Bucket and spade breaks, Benidorm beaches or Great British glamping – what do you remember from your holidays?
To jog your memory, we’ve taken a trip down memory lane to remember holidays past.
From what we wore to what we packed in our suitcases, revisit your favourite holidays with our guide to holidaying through the decades!
Take a trip back to:
Holidays in the 1950s
If you went on holiday in the 1950s, you might have some especially fond memories, as this is when holidays saw a post-war boom. With rationing ending in 1954, and many workers receiving two weeks’ paid holiday – often all in one go! – the stage was set for a Great British holiday.
Thomas Cook began marketing foreign holidays in the 1950s but these were unaffordable for most. Only a tiny 2% of the population travelled abroad in 1950, so chances are you will have holidayed by the Great British coast.
You might remember riding the train to Blackpool or hopping on a coach to Scarborough or Margate in the 1950s when seaside resorts were a real holiday favourite. You might have stayed at a vibrant holiday camp like Butlins or Pontins, or maybe rented a room at a B&B where you could smell the sea air and enjoy homecooked bacon and egg breakfasts.
Perhaps you lounged on the beach in a one-piece or enjoyed donkey rides, fish and chips and building sandcastles – all of which were highlights of 1950s seaside holidays, much like the traditional bucket and spade holidays we still enjoy today!
- Holiday allowance – Two weeks’ holiday plus 6 bank holidays for many workers.
- In your suitcase – 1950s holiday dress was iconic! Women often wore one-piece swimsuits while men wore boxer-style swimming shorts with a knotted hankie on their heads. Children were dressed in homemade, knitted swimming costumes.
- Transportation – Diesel locomotives, coaches and, in 1959, the Mini! The first motorway opened this decade.
- Accommodation – Holiday camps, or houses, flats or B&B rentals and, later in the decade, caravans.
- On the radio – Rock Around The Clock - Bill Haley & His Comets
Holidays in the 1960s
If you went on holiday in the 1960s, it could well have been your first holiday abroad. British holidays in the 1960s declined in popularity in favour of sunny weeks spent on the continent.
Maybe your 1960s holiday was your first time in a plane. In 1964, Britannia Airways was founded and flew to destinations like Spain, the Canaries, Malta and North Africa while, in 1966, Freddie Laker founded Laker Airways offering cheap air travel worldwide.
Economy class was introduced at the tail end of the 1950s and this, coupled with the 47% increase in earnings between 1955-1970, meant that your 1960s holiday might have been the first time you could afford to take a flight to your holiday destination.
So, for your 1960s holiday, you could have jumped on a plane to sunny Spain and stayed in a new hotel, sporting some stylish capri pants as your holiday wardrobe. If you were staying closer to home, you might have taken a car trip to your holiday destinations, as some seaside rail lines closed this decade. Do you remember playing car games such as I Spy, and packing a picnic for the journey?
- Holiday allowance – Two weeks’ holiday plus 6 bank holidays for nearly all workers.
- In your suitcase – Bikinis boomed in popularity this decade, as did capri pants which were popularised by Audrey Hepburn.
- Transportation – The closure of some seaside rail lines, plus the growing affordability of personal motor vehicles, led more people to journey by car.
- Accommodation – Newly constructed Mediterranean hotels.
- On the radio – I Get Around - The Beach Boys
Holidays in the 1970s
If you went on holiday in the 1970s, chances are it was to the sunny continent. By 1979, Britons were spending more on overseas holidays than domestic holidays for the first time ever, with Majorca being the favoured destination.
Maybe your 1970s holiday was on the first Club 18-30 holiday, or perhaps you took a trip on the Concorde's maiden flight – in 1976, this iconic plane reduced the travelling time across the Atlantic to 2 hours and 52 minutes, opening up the world to the UK traveller. Other holiday firsts included the first jumbo jet landing in Britain and the first wheelie suitcase – both in 1970.
If your 1970s holiday wasn’t to Spain, chances are it was to the beautiful shores of the UK coast, which received visits from 40 million people in 1975. And, out of the summer season, did you make the most of your extra day off for New Year’s Day? It first became a bank holiday in 1974.
- Holiday allowance – An extra day off as New Year’s Day was made a bank holiday in 1974.
- In your suitcase – A lot more luggage, thanks to Bernard Sadow’s 1970 patent for wheeled suitcases.
- Transportation – Jumbo jets, as overseas travel continued to boom.
- Accommodation – Benidorm was nicknamed the “Manhattan of Spain” in the 1970s, due to the number of high-rise hotels, and had the world’s highest number of skyscrapers per capita.
- On the radio – One Of These Nights - The Eagles
Holidays in the 1980s
Do your memories of 1980s holidays include package deals on budget airlines? Both boomed in popularity this decade, meaning UK travellers enjoyed foreign holidays for less, and breaks were overwhelmingly abroad this decade. You might remember going to destinations such as Gibraltar, Costa Brava and Madeira, all of which were popular in the 1980s.
Or maybe the 1980s was when you took your first ever cruise holiday. This decade saw the advent of cruises where the ships were destinations in themselves. Do you remember embarking on a ship of record-breaking size, and spending all your break enjoying the on-board facilities such as arcades, discos and casinos?
One of the reasons we love the 1980s so much is that this is the decade holidaycottages.co.uk began! Originally called Farm & Country Holidays, holidaycottages.co.uk was founded in 1989 by the Morris family and began letting just 100 properties in rural South West England – were you one of the first to take a holiday with us?
Wherever you went for your 1980s holiday, you probably were sporting a pair of the famous Ray-Ban Wayfarers which were first introduced this decade and haven’t waned in popularity since!
- Holiday allowance – An extra public holiday for Charles and Diana’s wedding in 1981, with EU debates on extending paid leave to 4 weeks.
- In your suitcase – Ray-Ban Wayfarers – the iconic sunglasses were popularised by Tom Cruise in Risky Business.
- Transportation – Budget airlines allowed people to enjoy foreign holidays for less.
- Accommodation – The 1980s saw the beginning of the “cruise to nowhere” holiday, where the ship itself was both the accommodation and the destination.
- On your Walkman – Walking On Sunshine - Katrina and the Waves
Holidays in the 1990s
In this decade, the digital age truly landed, with 1990s holidays coinciding with the beginning of technology’s influence on the way we travel.
If you went on holiday in the 1990s, you might have booked your getaway in a far more high-tech way than popping into the local travel agent; in 1992, Teletext Holidays was created, where holidaymakers could book getaways via their TV. You might remember browsing through the screens to find your next break.
You may have also made the most of duty-free sales in the EU, with a quick hop over the channel to stock up on wine and cigarettes – 1999 saw the end of duty-free sales within the EU, meaning no more ‘booze cruises’.
Or, maybe you made the most of your newly granted four weeks’ annual leave by taking a trip to the continent on the new Channel Tunnel, dressed in dungarees and neon shirts, with a bottle of UVA sunscreen – a new invention this decade – in your suitcase.
- Holiday allowance – In 1998, workers were granted 4 weeks’ paid annual leave.
- In your suitcase – Jelly shoes, dungarees and neon shirts, plus sunscreen containing UVA blockers, which were added to the product for the first time in the 90s.
- Transportation – Driving to Europe became easier with the opening of the Channel Tunnel in 1994.
- Accommodation – There was no accommodation needed if you were making the popular ‘booze cruises’ – out and back to Europe in just one day to capitalise on duty-free sales.
- On your portable CD player – Macarena - Los Del Rio
Holidays in the 2000s
2000s holidays were subjected to a decade of turbulence, with global, political and economic events shaping travel as we know it, yet we still made the most of our time off and created some great holiday memories with loved ones.
You may have taken a long-haul trip to Maya Beach in Thailand, made famous by The Beach. Or maybe you were one of the many who rediscovered the joy of the staycation – there was a 17% increase in people enjoying breaks in the UK in the wake of the 2008 ‘credit crunch’.
If you took a flight in the 2000s, you might remember having to undergo increased security checks, introduced through a series of terror threats to aviation, culminating in the 9/11 terror attacks. It wasn’t all negative, however; if you took a flight in the 00s, you may have been one of the first to enjoy self-check-in, meaning fewer queues at the airport and more time to pack your mankini!
- Holiday allowance – An extra bank holiday in 2002 for the Queen’s Golden Jubilee.
- In your suitcase – Sun-in, string bikinis, and tankinis. Sling swimsuits, also known as mankinis, were popularised, albeit ironically, by the film Borat.
- Transportation – Upheaval in flying due to 9/11 and the Boxing Day tsunami. Self-check-in was brought in, giving travellers more flexibility.
- Accommodation – 17% increase in British staycations due to 2008 economic downturn.
- On your iPod – Umbrella - Rhianna
Holidays in the 2010s
If you took a holiday in the 2010s, did you pick your destination by browsing on Instagram, or check out the best places to eat on TripAdvisor? 2010s holidays were influenced more than ever by technology, with the rise of social media.
In 2010, Instagram allowed travellers to share photos of their favourite locations and, in 2015, a survey found that 48% of Instagram users picked their next holiday destination on the app. By 2018, #travel was the third top trending hashtag on Instagram. Even if you didn’t pick your top travel destination on Instagram, chances are you shared your pictures while on holiday!
It wasn’t just Instagram dominating the 2010s; in 2010, the first TripAdvisor iPhone app was launched, allowing us to read real-life reviews of top destinations and attractions before booking.
If you’re an eco-conscious traveller, maybe you shunned flying for your 2010s holiday in favour of an off-grid glamping trip closer to home; the end of the decade saw a growing awareness of sustainable travel and allowed more holidaymakers to enjoy the simple pleasures of a slower, off-grid holiday.
- Holiday allowance – Extra bank holidays for William and Kate’s wedding in 2011, and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012.
- In your suitcase – Selfie sticks and inflatable pool unicorns both made a brief, yet ubiquitous, appearance this decade.
- Transportation – At the end of the decade, the flygskam (flight shame) anti-flying movement was established in Sweden as a result of popular awareness of flight emissions, and train travel became more popular after the rise of the tagskryt (train bragging) movement in Sweden, inspired by Greta Thunberg.
- Accommodation – Glamping became popular this decade, coinciding with the popularity of music festivals.
- On Spotify – Get Lucky - Daft Punk ft Pharrell Williams and Nile Rogers
Holidays in the 2020s
Just two years into the 2020s, and the Coronavirus pandemic has turned the travel industry upside down, while allowing us to appreciate more than ever the delights on our own doorsteps.
With many countries implementing national lockdowns, international tourism was down 22% in Q1 of 2020. This then fuelled a huge rise in domestic tourism, with 90% of UK residents saying they planned to take a staycation after the 2020 lockdown was lifted.
It seems we’ve come full circle – in a return to the holiday trends of the 1950s, coastal holidays are more popular than ever this decade, with places like Devon and Cornwall in high demand. Many tourists are also looking to spend time in beautiful locations to boost their mental health, leading to the awe-inspiring landscapes of the national parks in Wales and the Lake District seeing a surge in visitors too.
It remains to be seen what the rest of the 2020s will bring, but it’s likely that Covid vaccination statuses will play a part in unlocking the rest of the world, while UK staycations are only getting more and more popular!
- Holiday allowance – Extra bank holiday in 2022 for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
- In your suitcase – Your Covid vaccination status, face masks and hand sanitiser. Walking boots, blow-up paddleboards and other activity equipment as unforgettable experiences are becoming just as important as the holiday itself!
- Transportation – The growing awareness of the climate crisis sees a continuing rise in green travel, cutting back on flights and favouring electric or hybrid vehicles instead.
- Accommodation – Self-catering accommodation, plus the advent of “van life” as people seek to holiday more cheaply and with more freedom.
- In your AirPods – Bad Habits - Ed Sheeran
Holidays in the future
From knotted hankies to Covid passports, holidays have been through a lot of changes in the last 70 years.
But one thing stays the same: holidays are a great way of making memories with the ones you’ll love that you’ll look back on fondly for years to come. Whether you’re taking your grandchildren to the places you once visited as a child, starting new traditions of your own with your family, or setting off on a loved-up honeymoon, the UK provides a stunning backdrop to our most cherished holiday memories.
Take a look at our range of self-catering holidays in the UK by clicking the button below and start making memories with your loved ones this year.
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