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

I don't understand people who go on holiday and don't 'do' anything. I'm all for the odd bit of sitting by the pool reading but I couldn't do it all day every day for 2 weeks or even a week.

I'm always interested to experience the culture of the place I'm staying. Explore the local shops and restaurants, take boat trip, visit the local museums and historical sights, swim in the sea, seek out the best and most secluded beaches in the area, go see local musicians or entertainment acts like traditional spanish dancing etc. do an activity like snorkelling or paddle-boarding, hire a car and drive to local beauty spots and nature reserves, visit the nearest city and explore the local craft markets etc. etc. etc.

You can do all this in the UK, minus the sunbathing!

If you're an Agatha Christie fan, there's always Burgh Island:
www.coastandcountry.co.uk/blog/burgh-island-south-devon-beach-bible

I would love to stay in the hotel there - classic 30s Art Deco.

@SillyUnMurphy

If it was just a few days I’d go to York. Such a beautiful city and so much to see and do just mooching around. Lovely restaurants and tea shops. Also visit Whitby and the beaches.

I was going to say York. And September is always a better idea than August to holiday in England, IME.

I took an overseas friend there last year for a week in September and she loved it. We stayed in the Grand and ate in various restaurants on Micklegate, visited Castle Howard, went to the Minster for Evensong, climbed up and walked the walls, wandered around the Shambles, swam in the pool (in the hotel... which I guess might be closed).

Just stay east of the Pennines! The rainy west is no joke, and you can always day trip over there if it happens to be fine.

Well, I’ll say it: you could test your eyesight with a nice drive to Barnard Castle (I’ll get me coat). Joking apart, there’s a lovely museum at Barney Cas’.

But if you want British Isles sun spots, you definitely want to head South/South East. Lots of pp have mentioned the Isle of Wight and the Scillies, and both can easily feel like you’re not in the UK. Cornwall generally can rain like hell, but places like the Minack theatre are a wonderful visit. Fancy a winery tour with tasting? Camel Valley is great, or head to Devon and the South Hams area for quirkiness and the Ashprington vineyard. Don’t know what limits are in visitor numbers so best check ahead for everything.

@Toilenstripes

I vote for London. The Bloomsbury Hotel has a lovely afternoon tea and the Coral Bar which is great for an evening cocktail. You can easily walk or taxi to many theatres, British Museum, and there are loads of good restaurants. If Fortnum and Mason are open it’s fun to have a mooch and afternoon tea there.

Not many theatres open ATM. But museums and galleries are starting to re emerge. You do need to book though. Much nicer places than Fortnums for afternoon tea, not enough atmosphere for me, i love their restaurant on the first floor for a little lunch , but I didn't rate their afternoon tea. Browns, the Ritz or the .waldorf for my money

Fortnums is worth a visit for their perfumery department though, the only one I know where you can browse, squirt and sample with impunity and not bump into other people all the time.

One of the things the UK does best is history. So if I get the chance I go to a city or town I've never visited before and tour around all the historic sites; get up on all the hill forts, check out the museums, do walking tours and find all the little scenic places. There is a LOT of picnicking.

We always do a mixture of overseas and Uk holidays every year. We tend to do the same type of stuff where ever we go to be honest. We tend to go abroad in the winter , spring or Autumn and always have a two week UK break every summer.

Abroad - museums, zoos , historic sites , beaches , boat hire or boat trip , nice restaurants , exploring cities ( we do like the occasional day relaxing by the pool but we get bored after a couple of days and get itchy to explore )

Uk - Beach days , beach hut hire , boat trips , museums , nice restaurants , explore historic or pretty towns and cities , canal boat or Norfolk broads holidays , National Trust holidays , RHS gardens. Went seal watching on our recent UK break - that was fantastic.

I have been to London in the last 10 days and walked along different parts of the Thanes. Went to Camden and Borough Markets. I visited Chiswick House (well the gardens). Walked through Hyde Park, Kensington Park and also visited a museum.

I know it's not what you asked about op, but more than half the UK population is deficient in vitamin D because we lack sunshine and don't get out enough when there is sunshine - and Scotland is much worse. Think about taking daily vitamin D in quite a high dose if you don't already!

It depends what you like, I suppose. I love museums, so we research which places have the best (or weirdest!) places and off we go.
My BF likes old castles and military stuff, so we've been to loads of places with castles, military museums etc etc too.
On the flip side, we also just do and explore random UK cities/towns sometimes, too. Walk around, see what they have to offer. Once we feel a bit safer travelling around, we've got a few more on the bucket list.

How can people have so little imagination to nor be able to work out what people might do on holiday.

"National Trust properties" that was meant to be.

Everyone is different. I can stand about 20 minutes at most in the sun in the UK or abroad on holiday. So even if not being very active I might sit in the shade and read a book and I usually do an hour's work a day on holiday as I work for myself.
We like things like swimming in lakes, rivers. Walks. I don't do it much but my sons like cycling. Visiting nice old buildings is good too. I like to be totally alone in nature and you tend to have to walk a fair way to get there.

Our late June annual holiday was cancelled so I won't be away this year but hopefully will next year.

Also someone mentioned Northumbria, don't forget the red squirrels and Ospreys in Kielder, and it's a dark sky designation, so if the observatory is open its worth booking in for one of their nighttime talks. Plus the drive up to the observatory is like a real life white knuckle ride in itself.

Lots of foody places too if you are interested in eating..... Who isn't?

I think Edinburgh might be a good bet , no festival so there should be accommodation available for late bookings. Such a lovely city, with pandas too. not a panda.

Go to the pub and eat bacon sandwiches, that's our idea of a perfect UK holiday, but then we live in ME and those things are a novelty

Yes, Northumberland is my favourite county and where I am from.
If they want somewhere like lying on a beach in Spain though probably go as South as you can in the UK (as it's warmer) and somewhere with a similar vibe. Brighton might be a good choice. We even had some holidays at Butlins which the children quite liked. You might like Centerparcs too

I went on a couple as a child, to Devon, Guernsey and Dorset, and from what I can remember, we did a fair bit of sightseeing. There was a lovely museum in Weymouth which is now sadly closed. There's a photo of me and my brother petting goats at a farm and we also went to the Swannery at Abbotsbury. In Devon, we went to Paignton Zoo and Totnes. My evil ex-stepdad was from Looe in Cornwall, so we went there a couple of times when my mum was married to him and did the usual beach stuff, plus he was obsessed with walks so we did that as well. It's a good place to go if you want beach/lying around in the sun holidays, as is Norfolk, they've got some nice beaches there. And of course there's Brighton, although I didn't go on holiday there, I lived there.

I'm not sure about Wales right now as a lot of people there aren't too happy about English tourists coming in, so you're better sticking to England right now.

Go for afternoon tea in beautiful surroundings, go for walks along the river/lake/seafront, mooch about gift shops, eat cakes in cafes, go out for dinner, drink wine in country pubs, walk around beautiful villages pining after the houses, go to National Trust places, maybe something more energetic like Go Ape one day, museums, boat trips, maybe a few walks (nothing too taxing though).

I love accommodation with a view so that I can do my crossword in the morning in front of it

But the weather is dreadful in Bavaria! Op has said she likes the sun so she would be much better off in the south of England as the forecast for the next week is warm and sunny every day (22-23c) msTswift

@Pobblebonk

My question is: What do people DO on sun worshipping holidays? I can't think of anything more excruciatingly dull than lying around sunbathing all day. And if that's all you're going to do, why can't you do it in your back garden or a local park?

We like holidays in hot places, but don't spend the whole day lying in the sun and enjoy water-sports, but no swimming pool or beach in my garden.

Before I saw you’re near Edinburgh, I was going to suggest Oxford. I live near there and go often for the day. But now I wonder if it’s too far?

There are lots of interesting museums that can fill as long as you want them too. The Botanic Gardens are nice and Blenheim is close enough to visit. Plenty of independent cafes and bars that you could happily while away an hour or two reading - a friend and I often do that in The Jam Factory. Christchurch Meadow is also a nice place to sit and read or watch the world go by.

Why are Spas out? (Or is that just in Scotland?)

Why don't you short term let a cottage with a private garden, in a really pretty spot the south coast and then you can sit in the garden, or inside if the weathers bot great, reading all day and go out for meals at night.

You could do similar in a hotel I'm sure - sit in the lobby or in the gardens. (Just chose a hotel with these facilities - obviously!!)

I would go somewhere with a great view over looking the sea, probably Cornwall or Scotland. I'd sit and read while intermittently glancing at the crashing waves. I'd then visit local places of interest and eat at really good restaurants.

www.aspinallfoundation.org/port-lympne/short-breaks/tiger-lodge/

Isles of Scilly would be lovely, if quiet. Otherwise somewhere with a sun lounge,either hotel or cottage (a cottage shouldn't have a sunlounge), I like Dorset.

We have a self catering week coming up soon, but I don't plan on cooking much.