Would You Come On A Boating Holiday If The Pubs Are Closed?

[Cal]

38 minutes ago, SwanR said:

I can’t believe you said that! 

It is my opinion and we are all allowed one.

 

I don't see it as an enjoyable holiday if a large part of it won't be available. 

 

Judging by how the previous lockdowns have been unwound it is a mute point either way as hospitality, holiday accommodation and pubs and restaurants have all opened at the same time each time. There is little to suggest that this time will be any different. 

 

I suspect those hoping for an Easter get away are going to be deeply disappointed. 

[petersjoy]

I'ts a yes from me too, but the first visit won't be a holiday. after almost 5 months there'll be a lot of cleaning and servicing to do before we can relax on the boat. Oh the joys of owning one

[JennyMorgan]

29 minutes ago, SteveP said:

maybe a spot of fishing

At Easter, tut tut, it's the close season!

That aside, a good sentiment!

[Meantime]

4 minutes ago, Cal said:

Judging by how the previous lockdowns have been unwound it is a mute point either way as hospitality, holiday accommodation and pubs and restaurants have all opened at the same time each time. There is little to suggest that this time will be any different. 

It has been suggested that self catered holiday accommodation, visits to second homes and boats etc would be allowed before hospitality reopens, possibly even as early as Easter. Lets hope so, much as I like a visit to a good pub, any easing of restrictions is better than none. 

[Cheesey69]

Totally. Might miss the food but I’m afraid to say it, pubs are expensive and non to special to let it ruin a break. 

[Cal]

9 minutes ago, Meantime said:

It has been suggested that self catered holiday accommodation, visits to second homes and boats etc would be allowed before hospitality reopens, possibly even as early as Easter. Lets hope so, much as I like a visit to a good pub, any easing of restrictions is better than none. 

A lot of things have been suggested but until Boris announces anything tomorrow it is all just speculation. 

[Cal]

7 minutes ago, Cheesey69 said:

Totally. Might miss the food but I’m afraid to say it, pubs are expensive and non to special to let it ruin a break. 

Use them or lose them.

[JennyMorgan]

Living here my perspective is perhaps different to many of yours. My wife and I are shielding and, thank goodness, we are able to go walking together. On top of that I'm blessed with being able to go fishing or to pootle around on the water, am I spoilt or what? That aside I can only dream about hugging my grandchildren or being able to wander into a riverside pub, to be able to strike up a conversation with total strangers or to be able to sit at a table, surrounded by my family, to have someone to cook and wait on us. The downside is that the world and its dogs would wish to do the same, that the pubs will be crowded plus, life won't be back to normal anytime soon. I can quite understand the reluctance of our government to opening the floodgates, indeed I wouldn't welcome it. 

[Vaughan]

24 minutes ago, Cal said:

It is my opinion and we are all allowed one.

And I agree with it, where the Thames is concerned.  It is a river steeped in history, with historic pubs and restaurants, for which my mother had most fond memories, before and during the War, and without which the cruise would not have the same atmosphere, or style.

The Rose Revived, at Sonning.  The Angel on the Bridge at Henley.  Skindles in Maidenhead.  The Bells of Ouzeley at Runnymede.  The Waterside Inn at Bray.  The Swan at Pangbourne.  The Swan at Streatley, once owned by Danny La Rue.  The Miller of Mansfield at Goring.  The Beetle and Wedge at Moulsford.  The Compleat Angler at Marlow.

And that's just a few, that come straight to my memory. I went to school on the Thames and I ran a boatyard there too. I don't think the cruise would be the same without its historic pubs and I very much hope they survive this situation.

[JennyMorgan]

16 minutes ago, Cheesey69 said:

- - - - - - pubs are expensive and non to special- - - - - - - 

I can't agree that none are special, Surlingham, Rockland and St Olaves all have excellent boozers. Just at the moment I can only dream of walking through the door of a waterside pub, a cheery welcome from mine host, and ordering a well kept pint of Adnams or whatever. As for expensive, I would willingly pay a tenner a pint at the moment! Mind you, I wouldn't welcome the inevitable crowds!

[Mouldy]

15 minutes ago, Vaughan said:

 . . . . . . . . . .  I very much hope they survive this situation.

Those last few words totally encapsulate the problem.  How long can businesses survive without support or income?  If things don’t open soon, many won’t.  The hospitality industry was hit hard last year and continues to be.

If folk don’t wish to visit certain areas when the pubs and restaurants are closed, the chances are a great many won’t reopen when a new normal is reinstated.  What will happen then?

[Meantime]

Just now, JennyMorgan said:

I can't agree that none are special, Surlingham, Rockland and St Olaves all have excellent boozers. Just at the moment I can only dream of walking through the door of a waterside pub, a cheery welcome from mine host, and ordering a well kept pint of Adnams or whatever. As for expensive, I would willingly pay a tenner a pint at the moment! Mind you, I wouldn't welcome the inevitable crowds!

Reading in the paper today that staycations are selling out fast and that in some places prices are nearly doubling. It's going to be a very busy year for anywhere near the sea or a beauty spot once restrictions are eased. The way the EU is managing their vaccination program I think most EU holidays are off the cards for this year. 

[SteveP]

42 minutes ago, JennyMorgan said:

At Easter, tut tut, it's the close season!

That aside, a good sentiment!

My mistake , never realised you mentioned Easter, of course during the close season I would restrict myself to waving at the passing boats.

[JennyMorgan]

12 minutes ago, SteveP said:

------- waving at the passing boats.

May that day come soon, please. Keep your waving arm well lubricated.

[JennyMorgan]

25 minutes ago, Meantime said:

Reading in the paper today that staycations are selling out fast and that in some places prices are nearly doubling. It's going to be a very busy year for anywhere near the sea or a beauty spot once restrictions are eased.

And there lies the problem, the longer we wait for the restrictions to be eased the greater the eventual surge will be. The hotspots were clearly unable to cope last time and the crowds were all to often unmanageable. 

[stumpy]

We'll be up as soon as we're allowed, the first couple of days will be spent cleaning and praying the mighty throbbing BMC will lurch into life, then away but probably victualling on board.

[Oddfellow]

We had people last year trying to cancel because the pubs might not be open. 

It's amazing how petty people can be. Are you coming on a boating holiday or a pub crawl? The two aren't irrevocably intertwined and if its not possible to have a good time without a pub, maybe there are cheaper ways to have a pub crawl than hiring a motor cruiser for a week. 

[unclemike]

what people seem to be forgetting pubs have been on the decline for years, nothing to do with covid,this is why pubs who do food seem to fare better, in our town we  have seen the closure of numerous pubs and clubs in the last few years,as a nation our socialising habits are changing, with the advent of more social media and various other activities now available coupled with cheap drinks available in supermarkets people spend lots of time at bbq's and get togethers whereas years ago they would go down the pub

[Cal]

10 minutes ago, FreedomBoatingHols said:

We had people last year trying to cancel because the pubs might not be open. 

It's amazing how petty people can be. Are you coming on a boating holiday or a pub crawl? The two aren't irrevocably intertwined and if its not possible to have a good time without a pub, maybe there are cheaper ways to have a pub crawl than hiring a motor cruiser for a week. 

You dont need to be on a pub crawl to enjoy a few drinks while afloat.

[eddybear]

1 hour ago, petersjoy said:

It's a yes from me too, but the first visit won't be a holiday. after almost 5 months there'll be a lot of cleaning and servicing to do before we can relax on the boat. Oh the joys of owning one

Same here, cleaning servicing and making everything shipshape again will be the order of the day, will probably have to do all that in a day and travel home afterwards as was the case before no overnight stays, but it least to be able to physically get on board would be enough for me for the time being, as for pubs not that worried would just like to be on the water even if it's only in the marina.

[Meantime]

21 minutes ago, stumpy said:

We'll be up as soon as we're allowed, the first couple of days will be spent cleaning and praying the mighty throbbing BMC will lurch into life, then away but probably victualling on board.

The above sounded just like something MauriceMynah would say, ALMOST 

[annv]

I think it is more that the pubs are food outlets/restaurants as much as drink, the wife my not wont to cook in a small galley without the mod cons she is use to, after all it a holiday for her as well. John

[Mouldy]

50 minutes ago, JennyMorgan said:

And there lies the problem, the longer we wait for the restrictions to be eased the greater the eventual surge will be. The hotspots were clearly unable to cope last time and the crowds were all to often unmanageable. 

Is that the problem?  Remembering back to last summer, despite the crowds and all of the horror stories in the papers showing crowded beaches, the infection rate remained relatively low until the schools went back.  Unfortunately, children of any age, probably don’t understand the potential implications of not observing social distancing, don’t have to wear masks and play together, forgetting that whilst they probably won’t be greatly affected by the virus, they are carriers.  They mix, go home and the virus spreads through the more vulnerable members of society.

I think keeping the schools open through the November lockdown was a mistake - a thought shared by a friend who is became a classroom assistant after being made redundant from his last position.

I fear that sending all of the schools back on 8th March will kick start the spread of the virus and put us back weeks in the efforts to get the country open again.  We’ll have to wait for BoJo to make his speech tomorrow, but I am more concerned about that than opening pubs and restaurants, albeit with restrictions to start with.

[MaceSwinger]

13 hours ago, JennyMorgan said:

There is some speculation that families might be able to come on holiday to the Broads at Easter this year. However, there also appears to be a realisation that pubs and the like won't be open until later in the year. Will you come if nowhere is open? 

Pubs have always been an added bonus rather than a reason to travel for me, and aside from what has become a traditional stop over at the New Inn (mostly because it's a convenient mooring for Horning) I usually make a point to avoid pubs whilst away. I'd much rather spend a night on the mud weight at South Walsham than moored outside a noisy pub. I can spend time around drunken cretins at home (especially as I live in a uni town ).

[floydraser]

25 minutes ago, chameleon said:

what people seem to be forgetting pubs have been on the decline for years, nothing to do with covid,this is why pubs who do food seem to fare better, in our town we  have seen the closure of numerous pubs and clubs in the last few years,as a nation our socialising habits are changing, with the advent of more social media and various other activities now available coupled with cheap drinks available in supermarkets people spend lots of time at bbq's and get togethers whereas years ago they would go down the pub

Agreed. It's the competition for our leisure time. Stricter drink drive laws probably started the decline years ago then as we got out of the habit, along came pay TV with it's box sets, binge watching with drinks at home and now, Deliveroo and the like for what some people call food.

I don't think there's much danger of anyone on this forum staying away because of closed pubs but first impressions are important; the greater danger may be that those who normally go abroad and try the Broads for the first time may have a bit of a duff time after they have read reviews which include decent pubs. 

Anyway, let's all cross our fingers for tomorrow....