Help please with my s/c holiday

narabanekeater

Well a week away in Blackpool.
After cutting back a lot over the last year weve decided to ditch going abroad for 2 weeks this year and have 2 weeks in sunny England at different times of the year. Trouble is I have no experience of s/c holidays.
I know that I dont need to take bed linin but what do I need to take. Were staying in a self contained flat so I guess its everything from loo roll to washing up liquid.
Knowing how organised we are on this board :j do we have a list or thread somewhere I can look at to make sure I pack all the right things. KNowing my luck I will forget loads and end up buying it at Blackpool in expensive shops.
Also what sorts of foods will survive a car journey of 150 miles.
Im just totally having a blanc moment
Can anyone please help? :eek:

troll35

One thing to set your mind straight...Blackpool has all the usual supermarkets and lots of cheap cheap shops so anything you forget can easily be bought. If you have never been S/C before why don't you ask the holiday company/owner what exactly is included in terms of equipment etc. They will ( or should) be very understanding and helpful.
Check out your favourite supermarkets web site to locate their stores in blackpool. Then you can use streetmaps.co.uk or mapquest.co.uk (or other map site) to get street maps of their location in relation to your holiday flat etc.

Most foods will survive 150 miles if packed well. Any foods from the fridge/freezer will need to be kept in a cool bag.

melt71

I don't know of a list but you will need all the basics as you have already mentioned; you could start putting your own list together quite easily just by looking around your kitchen/bathroom. For example, you will need washing up liquid but you will also need something to wash the dishes with such as a sponge/scrub thingy! You'll also need tea towels to dry the dishes afterwards as there will probably be lack of space to leave them to dry naturally. I take loads of loo rolls, wet wipes (also useful for the journey) shampoo & conditioner, soap, toothpaste and something to shower with such as shower gel and an exfoliater. That's pretty much it I think.

Foodwise I usually take cereals, tins, pasta, rice, veg and potatoes, eggs etc in a big plastic storage box and then a cool box with milk, butter, cheese, bacon, chicken and anything else that I usually have in the fridge. Do a mealplan for the amount of days that you are there and try to work out what you will need. 150 is only a few hours in the car so if you have those frozen blocks to go in a cool box/bag the food will be fine in the boot until you get there. Everything you take must be easy to cook as the facilities will be VERY basic and cramped!

Have a nice time

narabanekeater

Looks like the cars going to be full as we also have a travel cost and DD to take plus all her bits like nappies etc

filigree_2

If you're going by car, just do your shopping when you get there - like troll35 says, check the websites to find the nearest supermarket.

There are some things that you might not want to buy a whole pack of though, ie when I went self-catering I took a fistful of teabags so I wouldn't have to buy a whole box when I got there. Similarly I took my collection of ketchup sachets so we wouldn't have to pack or buy a whole bottle!

If it was me I'd take enough for one evening meal and the essentials (like teabags!) so I didn't have to rush out to the supermarket straight away. You could freeze a family meal like spag bol, so on your first night you have something quick and easy to eat. Definitely take some loo roll, we got caught out once when the chalet didn't have enough

Rachie_B

id do a loose meal plan so you at least know roughly what quantities of things you will need

id (if i had room ) take the slow cooker and my george probably too or a disposable BBQ

id also make sure i had a cool bag for picnics on days out
frozen HM meals would be fine on the journey just wrap in newspaper then in a cool bag,they can then go in the fridge once you get there

r.mac_2

my suggestion is decanting things to make travel easier - i.e. you won't need a whole bottle of washing up liquid - so decant some into a smaller bottle. same with teabags and coffee - decant into tupperwear.

i was away with my family over easter. Mum always akes baking with her and enough for one meal. We eat out a lot while we are away - but then mum and dad aren't watching the pennies like i am - so instead of buying them a meal out - i cooked for them in the house. We wre lucky and had every mod con going, but i have stayed in a lot of flats which don't have ovens (especially in Italy for some reason). Bear this in mind!

Basically have a wonderful time

Linda32

If you use salt, pepper, sauce, mayo etc, remember those, very expensive to have to buy all new.

wishingonastar_3

as you drive in to blackpool from the motorway, (junction 3 it is from the M55) there is a large tesco extra store there, or if you carry straight on past the tesco for about 1mile (may nt be that far, i'm rubbish at distances) theres an asda. you could stock up on food for your stay, at least enough to get you started. if you want to pm me with whereabouts your staying in blackpool, as i'm local i can give you some pointers where you can find cheaper shops.

hth

woas.

Penny-Pincher!!

I normally do a meal plan for 6 days and allocate a take-away one of the days as a treat. Then write down all food you need to prepare and cook these meals along with any veggies etc. Then work out your breakies-I normally take enough bacon, sausage, eggs, beans, mushrooms etc for 2 cooked breakies or bacon/sausage sarnie. Then the rest take a box of cereal or bread/jam/honey etc-whatever is best liked. Lunches normally consist of baked spud, or tinned/HM soup, sarnies/rolls or something on toast (beans, egg, mushrooms etc). Then would also take things like crisps, fruits and biscuits as snacks. These are the kind of things I take and put them into groups:

Drinks-Tea/Coffee/Sugar/Milk/OJ/Squash/Beers/Wine
Fillers-Bread/Rolls/Rice/Pasta
Veg/Fruit-Spuds/carrots/cabbage/apples/bananas/pears/onion/salad
Fridge-Butter/Cheese/Ham/Eggs/yogurts
Meat-Chicken/mince/sausage/bacon/fish
Tinned-baked beans/tomatoes/soup/sweetcorn/peas/custard/rice pud
Condiments-sachets ketchup/vinegar/HP/mustard/mayo/gravy/jam
Snacks-Crisps/biscuits/noodles/HM cakes
Other-wash liquid/loo rolls/cloth/bin bag/vinegar or bleach/t-towel/towels/wash powder

The above would give us enough for daily breakies(2 cooked or brunches) and lunches and 6 main meals of Roast, Chicken muck (leftover chicken with mushroom soup) served with rice. Spagbol with long spagetti and Chilli con carne with Rice. HM fish pie and veg and sausage, mash and veg.


HTH
PP
xx

pandas66

Don't forget a bottle opener/corkscrew, I take 1 on every holiday s/c or not.....couldn't leave it too chance!

Large superstores are;
Morrisons, airport area.
Tescos on Clifton Retail Park, just off the M55.
Asda, Cherry Tree Road.
There is a Lidl and Aldi close to Bloomfield Road area.
There are many Tesco Express's along main Roads, Whitegate Drive has 2 and in the centre of town.