UK holiday recommendations please

[Geri]

Cornwall is beautiful but it will be rammed in August and driving there from Lincolnshire would be hellish. What about Yorkshire - Scarborough or Whitby, maybe?

 

[not-bono-ever]

^^^^ Staithes and the area around there is lovely. Decent geology as well

 

[Steel Icarus]

Cornwall is beautiful but it will be rammed in August and driving there from Lincolnshire would be hellish. What about Yorkshire - Scarborough or Whitby, maybe?

Been on holiday to Scarborough a dozen times on holiday

 

[hash tag]

my suggestion for Purbeck/Dorset was simply an alternative to the above, with pubs, ruined castle, museums, sea Etc. My fave would probably involve South Dartmoor and Exeter. Great walking country with great views. Towns with shops, restaurants, pubs, museums, boat trips, heritage railways and
Underground Passages - Exeter City Council

 

[Steel Icarus]

Some excellent food for thought on this thread. Much appreciated.

 

[Riklet]

Dorset is really brilliant both inland and on the coast. Near to Devon too. Plenty of areas to explore and something for everyone. Id avoid Cornwall in peak summer.

Isle of Wight maybe?

 

[marshall]

Northumberland has some spectacular beaches, particularly good for rock pools. Usually with a castle as a scenic background, Bamburgh for example. Didn't stay in Seahouses, but it's where you catch boats to check out the puffins and seals, so handy to be close. It's been a few years, but I don't think it's much of a drive to Holy Island (Lindisfarne) either which is definitely worth a visit; bleak, easy to picture the Vikings scaring the shit out of the locals. And Anwick isn't far, if you fancy a bit of Harry Potter. If you do, check out The Poison Garden - it's a guided tour in the grounds, but pretty educational in terms of what's growing in the English countryside, deadly stuff. And check out Barter Books, huuuuge bookshop in the old Anwick station, seriously, spectacular.

North Norfolk's great too, but you must know all that, being in Lincolnshire. Happy Valley Camping do some quite cool shepherd huts, cabins in the wood, more clamping and quite 'north norfolk', iykwim, not very 'urban', lil' bit posh in a shabby chic way. But very nice, and perfectly located for Wells-next-the-sea (best beach in North Norfolk), Blakney (seals) Holt etc.

 

[Ground Elder]

Another vote for Cornwall- Torquay etc is just beautiful.

That'd be Torquay in Devon?

I get away from Cornwall every August, so you're welcome to it.

 

[hash tag]

Coming back to money no object, seaside and South Coast/dorset for weather, with lots of stuff to do nearby, how's about Sandbanks?
Certainly go there for a drive around, stopping perhaps not recommended.

 

[hash tag]

PS. A call out for Margate or Ramsgate. Whitstable is very popular. Down South for weather, lots to do including the Turner Gallery and Firmly exhibition at the moment. Lots of pubs and the like for eating, lots of good, easy coast walking in both directions.

 

[passenger]

Deal in Kent wonderful place.

 

[Steel Icarus]

Deal in Kent wonderful place.

Stayed in Ashton in Kent a few years back. Lovely scenery. Went to Canterbury and a couple of places round there.

 

[mwgdrwg]

Couple of years ago we did Edinburgh for a few nights then onto Loch Ness. So culture followed by scenery. Really great.

There's always Rhyl!

 

[geminisnake]

Whitby or Durham, both places I want to go. If you do think about the west coast of Scotland remember there's midges, just saying

 

[hash tag]

Whitby and Durham are both great in their own, different respective ways.

 

[neonwilderness]

Durham is nice for a day out, but I’m not sure if I’d want to have a holiday there.

Whitby is a good shout. Plenty to do in the town and it’s not far from some decent scenery.

 

[hash tag]

Durham is good for a day at least what with The Oriental Museum and The Cathedral also a very good base, somewhere to coma back to at night with plenty of places for food and drink.
Smallish City, big on students.

 

[hash tag]

Did you want beach. BIG beach? Big enough for kite boarding/buggyiny Etc. Camber Sands - Wikipedia
It's not far from Hastings, Dungeness, Romney, Rye, Dover, Eastbourne Etc.

 

[MsHopper]

The Northumberland coast is dramatic and you can do things like sea kayaking (don't know if your kids are old enought though). Don't have any recommendations for particular places to stay but when I was there we stayed on the coast across from Lindisfarne and it was beautiful. Berwick up Tweed is also nearby as is Alnwick that has Barter Books - a fantastic second hand bookshop.

 

[kebabking]

Dorset if you want the South - beaches galore, fantastic countryside, nice, historic towns like Dorchester, Sherborne, Bridport, Shaftsbury, easy trip to Salisbury for the amazing cathedral, and if you want really old, there's Maiden Castle outside Dorchester - the largest hill fort in Britain and bits of it are only 6,000 years old... you can even go to Portland to teach your children about genetics.

Northumberland if you want the North - 100 miles of beaches, endless countryside, hill and forest, more castles than you can shake a stick at, nice towns like Alnwick, Berwick, Rothbury and Hexham, Lindisfarne, day trips to Durham and Edinburgh, Newcastle for a good city day.

Anglesey if you want the West - huge numbers of small beaches, many with their own beach cafes, neolithic burial tombs you can go in, lots of good walking, easy access to the castles of North Wales and Snowdonia. Holyhead is a bit of a dump, but Conwy, Bangor and Caernarfon are nice...

slightly more off-field options - (1) Dumfries and Galloway, an area the size of the Lake District with 7 people and a dog called Colin in it. its got a 'book town', Wigtown, and some gorgeous seaside villages like Portpatrick. Dumfries isn't all that, Carlisle is nicer - if you need a city bit of your holiday, Glasgow is a looong way. (2) Inverness. nice, small city, surrounded by bucolic countryside, mountain, forest, the sea, beaches, nice towns like Nairn and Elgin, its only an hour out to Ullapool and the west coast. if you've not been it will take your breath away.

 

[Maggot]

A castle just down the road. Dorchester and Lyme Regis within driving distance. A stone museum. A steam train!

Lyme Regis is a long way to go for a day trip.

My favourite pub, the Square and Compass in Worth Matravers is very close.

 

[Cloo]

The area around Sunderland (but not Sunderland itself) has a lot of lovely stuff in it, we found 7 years ago!

 

[hash tag]

Im beginning to think everyone knows the square and compasses

Head to Dorset just before August bank holiday and you can go to the great Dorset steam fair
A few days of something for everyone.

 

[Supine]

I know the Square and Compass too

Does it still get French phone reception!

 

[eoin_k]

Another vote for north Cornwall: here is where DH Lawrence got driven out of town for philandering with the barmaids.

 

[Voley]

Cornwall's ace. I'm biased towards Penwith right at the end but I've become a big fan of the North coast lately.

A few photos from the last few weeks:

 

[hash tag]

I'm told Clovelly is pretty and hilly. Then Westward Ho! The only place with an official apostrophe.

 

[souljacker]

I'm told Clovelly is pretty and hilly. Then Westward Ho! The only place with an official apostrophe.

Cunningly disguised as an exclamation mark...

 

[hash tag]

Indeed...lost it trying to work, deal with clients and listen to footie '

 

[Boudicca]

I know the Square and Compass too

Does it still get French phone reception!

Certainly no UK signal. I have to keep running to the car park to check messages.

If you want a good base in Dorset and money is no object you can have my house in Bournemouth and I will go somewhere else. There is no culture here though. Unless you like tribute bands...

But I reckon you should get your son to do his research and present you will a shortlist. This way he will find it much less easy to complain.