What do people DO on UK holidays?

[JudgeRindersMinder]

We’re sun worshipers, and go abroad for the sun 2-3 times a year. Except this year!
We have a few days off in September, Thurs-Sun, and wouldn’t mind getting away for at least a couple of nights.

I’ve been looking at nice hotels in various UK locations (ie NOT Premier Inn type places) We aren’t super active people who are into bracing walks in the countryside (both have issues with arthritis 🙄), and if we stay in Scotland, any spas, pools etc are no go.

If you were us, where would you go and would you do?
Budget is fairly healthy, and travel by plane or car isn’t an issue

How about hiring a boat OP? We always do that on holiday, even if it's just for a couple of hours, and explore quiet rivers. Check out gardens that are open to the public? Glendurgan and Trebah gardens are lovely. They're next to each other in south Cornwall, and the Helford river is right there so a good place to rent a boat!

Some of our best holidays have been when we hired boats on the Norfolk Broads. The boats add interest to the holiday, watching the scenery, stopping at pubs for meals, or mooring and having a meal and a glass of wine on the boat. You can hire some quite luxurious boats, and they give you instruction on what to do.

If I were to go on holiday in thevUL in September, and had sufficient funds, I'd pick I nice hotel with an indoor pool, near somewhere interesting to explore, like Bath with the amazing countryside around it, so that I had a good choice. If I were to go at the end of August, I'd pick somewhere with an outdoor pool near a beach. Or one of those hotels with their own private beach but with other activities available, like boat trips, as well as walks.

@MsTSwift

God the worthy brigade are here 🙄. It’s morally superior to enjoy camping long hikes in the rain and national trust properties 🙄. Those of us that enjoy reliable hot sun beaches reading swimming in natural environments and cocktails are moral degenerates!

I agree but I am definitely a moral degenerate 😃 It is fun though.

There are beautiful places in the UK but you have to change your mindset.

Costwolds
Lake District
Devon
Scottish Highlands
Northumberland
Isle of Wight

Perhaps is time to try and become a bit more active and adventurous.

Visit local attractions, explore the local towns, eat at nice restaurants and just relax

Look at The Scarlet Hotel in Cornwall op.
I think you can fly Newquay from London.
It has sea view rooms with balconies, great good, adult only, indoor and outdoor pools.
Cliff top walks, with walkable places for lunch and loads of quiet spots to read a book.
Surfing lessons too if the urge takes you.

If you just want to relax, and money isn’t tight, maybe book a few days at Soho Farmhouse in Oxfordshire or Babington House in Somerset.

This is the kind of thing me and OH enjoy (32 and 40)

Wine tasting
Gin tasting
Brewery visits
Museums
Art galleries
Cooking lessons
Wildlife parks
Theatres/comedy venues
Going for a meal out in a restaurant very special to the area...we often seek out the Michelin star venues and work from there
Visiting the smaller indépendant shops in the town
Scenic walks
Crazy golf if there is one!
Spa

How is almost everyone missing that both the OP and her dh have arthritis so cannot go for long walks!

We lie about in the sun reading all day, so it’s not really an option here!

Really? It has been almost always warm enough to sit out in the sunshine (or indeed the shade) since about May in the south east of England. It has been a fantastic summer, in fact last week was far too hot for me. In the UK you can do everything you can do overseas but with a decent cup of tea.

If I were you I'd do the NC500. Or go to a posh hotel and sit in their nice living room reading!

Or Burgh Island www.burghisland.com/

The Lake District is currently heaving and tbh not a particularly nice place to be .

Cornwall is lovely with great beaches. Personally I prefer Devon which is equally lovely with lots of mooching possibilities - little harbours/villages/restaurants to explore. Dorset also has some great spots.

Self catering accommodation can be expensive, but if cost is no barrier, you can rent some lovely properties, with, for example, a hot tub, or a conservatory for relaxing and reading your books. So you might spend a morning having a slow breakfast and reading overlooking a beautiful view, go out to explore somewhere in the afternoon and then in the evening, either have a meal/bottle of wine in front of your own log fire - no need to drive - or eat out in a local restaurant, and wander along the seafront for a drink before heading 'home'.

Next day, go out in the morning to explore somewhere, but buy some nice cakes for afternoon tea back at your cottage . . .

Food is quite important on a home holiday. I'm on a diet, but take the opportunity to make sure I am buying local, trying out some local delicacies. Mmmmm.

Visit historic houses or castles and base your location around where there are a few places like that to visit. Visit cafes and restaurants for lunch especially in scenic locations where you can watch the world go by. Go to the cinema. Visit animal sanctuarys. Make a short slow walk along a coastal path and sit and watch the view for a while.
What about a coastal tour by car? Plan a route along a beautiful coast line and stay at different hotels each night and try different restaurants.

@tara66

Isle of Wight is regarded as the second most attractive island in Britain after Jersey (first) but Jersey has 14 days quarantine . You also get feeling of being ''away''. The ferry can be expensive though.

I was coming on to recommend the Isle of Wight. It's one of the nicest, most relaxing holidays we've had in the UK.

Because it's not huge, you can have lots of half days out, or if you want a full day, do two things in a day. We'd often have a lazy morning around the holiday rental, which had a lovely south facing rear deck area, then head out around lunchtime for a bit of sightseeing.

The weather on the IoW seems to have it's own little microclimate and was lovely the whole week we were there, even though the mainland's was rubbish. If you want guaranteed relaxation you could book a spa day or spa hotel - www.isleofwightguru.co.uk/best-isle-of-wight-spa-break-hotels-spa-days.html

I agree wholeheartedly with the comment that going to the IoW makes you feel like you're "away" - that ferry journey over really makes you feel like you're escaping the country!

If you like like around and reading, I’d probably go for a nice hotel with a fancy spa.

Trio advisor for local attractions is good. Castles? Historical centres? Or a local walk and then coffee somewhere?

We've booked a luxury apartment in Liverpool City centre. At night we'll probably just sit out on the balcony with a drink or something.

We'll be visiting Chester, lots of beaches but mainly just mooching about. We find Liverpool is a good base for us. We like to be out doing things and there's plenty to do in that area.

Lying around

We're having weekends away at the moment (DS is a young teenager).

We are doing Premier Inns (very clean at the moment) because a 5 star is wasted as we're out all day and it's a place to sleep!

But a couple of weekends ago we did Blenheim Palace. A weekend ago we did Beulieu motor museum (DS and DH are car nuts) and Monkey World. A couple of weekends time we're off to Longleat and Stonehenge.

We often do UK holidays in the school holidays. Last year we rented a wood cabin type lodge in Stratford Upon Avon and did all the Shakespeare sites, went to the brilliant Attic theatre (which isn't open yet as it is literally bench seats in an attic - but they are doing an outdoor tour of Wind in the Willows - worth seeing as they are hilarious).

Two years ago we did Cornwall - stayed at very lovely self catering near Bude. We walked into Bude (and as DS is a teenager his legs won't walk far - they seize up with a moan at about a mile) but even he enjoyed that. We went on pedal boats and went round one of the little museums, did the beach. Then went to Tintagel. We spent the day in Lynton/Lynmouth in Devon (worth going to the little museum there to learn about the Lynmouth flood in the 50s), we went to Agatha Christie's house in Devon. That's National Trust.

We go to Scotland regularly as DH is Scottish - Loch Ness is lovely, Aviemore gives you access to the Cairngorms (if the reindeer centre is open it's worth a visit as they take you on a short walk up the mountain and you feed the reindeer - our DS did the walk first time aged 6 and there was a lady on walking sticks in front of us who managed so it's not a hard walk). Lots of farms there that do sheepdog shows and you get to meet the dogs which is lovely.

The lake district was lovely about 3 years ago - we did Coniston and Windermere lake boat trips.

Northumberland four years ago took us to Holy Island - driving across the sands knowing that area would be under water later was a thrill for DS! We went to Vindolanda which is a roman fort excavation - fantastic museum with the Vindolanda letters (written on wood that has been preserved in the clay mud for 2000 years - one of them prove that women of the time could read and write which was thought unlikely until they were discovered). We also did Hadrian's wall. Then there's Alnwick Castle (where Harry Potter's quidditch matches were filmed - lovely castle too and the grounds are beautiful with a poisons garden - every plant is poisonous). And of course Bamburgh Castle with the beautiful beach nearby - Michael Fassbender's MacBeth was filmed on that beach and it is stunning. The castle itself is lovely and the people are so helpful.

We went to Belfast and did the Titanic exhibition then went to the 'dark hedges' (featured in Game of Thrones) and then to the Giants Causeway.

We went to York for the day on our way up to Northumberland - Jorvik
Viking Centre was great with a ride around a 'Viking' settlement (with all the smells...not so great ha ha!)

Easiest thing is to go on line, type in the type of thing you like to do and plan around that. I use Trip Adviser a lot for that as you can type in a destination, look up hotels, restaurants, things to do all in one place and research more from there. It gives you a good general overview so you can whittle down the list.

To be honest I love UK holidays. We live in a stunning country with a huge history. And our tourist places need the support now.

Just take a raincoat or brolley - there is nothing like being on Bamburgh beach in the rain. The sky is fantastic as the clouds roll in!

Great ideas on this thread!!!! Thank you folks, writing some of them down now.

You can't guarantee the sun in the UK but relaxation, lying beside a pool reading and fabulous food is available at many spa hotels or resorts. Take your pick: you can do exactly what you would normally do, and if the weather is good enough (August is looking wet so you may hit an Indian summer in September) you'll be outdoors too!.
Go the whole hog on the spa and book somewhere like champneys, or just go the luxury hotel route ( try Warners ). You don't need to be into hiking to have a holiday in the uk!

We don't visit tourist attractions, too expensive. We mainly go where you can go for hikes and walks. I'm sure that'll change when the baby arrives.