Travel 70 miles (sharing a van with one other household) and stay overnight for recreation purposes?

w00519773

A friend of mine is thinking about booking a weekend away for six of us (from six different households) soon.  We would plan to travel about 70 miles on the Saturday and then do some cycling on the Saturday and running on the Sunday.  I am concerned about the overnight stay.  There are a few options:
1) Stay in a hotel or multiple hotels if necessary - there are many hotels in the area.
2) My friend has a holiday home in the area, so all of us stay there.  It is empty at the moment.
3) Sleep in a tent in my friends holiday home garden - it is a large garden.
Are the three options above permitted? I have read this webpage: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/covid-19-coronavirus-restrictions-what-you-can-and-cannot-do
It says: "indoor gatherings are limited to 6 people or 2 households".  I have tried to get some clarification (does it mean six people from two households?) on this and I have found this: https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/can-stay-overnight-rules-staying-24100892.  It says: "Yes, from May 17 you will be allowed to stay overnight with family and friends. As in any indoor setting, this will be subject to the Rule of Six.  This means you can meet in a group of up to six people from different households, or two households of any size.".  Therefore I believe any of the options above are permitted plus it is allowed to travel 70 miles for recreation purposes.  I may share a car with one other household.  Have I understood this correctly?

Mrs_Soup

I think any of those options is now allowed.  It can be 6 people from 6 different households or more than 6 if from only 2 households eg two families of two parents and two children each = 8 but from only two households.  8 people from 6 households is not allowed. That said I would keep as much space as possible, eg stay at the holiday home but maybe some in tents or in separate rooms - keep windows open if all together for meals or eat outside.  Just a bit of common sense. Have you all got lateral flow tests- do those before you go as an extra safeguard. 

TBagpuss

Yes the government guidance (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/covid-19-coronavirus-restrictions-what-you-can-and-cannot-do#meeting-friends-and-family-indoors-rule-of-6) says "You may stay overnight in holiday accomodation in groups of up to 6, or larger groups if everyone present is from 2 households (including support bubbles) unless a legal exemption applies."  and "You must not share a private vehicle in groups larger than 6 people (except when everyone present is from no more than 2 households), unless your journey is made for an exempt reason."

So you would not be breaking the rules. That said, just because you *can* doesn't necessarily mean you *should* - you'd need to consider your own level of comfort with the risks - for instance , have you been fully vaccinated yet? What about the other5 people? 
It would be sensible to get and use lateral flow tests the day before you leave and the day you return home, and consider how large the holiday home is - is it big enough that you can each sleep in a separate room? If not, then it would probably be sensible for some of you to sleep in tents in the garden (or in hotels)  so that no-one is sharing a room overnight, and for you to aim to do as much socializing as possible outside , and to keep doors and windows open so the rooms as well ventilated when you are indoors