UK holiday for older history buffs?

[Saracen]

My American sister and BIL are coming from abroad in late Aug - early Sept. They are Anglophiles who are keen on history, especially medieval. Castles and cathedrals are popular with them. They've been to the UK a number of times to stay with us. We might go back to York or Edinburgh, which we've visited several times and all loved - but DH fancies somewhere new. We're all 50-65.

Besides those two couples, there are my 22yo and 16yo. They are quite easygoing and enjoy the same sorts of things as us older folks. That makes six of us in total. We'll have one or two cars.

Other factors:
Anywhere in England or Wales should be okay, and up as far as Glasgow/Edinburgh in Scotland.
Being near the sea would be a big bonus for DH but he might get overruled! I expect accommodation would be scarce and expensive at the seaside that time of year. We don't like crowds either!
Two of our party are disabled and need to be able to get back to the accommodation to rest. Both can walk, but no more than 10-20 minutes at a go. We might hire or buy a manual wheelchair or electric scooter.
We like to have a look round, but none of us are really "power tourists". We'll spend a fair bit of time at the accommodation or in the pub. DH and BIL love proper pubs.
We'd like somewhere that will occupy us for at least three days, so we can settle in to one or two bases.
London I think would be rather expensive and full-on, better to do separately another time. DH doesn't like big cities.
Oxford we've seen many times and don't want to go there this time.
Shrewsbury was a possibility suggested by DH. I've never been.

We'd be very grateful for recommendations for areas we hadn't considered. Thanks!

Oh, if you haven’t done the North Wales coast, definitely do that first!

Best bit - Gladstone’s Library in Hawarden; not on the coast but a perfect weekend between Chester and the coastal drive. There was always at least one American in residence on a sabbatical.

(I meant before Orkney! Northumberland is wonderful, though.)

Agree re Lincoln and staying at the top of the hill (bottom of the hill area is v bog standard shopping area). We stayed at The Lincoln Hotel recently and were very happy with it. Our American friends enjoyed the history and were slightly bemused at getting up close and personal with British weekend drinking culture!

There is a Go Ape at Leeds Castle the kids might enjoy. The whole area is very beautiful.

You could consider west Wiltshire as a base. If you stayed somewhere like Bradford on Avon which is an interesting old town to explore in it's own right, you are less than an hour from Bath with the Abbey and Roman Baths; there is Farleigh Hungerford Castle just up the road; Stonehenge and Avebury stone circles are also less than an hour away; Malmesbury, the oldest borough in England and the medieval Abbey with the tomb of King Athelstan within easy reach; Slightly further away Cirencester and the Cotswold water park where they have a swimming beach and water sports; Westonbirt Arboretum is lovely and shady on a summer day and you can hire mobility scooters to get around.

I would suggest Bristol and Bath.

Whitby?

Another vote for Kent
Castles - Leeds castle, Hever castle
Coastal towns - Rye, Deal, Whistable
Beaches - Broadstairs, Joss bay, Margate
Cathedral - Canterbury, Rochester

I was going to suggest Kent too. As well as Leeds castle you have Dover Castle, plus Walmer and Deal.

Deal is often overlooked as a holiday destination but it is a nice small town with good pubs, and very flat so good for people who struggle with mobility.

Have you considered Winchester and Southampton? They have quite a few medieval buildings and you can easily visit Beaulieu, Titchfield and Netley Abbey.

Bath? Romans and Jane Austen …

Another vote for Canterbury/Kent coast. You've got history from all periods from Roman to WW2. (And the Pfizer place near Sandwich, to bring it right up to date!) There are some nice bus rides, if you don't want to do too much driving. You see more from a bus, too, being higher up.

If you.must have the seaside, I'd put in a bid for Old Portsmouth. You get the Naval dockyards (Mary Rose, Victory, a whole lot more in a rather lovely setting), plus Southsea Castle (so mini I had gone to the brilliant cafe a dozen times before I realised it was a castle), and all the Napoleonic fortifications you could wish for. And 20 minutes down the road is Porchester Castle, which is a 2000-year old Roman Fort which contains a Norman Castle, plus a church which still has services, and the world's loveliest and best-value Church tearoom. If anyone is a retro transport fan they can always go on a hovercraft trip to the Isle of Wight for a daytrip

Thanks so much, what a lot of brilliant ideas!

Those of you who suggested Kent - will it not be very busy in late August / early September due to being within striking distance of London? I always assumed it was an area only worth visiting out of season - compared with Northumberland, say.

Another Northumberland vote!
We were there again last week
Hexham first for Hadrians wall for a few days.
Then maybe alnwick or bamburgh
Join English heritage to save lots.
Boat trips from seahouses to see birds and seals are amazing

Pembrokeshire. Look up the Landsker Line castles.
North Pembs has St Davids cathedral and St Non’s (where he was born).
Plus the coastline is stunning.

Aside from its being decidedly not coastal, you may want to avoid Wiltshire around August Bank Holiday time - I doubt you’d have Stonehenge to yourselves.

It’s true the Salisbury Plain area has something magical about it, but perhaps because I lived there for a while it’s hard to see it as a holiday destination - too many cars and people to be restful.

This is a bizarre suggestion Newbury/Hungerford.
Oxford, Windsor, Bath, Winchester and Amesbury/Stonehenge are all within and hour. The New Forest coast and Portsmouth all within an hour and a half.
The area has great food ranging from lovely pubs right through to several Michelin star venues. Plus quirky independents doing things like 'British tapas'.

Pembrokeshire - there's an idea I hadn't considered. Thanks! I don't know the area at all. Would coast areas be busy in August/September?

You should be okay after the bank holiday.

Another vote for canterbury/Kent, especially if you have English heritage membership . Dover castle, deal castle, walmer caste, st augustines abbey, etc are all EH.

Canterbury has a cathedral, as does Rochester.

Beaches nearby are Whitstable/herne bay or you could even head to Broadstairs/botany bay.

I came to say this too. So many historic places and it's such an underappreciated area.

Northumberland or north wales are my suggestions. I rented a lovely house in Hexham once and another at Seahouses

Fishbourne Roman palace near there too, with all those fabulous floor mosaics.

Dover Castle, along coast to Deal and Walmer then towards Hastings , Bodiam and Pevensey
Chester and Welsh castles