Week in the UK - tell me where

[popsickle555]

We have just decided we are going on a week away in April (2nd week of Easter hols). We've left it late i know...

DC's are 11 and 8 - we have done a lot of weeks on the beach in Norfolk, North Wales, Cornwall, Devon and did Scotland once and we've always enjoyed them BUT kids are getting a bit older now and I feel they could do with a bit 'more' eg some day trips / activities as well as some beaching. Also it's gonna be cold. They will walk (a bit but not all day hikes). They do like museums and culture, they like eating out and they like things like swimming in the freezing cold sea and crabbing.

But what destinations / villages would you recommend where perhaps there's a beach in the vicinity but maybe some other activities too. Maybe not arcades but train journeys or museums etc or maybe some 'adrenaline' type sports?

Can't afford London as did that pretty recently for a long weekend. We've also been to York before but I had thought of that again for a couple of nights and then head to the coast.

We are based in the North West but happy to travel up to 5hours max driving.

Does anyone have any suggestions of places to look at?

Aviemore in Scotland. Beach is a fair distance but lots of adrenaline activities, walking, the reindeer are nice, dolphin watching trips, steam train. There's a 2 or 3 bed bungalow listed on booking.com currently for reasonable prices

Northumberland, packed with castles and museums. Alnwick, Bamburgh, Chillingham, Hadrian's Wall a bit further south. Newcastle if you fancy shopping.
Beautiful coastline, day trip to Edinburgh is doable.
We usually stay around Seahouses/Bamburgh/Beadnell area. Alnmouth is lovely too.

Boat trip to the Farne Islands and Lindisfarne (you can drive there) also brill.

Sorry should have said we did Northumberland last year, beautiful but it was absolutely freezing!

Another vote for Aviemore. Highland Wildlife Park and Landmark Adventure Park. If you can take/hires bikes, cycling in Abernethy forest is amazing. I'm pretty sure you can kayak at Rothiemurchas.

If you do decide to visit Scotland, check when the local school Easter holidays are. It should be easier to find accommodation if the Scottish schools are not off too.

Dorset- Swanage/Corfe castle area. Lots of different beaches, e.g. Kimmeridge, Lulworth, Tyneham village, Steam train, fossils. Think there's some sort of water park nearby but not sure of opening hours.

New Forest? There is Beaulieu, Bucklers Hard, Lymington sea baths, Calshot activity centre, Hurst castle, rent electric bikes (or take your own). Hythe has the longest pier railway, and you could even take a trip to the isle of wight, either from Lymington or on the hovercraft from Portsmouth.

Both could be about 5 hours drive though, depending on which part of the NW you're coming from.

Second Dorset - Swanage / Purbeck area. Just the most beautiful place in the world!!!

If you go to Dorset you there is also the MoD firing range that you can walk on in certain days and a deserted village (when they are not active!)

Edinburgh - you’re falling over yourself with museums and culture, there’s a beach at Cramond and portobello, or you could head round to the Fife coast for a day, and there’s walking to be had in the pentlands and places like Beecraigs country park, Newhailes, Dalmeny estate etc. your biggest issue might be accommodation with parking but if you stayed somewhere on the outskirts with bus or train links into the city centre that shouldn’t be as much of a problem as trying to stay in the centre.

Llandudno would tick all your boxes.
Adrenaline = Adventure Parc/Surf Snowdonia and Zip World
Museums/castles = Conwy Castle, the smallest house in Great Britain, Great Orme Mines
Eating out = Dutch Pancake House at Conwy Water Gardens
Also, there’s the Welsh Mountain Zoo which has some very cute red pandas!

Alton Towers, you can camp nearby and have a day at splash landings there’s also some really nice countryside nearby.

There's no beach obviously but we spend a bit of time in Warwickshire and absolutely love it. There's loads to do. Beautiful countryside, Warwick Castle, the museum and restaurants. Stratford upon Avon is great with the park, butterfly farm, boating on the river. It's not a fast paced holiday but we always come back refreshed and relaxed after visiting family there.