Europe ideas - travelling by train & love outdoor swimming (sea/lake/river) - but not too hot!

[WobblyLondoner]

We (2 adults, 13 year old) have had a couple of lovely holidays in SW France (coast) but want to try somewhere else. We like outdoorsy things - especially walking, swimming & cycling - but all burn easily so aren't ideally suited to the Med. We'd also like to travel by train and then hire a car if needs be. Happy to be based in one location for the duration. We usually rent a place vs camping or hotels, and prefer to be in a village or town.

I'd wondered about central France near rivers or a lake, northern Spain/Portugal or northern Italy - but am not really sure where to start looking. Am posting here in case others have any thoughts that might help me narrow things down!

Sorry just adding myself to the thread as I like your kind of holiday too

Switzerland - there are loads of lakes and public transport is great.
Annecy in France.
Lac se serre ponçon France.
Lago d'idro Italy (north of garda but less busy)

Switzerland is great by train. The ski resorts eg 4 Valleys are great in summer. Or Savoie in France. We really love mountain holidays!

We went to lac de serre Ponçon last year and loved it.

I loved the Auvergne last year, although it would be a hard cycling area! Lots of other outdoor activities and stunning. You would need a car to appreciate the area fully.

Slovenia, especially Lake Bohinj. Swimming in the lake (√), walking and cycle trails (√), canyoning, paragliding and ?it's of opportunities to laze around. Not super not hot in peak summer (i say as someone who burns easily).
Choices of hotels (small), or self catering /rooms to rent.
Train to Bled (imho not nearly as nice as Bohinj) via Austria, then bus or hire a taxi or car for 12-15 miles to Bohinj from there

I swam in Lac du Salagou in the south of France.

Black Forest or Bavaria

Lake konstanz. Surrounded by a cycle path and lakeside beaches with thermal baths indoor and outdoor everywhere. It's beautiful. I believe it's a two week cycle tour all the way round. We stayed a few days on each side, crossing by ferry. On the Swiss side you can visit the rhine falls, one of the most spectacular sights I've seen in Europe. People get ferries from the beach up to the falls, in their swimmers and carrying inflatables, then the my jump in to the river and get taken back to the beach by the flow. So lovely.

Apart from the fact that getting there by train would be tricky, how about Finland or Sweden? Great lake swimming in both.

Thank you all so much - there are some fantastic suggestions here that I'll have a look at. My only worry about some of the more alpine suggestions is how arduous the cycling would be.

On the swimming - I'm a bit of a wuss so it would need to be warmish water. I have managed the Atlantic (SW France) but would struggle with anything much cooler than that.

How about Netherlands ? How about UK if you haven't already join an Outdoor swimming Facebook group who will recommend you places to swim in UK & abroad.

What about boating holiday like Norfolk Broads or canal boat UK or Europe

Denmark / Sweden. Lots of coast line and nice beaches. Can travel between the two countries easily by train. Cycling is popular so loads of cycling paths and routes.

Austria, but maybe still too hot 4 u.

Norway has excellent trains - Oslo to Bergen etc, Flam, loads of canoeing, whitewater rafting etc (places like Voss), lots of cycling hiking, fjords.

You could rail, then ferry to the Outer Hebrides Oban to Barra, island hop up to Stornoway, ferry back to main land. You could cycle or car or bus whilst on the islands. The beaches are beautiful if the weather is good

Switzerland or Austria - lots of walking/cycling trails, and some of the shallow lakes can be very warm. Train journey is possible too, but car would make life much easier. You could look at areas near Hohe touern (an hour from Salzburg), Lofer, any other villages in Salzburgerland.

I went on a Swimtrek holiday in Croatia once and got the train there

The lakes in France Switzerland and Italy are very warm (unless they are high alpine lakes). Lake constance will be very pleasant to swim in from June - end of September. Much warmer than seas around the UK. Most towns in Switzerland also have outdoor pools. Its quite flat around lake constance so cycling not a problem.