England Trip

thomasross20

So on my way to the Leicester jam, as I have about 3 weeks of holiday left, I was thinking of making a week of it and visiting a few places. Some folk have offered to put me up for Leicester which is great, but I still think I'm going to drive and see some places. Any recommendations!? Peak District? Cotswolds? I've been to York before with Sheena. Always fancied Cornwall though not sure if I'd drive that far South. Oxford/Cambridge? Really... in November (!) what would you recommend? 

Moominpapa

What about Northumberland? Has some spectacular coastline, Housestead's Roman fort up on Hadrian's Wall, Kielder Forest Park, historic Durham. Probably less rammed with tourists than the Lake District, too.

Bridgehouse

Lincoln is quite nice for a visit too

Winny_Pooh

New Forest, Bournemouth, Jurassic coast is good

TTony

Really depends on what your idea of a good time is ...

Being realistic, Cornwall is a hell of a long way away - and Oxford/Cambridge are about as car unfriendly as it's possible to be, so  my personal choice would be to avoid those.

On the few occasions that I've travelled down the East Coast mainline, I've always had an urge to get off the train and just sit and enjoy some of the scenery where the line follows the coast.  It's stunning.  November might be a bit dull, or you might get lucky with the weather.  That takes you down through Berwick with perhaps a trip out to Holy Island.

Divert inland to the Norh Pennine moors.  Scenery again - it's bleak and huge.  I'd be looking for a decent pub, b&b, and maybe an acoustic slot in the bar in the evenings ...

Back out to the coast for Whitby/Scarborough.    Fish & chips in Whitby, followed by fish & chips in Whitby.  And then chips & fish in Whitby - just for something different.

Decent hotel with sea views ... 

Harrogate is "nice" if you want a bit of posh Yorkshire.  I believe that they say "please" with the insults.

I still think that the Humber bridge is a sight to see.  The downside is that Hull is at one end and Grimsby & Scunthorpe are a bit difficult to avoid the other end.  

Peak District is fine, but - tbh - if you've been through the  North Pennines and/or Yorkshire Dales - would probably just look a bit same-y but with more tourists, more expensive parking, and more souvenir shops.

But, depends what you're looking to do / see / experience!

Jalapeno

World Guitars, Stonehouse (nr Cheltenham) !

thomasross20

Thanks for including specifics like things to see etc... 
Oh so World Guitars is also near the Cotswolds, eh? 
So many places to see... 

Nitefly

Or head south from Edinburgh down the A701 through Tweedsmuir and Moffat then go on to the Lake District.

EricTheWeary

Oxford. If you use the very good park and ride it's very car friendly. Everything you'd want to see is in a compact area, it's interesting to walk around, brilliant free museums. Then the Cotswolds on the door step. 

With a bit of a dog leg between Leicester and Oxford you could take in Stratford Upon Avon. Quite touristy, not massive but nice, a few really interesting things to see and one of those ' must see' places. Loads of parking. 

ToneControl

cities or landscapes? stately homes?
would you go hiking?
would you do a trip through the best guitar shops?


Chester - a top tourist spot because of the medieval "Rows"  (and it's near Frailers, where they often stock used Larrivees :-) )
Manchester (near Sounds great)
Lakes
Sellafield
York
Lichfield
Warwick Castle

in the Peaks:
MJW was here but has now moved up your way.
Chatsworth House
Bakewell (honey pot tourist town now)
Buxton - not as touristy, nice old vibe 
prettiest place : walk along Dovedale from the stepping stones
lovely drive: Winnats pass



much further:
Stonehenge
Symonds Yat
acoustic music company
Bristol
Coda

Dominic

Bath
 Dorset from Swanage to Weymouth coast
New Forest
Brighton

mudslide73

Can't go wrong with @TTony s chip centric suggestions really. The @EricTheWeary ;Warwick/Stratford suggestion I'd also echo. Bletchley Park is also worth a look too.. not far from Leics down the M1. 

ToneControl

another thought is that, in late November, the weather will be unreliable.
How about adding a few days in London, doing the shops, stately homes and museums?

thomasross20

Been to London several times so will probably only visit North of there but thanks

mrkb

I’ve just done the reverse trip - Leicester up to Loch Lomond and it was 7-8 hours in the car, so I’d advise you don’t  bother with additional travel south of Leicester- there’s plenty of stuff north of there to visit in a journey down- Lake District (though that’s similar to Scotland..) Manchester, York, North York Moors, Birmingham, Leicester has a space centre! what interests do you have ?- I’m sure there’s somewhere on route that we can advise on

thomasross20

Music, film, I dunno.. anything really.. I thought Cotswolds would be cool as I keep hearing is very nice big you're right in that it's further south again. Would like to do something interactive / meet people / tours so I'm not totally alone the whole time.

mrkb

Was a Film museum at Bradford.
Cotswolds in only an hour from Leicester, so not that much further (we’ll the Stratford end is only an hour)

LoFi

Truro is about as far from Leicester as Edinburgh is - there's quite a lot of England down that way.

The Cotswolds are pretty in a "Chocolate box" sort of way, but there's not a lot to do there (and you'll be 20 years younger than the average person there).

I'm not too familiar with the east coast, but I did really like Harrogate - good pubs, and there's a good blues bar there (which was rather unexpected in a town better known for tea rooms).

ronnyb

Morecambe?

crunchman

Stratford upon Avon is only 43 miles from Leicester, so might be worth a visit.  It's worth seeing a Shakespeare play done well by the RSC.  That wouldn't be a silly distance from the Cotswolds if you want to go there.

thomasross20

Oooh seeing a real Shakespeare play and Stratford Upon Avon does sound pretty awesome...