Best places to visit in England and wales.

How long have you got - is that 10 days after the 10 in Scotland? In an ideal world you would fly home from Manchester rather than having to go all the way back to Glasgow but that particular horse may well have bolted by now.

Will you have a car or rely on public transport?

Logically the two simplest areas for someone coming to and from Glasgow and wanting more rural options would be the Lake District and Eryri (Snowdonia) National Parks. Both can easily be reached by train but a car whilst there would make things a lot easier to get around.

A train to Penrith or Windermere for the Lakes and llandudno or Conwy for North Wales. For the latter you will pass through Chester, a wonderful walled Roman city well worth a stop.

Are you wanting to visit London? (It isn't compulsory!). If not, concentrate on the north of England.

Will you have a car?

There's plenty to chose from (BUT don't try and do everything listed here!!!)

• Northumberland (with its castles, coast and Holy Island)

• Durham (with its castle and cathedral) - and do spend a day at Beamish, The Living Museum of the North.

• North York Moors or the Yorkshire Dales (possibly including a couple of days for York)

• Peak District (an area often ignored by the visitors but with some very pretty villages.

Then head over to North Wales - possibly another two days in Chester ? - for Snowdonia

I heartily concur with wasleys. Northumberland is wonderful and relatively undiscovered by tourists, which makes it so much better. There are lovely coastal towns, castles, ruins, Holy Island, and so much more. Durham Cathedral (which is also in that area) is drop-dead gorgeous and very much worth a visit.

And the North Yorkshire Moors is probably one of my favorite places on earth. If you are looking for quaint and off-the-beaten-path places, you can't go wrong here. I rented a cottage near Helmsley last year for a week and loved the area. Helmsley is a lovely town with nice restaurants, groceries and shops; some good hiking, a castle ruin, and close to Rievaulx Abbey, which is just incredible. You also are close to some really charming villages like Hutton-le-Hole, which has the wonderful Ryedale Folk Museum. And that area has some of the loveliest historic small churches going back to pre-Saxon times, like St. Gregory’s Minster in Kirkdale, and St. Hilda’s Church in Ellerburn, near Thornton-le-Dale, which is a tiny church almost 1200 years old. There are so many wonderful places in that area.

You are also close to the RSPB at Bempton Cliffs, where hundreds of thousands of sea birds gather between March and August to breed, mate, and survive. There are puffins, gannets, guillemots and many more birds flying in and out and nesting on the cliffs.

Thank you thank you! Thinking maybe we should rent a car in Glasgow . We will have a week to explore. In your opinion should we visit the Costwolds? ? What would be a good base town?
Thank you again for all your thoughts and suggestions.

No to the Cotswolds for me. It's too far to go and get back to Glasgow. Besides which you will be driving past a series of national parks to get there which in my mind are far more beautiful. One of the reasons the Cotswolds are so popular is that they are relatively close to London where many visitors come in and out of. in your case the opposite is the case. Stay north.

Another NO to the Cotswolds. You will use up two of those (valuable) days just to get there and back to Glasgow. There are plenty of equally as nice places in the north of England waiting to be discovered. Mardee has already extolled the virtues of the North York Moors and villages like Hutton le Hole and Thornton le Dale are as good if not better than any Cotswold village. Stay in the north....

If it matters Durham Cathedral also has Harry Potter connections, and interestingly the North cloister is in perfect alignment at the solstices.
And entry is free, although you can pay to see the museum, have a guided tour and go up the tower. I was only there last week at a service.