Did you go to a Butlins or Pontins holiday camp ?

My kids were forever on holiday as I was the organiser of a local group and got holiday free for taking over a certain number of people. They remember with great affection both Butlin’s and Pontins.
However, one recently took her 2 yr old granddaughter to Pontins at Brean Sands. It was terrible. The chalet was so filthy that when it was inspected the whole of the bedding had to be binned. The lavatory was disgustingly filthy, with even the basin cracked and the cooker and microwave still held stale food. The manager claimed it was due to temporary cleaning staff but as most of the so called advertised attractions were closed, it was just a dreary empty dirty place during the day and filled with drunks fighting in the evenings. She couldn’t get away quick enough. So for those wishing to relive childhood holidays, please, please read comments of people who have recently visit the venue. Pontins at Brean Sands would be closed down should anyone from the local Environmental Health Office make an unannounced visit. It will probably be closed down soon anyway.

I had quite forgotten until I read this thread this evening . My mother and her sister , both retired nurses , decided to have a week in Butlins at Ayr. They were sitting in one of the bars one night when I young man came up to their table and said to my mum " I know you , you are nitty Nora " . she had been his school nurse.

Floradora9 ,you have brought back memories. I never had a holiday at Butlins but worked one summer there as a nursery nurse. I was aged 19 ,
I had to use a bicycle and ride round a camp at night , it was dark and I must have been very vulnerable riding round between 7pm and midnight!!! In a nurses uniform. It was a lonely 5 hours! It took ages to do one circuit of the camp ,so you were very wise to stay in your chalet at night. I was not allowed into chalets but if I heard a child cry I had to cycle to a control room and report it- no radios I could use. Could have been half an hour or more before parents received the message , a horrifying thought ! One evening I heard a child call for help , I dismounted and went to the door , a child told me his baby brother had fallen through his cot. I disobeyed orders and persuaded the child to open the door. To my horror the base of the cot had slipped and the baby was stuck half on the floor and screaming!! I lifted the child laid him safely on the floor , secured the cot with a dressing gown belt and put the child back in his cot , reassured the eldest child that Mummy and Daddy would be back soon , put him into his bed , locked the chalet door and peddled as fast as I could to the control room to get the message out. It does' nt bear thinking about in todays health and safety culture. It was dangerous for the children and for the nursery nurses cycling alone round a dimly lit holiday camp. It was an experience I have never forgotten!!!

I went once to Butlins as a child and loved it and spent 3 summers at Pontins when a student as a waitress.

Our accommodation was absolutely spotless.
I was surprised at how lovely it was.
Snowy white sheets and bedding, too.
I think they must have upped their game.

We went to Butlins in Minehead. Had to be towed in by the AA as our car broke down on the way. As we drove in I saw mattresses left outside to dry !! The AA man must have seen the expression on my face and said "I didn't think you would like it here" Luckily our accommodation was brand new, never been used. The holiday was enjoyable after a bad start, plenty of things to do on site until the car was repaired.

Twice as a teenager. The first time my friend and I had one chalet and my parents another. The next year we were allowed to be there on our own, well sort of, my parents were in a different holiday camp just along the road and checked in us daily . We felt really grown up and had a wonderful time. My friend has dementia now, I recently sent her a photo taken on that holiday which she was able to recall perfectly with a big smile.

We took our two to Butlins when they were about 6 and 8. They loved it, I remember it being jolly hard work keeping up with their enthusiasm to have a go at everything. They weren’t left to the mercies of the chalet patrol, I’d have been far too worried about them.

My first Butlin's holiday was with a school friend when I was 17, in Clacton. We had a lovely little wooden chalet, and a fantastic time.
Later, when my children were about 9 or 10, we went to Butlin's at Minehead and the kids loved it.
So I have happy memories of Butlin's.

Never went as a child, too expensive! In the 80s eldest son won a day trip to Butlins Bognor in an Abbey National competition. DH and I were so grateful he didn’t win a week but the children enjoyed it.
Used to go to Warners though in their opening up for the season cheap prices. Fell in Easter holidays and a bargain with indoor swimming pool and Evening entertainment which DD insisted we went to. But happy memories of the days though ?

We took our two boys to Butlins. My husband won the Hairy Legs competition. His legs looked awful really but they did s good job of keeping my legs warm at night until we divorced.

My parents would never have gone to a holiday camp, but when I was in my late teens I went with a friend to one in Skerries (near Dublin) in Ireland. It was called Red Island, and I see it was closed in the late 1970s. We had a great time, not least because we were by far the youngest people there. The male members of staff made a great fuss of us. Lots of flirting, but nothing serious. The food was marvellous. We flew home - our first ever trip on a plane. This was in 1959.

Went with a girlfriend when I was 17.

Came 3rd in the Holiday Princess contest! Wore a ghastly burnt orange towelling bikini that didn’t fit very well over my flat chest.

We both ‘got off’ with lads who worked there, I was quite innocent and didn’t allow much hanky panky, thought he would dump me, but didn’t.

He even wrote to me after the holiday, he had beautiful handwriting, but I didn’t reply.

Very occasionally, wonder what happened to him.

In the 70s I worked at Butlins, 1972 I was a Redcoat at Butlins Filey,1975 I worked in minehead and 76 I worked in Pwhelli…. Had a fantastic time….(I remember drinking copious amounts of snakebite in the staff bar!!)… Oh yes my final season at Butlins was 77 the year Elvis died and that too was at Minehead..

In 1967, when I was 17, four of us from school went on holiday to Butlin's in Minehead and had a whale of a time! We met a group of four lads from St. Austell with whom we spent most evenings.

About 10 years later a teaching colleague showed me photos of her friend's wedding. The groom was the chap I'd dated on that holiday! Small world!

My husband worked for Courage in London, and Butlins invited him and his team for a free weekend. We went with three of his team with their wives, unfortunately I've no memory of which one we went to. Fantastic for children, I remember the camel racing game!

Nope never went. My parents remained faithfull to
Blackpool and the lights and the ballroom dancing.
That was what the 'holiday money' was saved for.
Summer holidays were at my Gran's round the corner
and day trips to Scarborough.

Sadly I never went to a holiday camp although I think I would have loved it! My father would only go on holiday to somewhere really special with very comfortable accommodation and excellent food. This was, of course, very expensive so we didn’t go. He said he would rather stay at home in a clean comfortable house where he could trust the food.

No, but I’m sure I’d have loved either. Our seaside holidays were always at the quiet end of the beach, but a granny who sometimes came with us would take me to the pier and all the noisy colourful rowdiness my folks didn’t care for - she thoroughly enjoyed it too!

It wasn't my parent's thing when we were young but we took our kids when they were little and loved it. I remember winning a lovely Mum competition or similar at Pontins. We then progressed to similar things abroad. They were of their time and I wouldn't want that sort of holiday now.

I went to a NALGO holiday camp run by the Union. Every adult had a nickname badge, surnames were not used so no one knew what level of local government any one was. I remember my mother only took skirts and had to rush to a local shop when she discovered most of the women wore shorts.
We went to Butlins with my mum and dad when my children were young. They loved it. They still talk about it.

On a school trip supervising one of the more troubled youngsters I mentioned to him that I would be going to Butlins the following week (an annual holiday to a big Christian Festival) and I shall never forget the shocked look on his face as he retorted; “Miss, I didn’t think you would go on a drunken holiday.” Apparently Butlins was his family’s holiday of choice and his response told me all I needed to know about his experience there.

Spent a summer as a student in the 60s working at Butlin's Filey initially as a barmaid and then a cashier.

My mum used to save up vouchers from the Eagle comics and always seemed to have enough to get us 5 all in free for a day trip to Butlins in Bognor. Once she had enough to give to the family behind us in the queue and their little boy was free too ! We all loved the place. Swimming in the indoor pool, boating on the lake and fairground rides .
When I was about 11 my mum took just me for a week's holiday to butlins. It was shortly after my gran died and my dad thought mum needed a break away.We had a lovely week in the sun. My lasting memory is of having baths every evening filled to the brim with warm water and bubble bath. At home we were only allowed a few inches of bath water as all of us bathed out of an hours immersion tank.
Funny what seemed luxury then !

As a small child I desperately wanted to go to a holiday camp. They seemed such fun. But I had no success. Holidays were not a big feature in our family. DF was in the army, we were constantly on the move. Leave was usually spent heading south to see our family and being posted to places like Hong Kong, Singapore, Germany, which were holidays in themselves.

Went there in the early 80s with DH and to sons aged 10months and nearly 2 and a half years old , had lots of fun though remember constantly washing there cloths and nappies as disposables where to expensive , good old days lol