Holiday Camps in UK

I was a Butlins regular as a kid absolutely loved it once you are in nothing to pay for, in the funfair all day , football medals to be won . Glamorous Grandma competition , knobbly knees , holiday princess , all the shows . I have been to Ayr , Filey, Skegness and Minehead with overhead railway. LOTSW is my favourite comedy but Hi De Hi comes a very close second and its all down to my time at Butlins . Its just been added to Britbox in its entirety so although I have the box set of DVD's it is convenient to watch when I want a laugh. I also own the Hi De Hi companion book which is quite strange as front half is about Hi De Hi then you turn it over and from the back to the middle its a history of You Rang Mi Lord.

Croft and Perry of course embellished it for effect I don't remember the who can get the most custard down the trousers competition but its something they could have easily done . Their children's entertainer is a Punch and Judy man who is always hitting the sauce and hates kids that would never have happened but its so British . The last episode ever is so poignant as it announces the start of what you see know , the camps were modernised in a bid to combat the rise in foreign holidays a lot of the old style entertainment probably went and there was a move to self catering rather than the food served in the early days by "nippy" like waitresses.

There is a site for those who want to reminisce

www.butlins-memories.com
 
We took our kids to Butlins, Pontins and Haven when they were kids, it had great entertainment, indoor swimming pools, some had outdoor too. There was archery, mini golf, arcades and a club house. It was quite cheap and if you were on a budget with kids it was a good holiday.
 
Did you win the Holiday Princess or Knobbly Knees competition then Pearl or have you been with the grandkids and won the Glamourous Grannie ............................whoops I'm dead aren't I , I was thinking out loud and suddenly it was down in print help!!! :eek:
 
These type of holiday camps are disappearing - so many have closed down to become ruins, or they have been demolished.

There are still some left. The camp you saw in Holiday on the Buses is Pontins in Prestatyn in Wales, and is still in operation.

These holiday camps now have a reputation of the accommodation being run down and not cleaned properly. It is argued because of the relative cheapness of the holiday, they can't justify looking after the accommodation properly.

Holiday camps of this type used to have top entertainers performing regularly - now they offer tribute groups or has-beens.
 
Those places look like they would have been amazing fun growing up. In the video talking about the new documentary coming out it is such a change to see Stephen Lewis talking as his normal self and then going into the Blakey/ Smiler character about 3 min in.
 
I've seen the Butlins in Minehead from a short distance, deliberately keeping my distance. I was in Minehead as a dedicated fan of the novelist Barbara Pym and the mystery author Hazel Holt. Pym set part of her novel No Fond Return of Love there, calling it Taviscombe. All of Hazel Holt's mysteries are set there, also calling it Taviscombe. As long as I kept my back turned to Butlins, I could see the characters and the action from those books overlaid on the people moving about Minehead.
 
We've taken one set of grandkids about 5 years ago, it certainly has changed but it is what you make it, if you go looking for things to moan about you'll find them and it certainly wasn't up to the standard it used to be but the kids loved it and had great fun and at the end of the day that's all that matters.
Cheap and cheerful. It's not 5 star anything and never will be but if you're on a budget it's a holiday for the kids to make memories and you can clean everything when you get home. My daughter wanted us to take them because she had great memories of going when she was little and wanted her kids to have the same.
 
I go to the Butlins 80's weekends every year, and there is only Minehead, Bognor Regis & Skegness left. There used to be loads more, Blackpool, Pwelli to name a few but the option of cheap overseas holidays caused many of them to close.

This year they are booked out sold due to limited overseas travel, but I find them great fun but certainly not 5 star accommodation !
 
I go to the Butlins 80's weekends every year, and there is only Minehead, Bognor Regis & Skegness left. There used to be loads more, Blackpool, Pwelli to name a few but the option of cheap overseas holidays caused many of them to close.

This year they are booked out sold due to limited overseas travel, but I find them great fun but certainly not 5 star accommodation !
We took the kids to a 60s one and saw Jerry and the Pacemarkers and The Troggs, kids loved it.
 
I was a Butlins regular as a kid absolutely loved it once you are in nothing to pay for, in the funfair all day , football medals to be won . Glamorous Grandma competition , knobbly knees , holiday princess , all the shows . I have been to Ayr , Filey, Skegness and Minehead with overhead railway. LOTSW is my favourite comedy but Hi De Hi comes a very close second and its all down to my time at Butlins . Its just been added to Britbox in its entirety so although I have the box set of DVD's it is convenient to watch when I want a laugh. I also own the Hi De Hi companion book which is quite strange as front half is about Hi De Hi then you turn it over and from the back to the middle its a history of You Rang Mi Lord.

Croft and Perry of course embellished it for effect I don't remember the who can get the most custard down the trousers competition but its something they could have easily done . Their children's entertainer is a Punch and Judy man who is always hitting the sauce and hates kids that would never have happened but its so British . The last episode ever is so poignant as it announces the start of what you see know , the camps were modernised in a bid to combat the rise in foreign holidays a lot of the old style entertainment probably went and there was a move to self catering rather than the food served in the early days by "nippy" like waitresses.

There is a site for those who want to reminisce

www.butlins-memories.com
I always felt sorry for the staff, we'd see a staff member late at night running the disco until after midnight and then we'd see the same person at 7am litter picking. I know they weren't that well paid either.
 
I always felt sorry for the staff, we'd see a staff member late at night running the disco until after midnight and then we'd see the same person at 7am litter picking. I know they weren't that well paid either.
I've spoken to a few of the staff during my many visits, they're on a little more than minimum wage, however you have to bear in mind most have accommodation and meals included as well.
 
Back
Top