England (and maybe Scotland) - slow travel bases

York is a good choice to get you to regions north of London. Closer to the Cotswolds and parts to the west, look at Cheltenham. Bath makes for a nice visit for a day, but I’d pick Cheltenham for a base for a few days, which I did 4 years ago.

Oh, and maybe Scotland? Possibilities could be the Isle of Skye - spend several days exploring its fantastic natural settings.Portree is the main town, but our B&B was closer to Dunvegan.

Or Orkney - islands just north of the mainland, with amazing Neolithic sights and some charming towns. Get there by plane or ferry, and stay in Kirkwall.

There’s also Inverness, at the north end of Loch Ness, if you want highlands on the mainland. Both Edinburgh and Glasgow are fantastic, although it sounds like you don’t want too much of big cities.

Will you have a rental car or will you be relying on public transport?

The UK size, population and history means that there are interesting sights to see literally all over the country. You could throw 3 darts at a map of the country and base yourselves in those locations and find plenty of things to occupy and fascinate you for your trip.

What we need to know is what your main “sights” are. It’s no good me recommending places when your must see places are miles away. What you absolutely can’t do is see all the main sights on a trip of your length, so you have to make choices.

You will find others on here saying that 4 days in London is too short - that’s because a lot of regular posters really love London. Don’t be dissuaded if you want to spend more time elsewhere - there is no right or wrong answer.

Personally I could find at least a dozen rural areas more interesting than the Cotswolds, which seem for some mysterious reason to be hugely popular with North Americans. One clue is that the UK has 15 national parks and the Cotswolds isn’t one of them.

Given you have 5 kids try asking them what the one thing they want to do on holiday in the U.K. is. That might well direct your plans effectively.

with a family of 7 (and luggage) I think you will need either 2 cars or use the trains. Is that how you think too? If you do have 2 cars could you and your wife divvy up the kiddoes and head off in different directions some of the time? Or that can be done by train too...

We have traveled extensively, including renting a car and driving all over GB. With only 2 1/2 weeks, I would recommend skipping Scotland this time.

We did four weeks in England and S. Wales, doing the countryside and some medium to small cities. York is a must see, we loved it.

We did Winchester, Bath, the Cotswolds (used Chipping Campden as a base to visit Stratford Upon Avon, Oxford and Blenheim Palace as well as the Cotswolds. Also Warwick Castle is a great place to visit with kids. We saw more kids there than anywhere in the UK.

We stayed at the Volunteer Inn in Chipping Campden. They have the best pub in town and a great Indian restaurant. Spacious rooms for reasonable rates.

We had done Stonehenge, Salisbury, Avebury and Windsor Castle on an earlier trip. All were great.

We visited the Lake District, staying in Keswick for three nights. Also, did Durham (north of York) as well as Hadrian's Wall at Haltwhistle.

Personally I could find at least a dozen rural areas more interesting than the Cotswolds, which seem for some mysterious reason to be hugely popular with North Americans.

Not much of a mystery: Rick Steves. He tells everyone to start their tour of England in Bath, and so by proximity, the Cotswolds become the next logical step.

What a complete mis-nomer. RS does not "tell" anyone to do anything. He suggests- based largely on his bus tour routes. There is a world of difference between "tell" and "suggest".

In the same way as people will only go to Conwy in North Wales because they are "told to". All the other towns and resorts are seemingly worthless places to stay in. Well domestic tourists know differently.

Bristol can look forward to many more American visitors in 2024 now that they are suddenly going to be "told" to go there.

The Cotswolds may be in proximity to Bath- so are many places, just as nice, but totally unspoilt due to a lack of tourists, in it's southern hinterlands.

Hi all - thanks for all the responses! We booked our tickets, looks like it is actually 2 weeks, so a little bit shorter.

I think the main sights we'd like to see depend on the kids a bit... older kids likely to be somewhat bored in rural areas, but my wife and I and our younger three would enjoy those. Also I think older kids will want some time in London, but will also want some down time after that. So maybe it works out that we start in London, stay three nights there... then head to rent a place in the Cotswolds for 3-4 days? We could get a rental car there, older kids could chill out at the rental if they want & younger ones could drive around with us to see some of the sights, which from what I can tell so far would probably be Bath, Warwick (touristy I know but seems like little kids would love it) and Stratford. Plus just drive around the Costwolds a bit.

If I did that - I'd like to make sure wherever we rented would be in a town big enough for the older kids to walk around, go to shops, do whatever during the day as opposed to a small village where they'd be isolated... any suggestions?

I also am not wedded to the Costwolds... my wife would like to see them, they seem conveniently located to a few other sites (I am purposely skipping Stonehenge as it seems a bit overrated and far from there)... but other than that, would be very open to other interesting rural areas...

Other than that, I'd really like to take the kids up to York for a couple nights. To make it easy and slow, maybe three nights there. So with 3 nights in London, 4 nights in Cotswolds, and 3 in York... that leaves us with 3-4 days to "play with". Would love to hear any suggestions...

Thanks so much!

Also John - I would love to hear about some of the other rural areas that might be more interesting than the Costwolds? We don't have any particular desire to hit the most touristy sites... and when in rural places I think we'd be much happier if we were in places that don't see as many American tourists as we're going to England to give the kids a sense of "somewhere else". My wife and I have traveled extensively and are usually much happier going places where we aren't surrounded by other tourists and instead can just hang out and enjoy the local culture & people. That said, we'd still like to hit some of the more interesting places in London, and I was in York a few years back and think the kids would love it... other than that... wide open to any suggestions! Thanks again!

And Nigel - I love trains, they are easy with the kids and I just enjoy them... so would probably rather train between major destinations and rent a car in the rural spots as opposed to driving everywhere. Did a bit of research and looks like we can get a 7-passenger US-style minivan so one car would work. And no issues driving a standard if needed :)

Be sure the 7-passenger minivan is also going to accommodate 7 people's luggage.

You find me typing this on a train to York to meet friends for an annual catch up, although I doubt we will be seeing any of the tourist sites, unless you count bars!
A 7 seater car will have virtually no room for luggage. In that space will be the third row of seats. It will also be probably cheaper to hire two small cars than one big one, although that obviously means two drivers.
For other rural areas there are two obvious ones if you’re going to York - the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors, both national parks (which the Cotswolds isn’t) Both of these are day trip distance from York either by car or organised tour.
The Peak District national park you will pass on the way to York and a bit further north west is the Lake District.
All these are popular locations but to get quieter you could try the Welsh Borders and the counties of Shropshire, Herefordshire and Powys. Only this morning the Times has an article extolling the virtues of Shropshire, which you might find online although it could be behind a paywall.

If the van is being used just for touring in rural areas, rather than transport between major areas, it might work—depends on the van. I know our son and daughter-in-law’s Toyota van holds way more “stuff” than their Honda SUV.

Bear in mind the language difference here. In the UK a van is a commercial vehicle with no rear windows or seating. What you want to look for is a people carrier if you are looking for something to carry a lot of people.

We'd be looking to take trains generally, and when we spend a few days in a more rural area like the Cotswolds rent something like an Opel Zamora or Ford Galaxy. So luggage shouldn't be a problem.

Those cars will probably work to transport you on day trips. But you won't fit 7 people and their luggage in. The third row of seats giving the extra 2 capacity sits in what would otherwise be the boot (trunk) for luggage.

Cyn,
I'm not sure if you have made any travel decisions yet, but wanted to share our family's experience:
We are a family of 6 and spent 3 weeks in England/Scotland last summer. 4 kids, ages 13, 11, 8, and 6. We were working on a budget, and seemed to be seeking a similar trip to you- time in London, coupled with countryside. I also really wanted to visit York for the history. Working with a budget for 6 people, we had to make hard choices, so we opted to spend 5 nights in London (stayed in zone 2 because the Airbnbs were significantly cheaper), then took the train to York and spent two nights in the historic area. Picked up a minivan in York, and spent 1 week at a rental cottage in the Yorkshire Dales. We hiked, visited historic sites, and just enjoyed the scenery. It was glorious. We based in Masham, walking distance to a grocery store, butcher, baker, and pubs. Masham was convenient for most things we visited. Highlights for our family included Bolton Castle, The Forbidden Corner (kids LOVED this and still talk about it), hikes in multiple villages/Dales (the Penine Way in Swaledale was our favorite), Brymore ice cream, and visiting filming sites for All Creatures Great and Small.

After a week in the Dales, we drove to Edinburgh, stopping at Hadrian's Wall for an afternoon with a private guide (a splurge but definitely worth the money). We enjoyed Hadrian's Wall immensely. We dropped off the van in Edinburgh, and then spent 4 nights in Edinburgh doing the touristy things before taking the train back to London and flying home.
Like you, I initially considered the Cotswolds because I had read so much about it. And it is lovely! But I wanted to get off the beaten path away from the tourist crowds, and Yorkshire was ideal. It was beautiful, uncrowded, and sheep were everywhere. We ran into people who were surprised to see Americans and we truly felt like locals. This trip felt like the right balance between city and countryside, between doing busy tourist stuff and just relaxing and enjoying ourselves and exploring. England/Scotland was a great first trip to Europe for our family. Best of luck as you plan your own family's trip!

Thank you, lizzywoodward. We have our next trip this spring, and are still planning. if