UK holiday recommendations Muslim friendly

[Speccybibliophile]

Assalamualaikum

Belated Eid Mubarak to everyone here.

We are thinking of booking a holiday in the UK in the summer. We live in the West Midlands and would not want to travel more than 2ish hours. Was hoping to find somewhere that I would feel comfortable wearing modest swimwear, swimming with the kids. Also a place with halal food options.

We have two kids, an almost 7 year old and an almost 2 year old, so something that would suit a young family. Would love somewhere with a clean and family-friendly beach, national parks, woods/forests, but not necessarily everything at once as that could be a tall order. Would consider a city break if there are child-friendly museums and parks etc.

Also completely unsure whether to look at hotels or Airbnb, private cottages so recommendations for tried and tested accommodations would be much appreciated too.

Having taken extended maternity leave and then reduced working hours, we don't have a great deal of disposable income so Centre Parcs style holidays are out of our budget during term holiday season.

Thanking you lovely ladies in advance 😊

Liverpool for a city break, so much to do (and a visible Muslim population, if that matters). There are also beaches nearby at New Brighton etc.

Will look into Liverpool, thank you for the suggestion. Do you happen to have experience staying in any hotels there? What sort of activities do you recommend for kids in the city?

Im not sure about exact distances but Bournemouth or Windermere are my suggestions.

Bournemouth does appeal but a little too far for us this year I think. I struggle with motorway driving with being sleep deprived at the moment and husband would need to share driving (struggles with driving long distances)

Do you have suggestions for places to stay/eat while in Windermere? I've always wanted to visit the lake district.

I’ve been to liverpool with kids and they had a great time. There are beaches and great museums.

It’s not overly busy and people are friendly.

How about the New Forest. I don't think that's too far from you and will give you the national park vibe. Plenty to do in the little forest villages and country parks. Plus close so Southampton which has a wide range of cuisines available/is a diverse, multicultural city. Southampton also has galleries and museums and reasonably close to Portsmouth which has several great museums around the historic dockyard.

In windermere I think there were 3 halal specific places (like an Indian restaurant and then the basic kebab type place) which really surprised me (in a good way). I’m not sure you would find a beach but the scenery is amazing of course and there are plenty boat trips to go on. The area seems to attract a lot of rich arabs during the summer plus lots of Muslims who must live in places near like Manchester/Yorkshire. I stayed in the Fir Trees B&B which was about a 20 minute walk down to the main touristy bit. They were very friendly and there were Arab families staying along with German UK guests.

Windermere isn't far from the sea - just 11 miles but have no idea if the beach resorts are welcoming - near enough to drive for a day on the coast

Really helpful replies and suggestions, thank you all so much 🙂