Suggest stuff please - I am not spending 23 days of my life sitting in my parents living room

[nearlyfourbob]

Having spent the price of a small car on a trip to the UK I have little desire to sit around drinking cups of tea, or worse be bundled into a car with 3 other adults and ds to travel for 3 hours each way to have a quick wander down streets that have Woolworths and WHSMith just like everywhere else.

My brother has taken a week off work - but lives 10 minutes away from my parents. My SIL will be between jobs and will very likely not really live anywhere much (not anywhere we can visit anyway).

So my blindingly brilliant plan is to go away somewhere and meet up with bro, and then somewhere else and meet up with SIL and then back to parents again. Thus 3 longish car trips with only 3 people in the car, and lots of short ones for day trips.

So brilliant suggestions please for the other two points on the triangle. First point is slightly north of Manchester.

bumping myself up, before I disappear off active convos.

Lake District, peak District? I'm not really sure what you are looking for?

York city and yorkshire dales?

Sory not sure of the area, but will bump for you

Well, north of Manchester has to be the Pennines, maybe Forest of Bowland...SE is best though, for the Peak District Proper. Chatsworth, Haddon, Lyme Park in Stockport, Kinder Scout, wonderful walking.
But where does your triangle go and how big is it? S, N, E, W?
The Lake District is the blindingly obvious destination north. Further east from that you have Hadrian's Wall

Okay, so as an example - my parents live near Manchester - so maybe Whitby as the second point, and where for the third?

how far are you willing to travel from whitby to the third point, and how far back to Manchester?

There's the lake district, but quite a way from Whitby,

What kind of things are you wanting to do?

Yorskshire Dales good - Skipton, Grassington, Bolton Abbey.

Have a 4 year old so want to do things he will enjoy, as well as things we can't do in NZ - so I will pass on the Lake District as we are not short of scenery and lakes here. We don't have much old stuff like castles. What about Wales/Shropshire?

Lots of castles in Wales, depending how far over you want to go to Caenarfon(sp?) and Conwy are both worth visiting.

Carlisle Castle and Hadriens wall?

HAve you looked on the NAtional Trust website and Cadw for Welsh places.

North Wales has lots of castles (and a fair bit of stunning scenery but don't let that put you off!) Also has a few things like old houses and slate mines to visit. Shropshire wouldn't be top of my list on places to visit in the UK, although there certainly are places there worth visiting.
To be honest, it sounds like you need a good guidebook or travel book to give you a few ideas. Wherever you go in the UK, you'll find a fair few historial sites, stately homes, castles, that kind of thing.

How about Blackpool??!!! I'll bet you have nothing quite like that in NZ?

Bowes Museum with the mechanical swan. Beamish outdoor Museum.

oH How did I forget Beamish, kids will love it, and Ironbridge if you go to Shropshire think you can get a multiday pass for there too.