves to all your favourite things. You'd save a fortune too!

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  11. And as for the best fish and chips in the world - that used to always be true but not any more - some places have five star on offer but other places - pathetic.

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    1. My home cooked fish-n-chips comprises of fish fingers, and McCain oven chips; anything would be preferable to that.

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    2. In my ever so humble opinion, I still believe that England sells the best fish and chips in the world. It's just a question of where you buy them. Usually best at the coast or Up North.

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    3. The Victoria Restaurant, Brighton Pier!

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  12. You've got to be joking. Even if I had enough to pay their prices I wouldn't waste it by staying in a castle for 60 odd thousand a week.
    As you say, a country cottage... and a personal chef and it would be a fraction of the price for double the comfort. I wouldn't need to walk ten miles of corridors to find the dining room for a start. Dining room, breakfast room, morning tea room, 20 bathrooms, how many rooms do you need?

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    1. You could visit each room (this might take some time), sit down for a minute, shout something silly, then move on to the next one.

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  13. Next year I hope to go to South Korea , and Italy

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    1. S Korea would be wonderful. The people are charming, the food exceptional, and the whole country very forward thinking.

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  14. And John, I'm going to guess that you could go to all of those places more cheaply than you could go to one of these castles.

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    1. Take off the first two numbers, and you'd be almost there!

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  15. 'Staycation' really is a horrible word. Whoever coined it should be burned at the stake!...I believe it was Boris Johnson.

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    1. I think you're confusing him with little Jezza Corbyn, and his stake is already booked.

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  16. Replies
    1. Shouldn't that be Brrrrrr; none of these places has central heating.

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  17. After reading your post, I looked up the definition, and indeed it does mean vacationing in ones home country instead of abroad. I agree the word is awful. It trips and stumbles over the tongue in a most disagreeable way.
    I always had the impression that it meant that you took some vacation time from work, but stayed home because of a lack of funds, or due to the pandemic restrictions.

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