England,Wales, Maybe Scotland 3 weeks, active family

The Cotswold would be a great area to a bike trip for several days. You can hire (rent) bikes from Hartswell on High Street in Bourton-on-the-Water. There are so many beautiful villages in the Cotswolds that you could ride to/thru.

Thanks so much for the advice. It does seem lovely there. After that what part of England would you head to? I am reading about the Lake District and the Peak District. Ideally we are looknig for a place, for that part of our trip, to rent a house and do hikes, sightseeing and such. Thanks so much! It's overwhelming.

You are planning a holiday at the busiest time of year during the school holiday season and are hoping to visit two of the most touristy places in the UK, the Cotswolds and the Lake District and as budget travellers?! My suggestion would be to visit great, but less touristy areas.

With five, it is likely to be cheaper to hire a car than to travel by train. (If you do travel by train, book 12 weeks out for the best prices). Kent and Sussex will give you plenty of castles, history, pretty gardens and countryside. Stay somewhere inland for a week and head in different directions each day. Lewes, Brighton, Canterbury, Rye, Leeds Castle or Hever Castle, Chartwell the home of Winston Churchill and Whitstable are all within easy reach.

As an alternative to the Cotswolds, I would suggest Rutland. Just as pretty but far fewer tourists. Visit Stamford, Oakham and Uppingham and rent bikes for cycling round Rutalnd Water (21 miles round the reservoir) and surrounding areas.

Another area great for walking is the coastal path near Whitby in Yorkshire, but this is further from London, but very different.

I would avoid the Lake District in July/August unless you want to spend much of your time stuck in traffic and struggling to park. The roads are too narrow to cycle safely.

Thank you Jennifer for the fantastic advice. You're right, always best to avoid tourist season, but this is our option this particular summer. And Shakespeare very much on my husband's must see agenda. I am deeply grateful for your insights and will look into all of them. Would you also suggest the Peak District? I only know what I read, but have heard nice things about that area. And are there beautiful areas of Wales that are less touristed? I am wondering where we might rent a house there or elsewhere for part of the time, both to save money and because it is relaxing to have a base and to get to know a small town.
Many thanks.

A friend of mine who has lived in the UK and leads bike trips around Europe speaks highly of the Yorkshire Dales for cycling, but we haven't tried it.

I recently bought a book on cycling in Wales---"Lost Lanes Wales" with 36 rides on "quiet lanes, mountain roads, ancient byways and traffic-free cycle paths". It has lots of photographs and suggestions for routes, maps, using the train, pubs, overnight stops, etc. Inwould be happy to loan it to you.

The whole country of Wales looks lovely. We did a three-day walking trip there, based near Abergavenney, and loved it.

On that same trip we walked from Church Stretton in Shropshire and enjoyed that as well. Wild ponies, a waterfall, wild moors, a beautiful valley.

We will walk in the Lake District on our next trip but cannot offer any advice or comparisons yet.

Two places we have considered for Multi-day cycle trips are the Thames Path and the new John Muir Trail in Scotland. The latter opened in 2014 and extends from John Muir's birthplace at Dunbar on the east coast to Helensburgh near Loch Lomond in the west. It looks to be a better path for cycling than walking.

Thank you Lola! I am off to research...

Here's the website for the Yorkshire Dales cycle way:

http://www.cyclethedales.org.uk/cycle-touring/yorkshire-dales-cycleway

don't be put off visiting the Lakes in July - but make sure you have your accommodation sorted

have a look here for ideas

http://www.golakes.co.uk/adventure-capital/cycling-lake-district.aspx

www.theguardian.com/travel/2013/may/10/cotswolds-uk-bike-rides

CYMBELINE will be showing at the RSC at that time.

Thanks Ramblin' On, will do. And Nigel, yes Cymbeline - and Hamlet too! We have the only Shakespeare-literate American children we know :-)

Consider a self-guided Lake District inn to inn walking holiday:
http://www.golakes.co.uk/accommodation/walking-holidays-lake-district.aspx
We've done it the easy way with a booking company arranging the overnight B&B accommodations and luggage transfer service. Since you are active and presumably young, you could forgo the luggage transfer and self-porter you backpacks. Walking the Lake District fells lets you go over them rather than bike around them. Slow travel in scenic surroundings is my preferred way to go.

If you chose to pay for some assistance, there are a number of walking holiday booking companies. We've used Contours Walking Holidays for both long distance UK walks and a short three day Lake District walking trip: https://www.contours.co.uk/index.php
Contours did the B&B bookings, and provide Ordinance Survey topo maps and walking route information along with luggage transfer service.

The down side of UK walking holidays is that with full English (or Scottish) breakfasts, and pub food with a pint or two, I come back a tad heavier.

I also would not hesitate to visit the Lake District in summer - it is quite easy to escape the tourist hoards on the main route of the A591 through the primary villages. Once your are in Keswick you can easily get out to the west and east to the more remote areas for some of the most beautiful countryside on this green Earth! We have been to the Lakes many times over the past 25 years and keep going back for more, even in summer. Not a good place to bike as the previous poster mentioned...but if you want to hike then, by all means, spend a few days here. There are also plenty of literary sites off the main tourist track if you don't want to deal with crowds...Ruskin's home out on Coniston Water, Muncaster Castle out near the coast...just stunning places. We always have based ourselves in Keswick and if you don't want to use your car then the local public bus service is very good - can get you out to many of the trailheads you may want to use or other places you want to visit. Driving your own car is good because you can get to many remote places but the roads can be a bit scary with stone walls on either side and trucks bearing down on you while trying to avoid sheep lying in the road in places!

I am so heartened by the comments encouraging us to try the Lake District despite our touristy timing. I know there must be many, many beautiful areas of England and the UK that are less well known, but with one shot to do this trip with our kids right, I must admit being pulled to the Lake District, among other areas. We are thinking a few days of biking in the Cotswolds and then a house rental somewhere more wild - Snowdonia? Lake District? (Don't laugh at me please if those areas are not wild).

So, several further questions for this excellent forum please: 1) If you had to pick one, would you go to Scotland or Wales? 2) If you could rent a house or cottage in one place in the UK, a place in or near a walkable village and in or near hiking trails and not too far from some historic places, castles, whatever, where would it be?

Again,
Thanks

North Wales is full of great old castles, mountain hikes, and scenic railroads. Much closer and more compact than Scotland. I'd suggest saving Scotland for another trip where you can give it the time it deserves, especially if you're focused on walking, biking, and such from a week-long base. We stayed in Conwy. Caernarfon might be more central to major N. Wales sights. A car would let you do a lot more than relying on trains and buses.

RE: A car would let you do a lot more than relying on trains and buses.

We relied on trains and buses for transportation to starting trail heads and from finishes of our point to point UK walking holidays. The benefit of not hiring a car is not having to park the vehicle during our walking trip and not having to get back to the start of the walk to fetch the car. While not a concern for circular routes starting and ending at the same point, why hire a car to have it sit for the duration of your walking (or cycling) trip?

What a great discussion--- provides lot of wish material for us. We like to alternate walking in the Alps or Dolomites with walks in the UK---very different but both are beautiful and rewarding.

We are mountain bikers more than road cyclists, so have not biked much in the UK (although I have in Ireland). Having seen the narrow lanes in Wales, flanked on both sides with hedges and no shoulder, I would be very cautious in picking a route. Actually I would try to stay on dedicated cycle or walking paths, free of traffic, unless it was an area with very lonely roads and no stone walls or hedges to obstruct views. Maybe you can get an idea of places to go from a company like this:

https://www.hfholidays.co.uk/activities/guided-cycling-tours/

Not suggesting you book the tours, but take a look at where they go. Or look at the self-guided tours such as Edgar suggested. They cost little more than do-it-yourself but take care of all the logistics, including luggage transport.

For a village base for a week, for walking and local activities, I would be hard-pressed to choose. The Cornwall coast is gorgeous, with pretty villages and paths along the coast and inland so as well. We loved Scotland, both the land and the people. I could probably find a week's worth of walking and cycling at Oban and the nearby islands, but I am sure people can suggest other places as well. (Actually I remember seeing an advert for a rental cottage on a small island near Oban, and thought--why don't we just stay here for weeks?)

The Dolgellau area of NW Wales has some specific mountain biking trails. For the less energetic, an old railway route goes alongside the beautiful Mawddach estuary. I think that the route may also go NE from Dolgellau towards Bala.
http://mountainbikingwales.net

Harlech Castle is not that far away.http://cadw.gov.wales/daysout/harlechcastle/?lang=en
Nice sandy beaches can be found between Barmouth & Harlech.

I would suggest that if visiting this area, that it would be wise to hire a car. If you were to go by train:> www.nationalrail.co.uk >
FROM SAV (Stratford-upon-Avon) TO BRM (Barmouth) - it takes about 5 hours. You will find a ridiculously high price. You reduce this as follows - SAV to SHR (Shrewsbury) = £15.20 (pay on the day - but you might want a return for this leg for a few days later to get back to London via Birmingham - ignoring the bit to SAV. Then, when you arrive in the UK - or at least the day before - purchase your ticket as an advance single from SHR to BRM for about £9. (If going to the Lake District by train from Stratford-upon-Avon, try splitting the ticket at perhaps Birmingham or Crewe to reduce the price -and pre book ahead).

www.visitwales.co.uk (Wales has a separate forum on RS).

I am really grateful for all these recent posts, thanks so much. North Wales sounds fantastic. And it looks like hiring a car is probably the way to go for us.

If base "camping" in a village for several days is preferred to a point to point walking, Patterdale seemed to be a fell walking center on the eastern end of the Lake District.

http://where2walk.co.uk/area-information-yorkshire-lake-district/about-the-lake-district/ullswater/

Walks ...favourite walks in the Ullswater area are detailed below,
click on the link for full walk details.

Helvellyn by the Edges. This very popular fell of over 3,000 foot is
best climbed via Striding and Swirrel Edges.

Ridges over Dovedale. Quieter ridges sneak up high between some of the
Lakeland giants.

Back of Ullswater. A lovely 7 mile lakeside path leads from Howtown to
Glenridding. Add the steamer for a great day out.

Angletarn Pikes. A cracking walk over this craggy double summit and
round a beautiful tarn from Brothers Water.

Fistful of Dodds. Enjoy lovely panoramic views from the soft turf of
the northern Helvellyn ridge as the crowds congregate only a few miles
away.

Gowbarrow via Aira Force. A lovely Lakeland fell reached via the most
famous waterfalls in the Lake District.

High Street Ridge Walking. A 13 mile walk on the old Roman road before
a return along the banks of Haweswater.

You can bag Helvellyn (950 MASL) via Striding Ridge: http://where2walk.co.uk/lake_district/classic_circuits/helvellyn-by-the-edges/
https://www.thebmc.co.uk/how-to-scramble-striding-edge
If you don't want to scramble, you can walk up the west side of Helvellyn: begin from several points along the A591 road along the west side of the mountain near Grasmere.

Or just take a less breathtaking (i.e. easier) walk with no scrambling to Angle Tarn, one of the prettiest tarns in the Lake District: http://where2walk.co.uk/lake_district/easy_fells/angletarn-pikes/

All suggested places are lovely. If you are looking for somewhere a little like the Lake District, I endorse North Wales with its coastlines, mountains and fabulous castles. You asked about the Peak District - and that is lovely too. Lovely limestone villages (Eyam, Ilam, Tissington), little towns (Ashbourne, Bakewell) and some great stately homes (Chatsworth, Hardwick, Haddon Hall). Lots of walks - the walk from Dovedale to Milldale is a classic. For fans of Jane Austen, Chatsworth is supposedly what Pemberley was based on, and for fans of the Princess Bridge: much of it was filmed in Derbyshire (Haddon Hall was the Prince's Castle). The Blue John Caverns at Castleton are old mining tunnels that you can go through in a boat. The the upland moor area around Kinder Scout. There's not much in the way of lakes, but there is the Ladybower Reservoir (where they practised for the Dambusters raids). So yet another great choice among many.