First time trip/Lancaster base

I will make an educated guess that you are staying at Thurnham Hall? If so, will you have a car? The location is pretty rural and not having a car will make your trip pretty difficult.

In the immediate area Lancaster itself is interesting and has a fine castle. Nearby Morecambe gives access to wonderful Morecambe Bay and has a glorious art deco hotel on the promenade, the Midland.

The Lake District is pretty close and offers all sorts of attractions. There are many posts on here extolling its virtues and a regular poster isn32c can provide as much information as you need.

Getting the train from Lancaster to Edinburgh will be straightforward - a little over two hours each way. So doable for a day trip, albeit maybe a long day.

York is more problematic. It will be around 3 hours each way with at least one change. That for me would be too far for a day trip. You could drive it and that would be a bit over two hours each way but could easily take longer and you might not be comfortable with that length of driving, presumably on what for you will be the "wrong' side of the road.

Much more practical would be a visit to either Liverpool or Manchester. The former likely to take 75-90 minutes with one simple change (occasional direct trains) and the latter about an hour direct. I can provide a list of things to do in either much longer than you will have time for on a day trip.

In Lancaster I would add the Priory Church (next to the Castle) and Williamson's Park. Probably also Lancaster Maritime Museum (the city in former times was quite a significant port) and Lancaster Museum.

For an American visiting the area the village of Warton, just north of Carnforth should be a stop. The Washington family (from whom George Washington, first president was descended) came from Warton (and before that County Durham, hence the town called Washington over there).

George Washington's direct line were in Warton from around the year 1300 until they moved to Oxfordshire/Northamptonshire and thence Virginia. But other members of the family were there until well into the nineteenth century. There is the George Washington pub and on 4 July the stars and stripes are flown from the Church. There is an exhibition inside the Church about the link (or always has been when I have been there). Their manor house was Warton Old Rectory.

You could couple Warton with Carnforth Station (for the 'Brief Encounter' movie), Leighton Hall, and the RSPB at Leighton Moss.

And in the Lake District you will of course know the Mildred Warner story (and the John Paul Jones story as well) at Whitehaven.

If you go to Edinburgh on the train do pay the little bit extra to go first class on Trans Pennine, with the included meal service.

It would be useful to know where you are staying, how long for, whether you will have a car (Thurnham Hall does have an hourly bus, which does help if you don't and that is where you are staying) and a bit more about your interests.

If you keep venturing a bit further north from Carnforth you also have some really nice places- Cartmel (charming village with famous stick toffee pudding, if you like desserts), Levens Hall (stately home with impressive topiary garden), and Kirkby Lonsdale (nice typical town for the area). You are also very close to the Yorkshire Dales which in my opinion is one of the most beautiful areas in the country and may be slightly less touristy. If you drive to York you can stop off in the dales along the way. If you make it to York, must-sees are definitely the minster (like a cathedral), the National Railway Museum (if you're interested in trains), and the Jorvik Viking Centre- plus walking along the Shambles altho it seems to be unpleasantly full of Harry Potter shops these days. I'd also recommend a ghost tour. Good luck with the planning!

plus walking along the Shambles altho it seems to be unpleasantly full of Harry Potter shops these days.

Interesting- why is that unpleasant?

“Shambles” of course means slaughter house and I think that would have been quite unpleasant in the 14th century. Jigsaws of Hogwarts, not so much.

Cartmel is one of those places you can actually get to by public transport again. There is a reintroduced bus service (funded by the Government) from Kendal Bus Station (which also calls at Grange Railway Station).
You can walk there from Cark and Cartmel Station (which is in Cark) although as a local I don't really recommend it, likewise you can walk there from Grange or Kents Bank Stations but it's not really recommended.
Interesting that CatVH only mentioned Sticky Toffee Pudding (which is no longer made there, but in an industrial unit at Flookburgh) when there is also the fine Priory Church to visit (free entry), as well as the pretty unique racecourse.
The Priory was one of the very few to survive the Dissolution due to it's dual status as a Priory Church- the first Church on the site was founded in the 7th century by the monks of Lindisfarne.
The racecourse is also a public park so you can wander round at will. Racedays in July and August are on Saturday 19th July 2025, Monday 21st July 2025, Saturday 23rd August 2025 and Monday 25th August 2025.
The Cartmel Agricultural Show is also held there on Wednesday 6 August- which I helped at for some years. The Ag Shows are a great way to meet and learn about the local community.

Kirkby Lonsdale has an hourly bus from Lancaster (half of which extend all the way to Skipton via Ingleton in Yorkshire). The Parish Church is very interesting dating back to the twelfth century in parts.

Thank you for all the suggestions! Yes, we are staying at Thurnam Hall for the week.
We did plan on renting a car once we get to London, we’ll stay over one night there, at the Coach and Horses by Kew Gardens, and then drive to Thurnam Hall the next day. I’m assuming we can simply drive into Lancaster and hop on the train to Edinburgh or any destination we’d like while we’re there?
I’ve also been following the FB page on Beatrix Potter’s Hill Top House in the Lakes District. It looks like they have a lake ferry and a bus to Hill Top House. Any recs for that, or should we skip that?
I love the rec for the Washington’s ancestral town! I’d also love to make a stop in Sturton le Steeple where my ancestor, John Robinson, is from. Are there any mentions of The Pilgrims in that town? The deeper purpose of the trip is to visit the towns of our ancestors, and find out anything more from the records there, though not sure how easy it is to find the info. I’m thinking, since we’re driving, a detour to Sturton le Steeple on the way north to Lancaster, or on the drive back to London after our week at Thurnam. Any recs on that? It sounds like a day trip wouldn’t be the way to go there.
After our week north, we planned a couple days south of London, near my husband’s grandfather’s town, Hawkhurst. We’ve got a room reserved at the White Dog Inn in Ewhurst for two nights.
Thank you all for the help, I love all the suggestions! I think we’ll definitely go to one of the horse races!

I would consider taking the train to Lancaster and then hiring a car - it will be much quicker. I live in Preston, just south of Lancaster and often drive down to my eldest son's house in East London. Routinely it's a 5 hour drive, so closer to 6 to Thurnam. The train will take about 2.5 hours and you will get to see more countryside than driving on the motorway. We usually take the train but sometimes we are taking or bringing back two much stuff!

edit: Missed the reference to Sturton Le Steeple. That's fairly close to Lincoln, so a long way out of the fastest route to Lancaster. I think I would therefore do a one way car hire from Lancaster to London and call at Sturton on your way back south. By that time you will be much more used to driving on what for you is the "wrong" side of the road. A long drive on your second would be pretty stressful for most. A quick google search suggests around a 7 hour drive from Kew, without any time in Sturton.

If you are going to Hawkhurst, you'll be very close to two great sites- Bodiam Castle (which is roofless and empty, but very fun to explore- even more fun to take the local steam train there and back), and Bedgebury Pinetum and National Forest, which I haven't personally been to but have been meaning to for ages- a really beautiful looking place to walk around. If you're in Ewhurst, you'll be right on the edge of the Surrey Hills, particularly Leith Hill, which is wonderful for walking, and also not too far from the North Downs Way, the original path the pilgrims in the Canterbury Tales took to Canterbury, which I really highly recommend if you're interested in a long (or short) distance walk (depending on how far you want to go!).

To respond to a few points raised on this thread: 1) my main memories of Cartmel are the sticky toffee pudding and excellent local ale... I don't think we made it to the priory tho it sounds very interesting! 2) some of us are getting a bit tired of every atmospheric street in the UK (the Shambles, the Royal Mile... even not so atmospheric parts of central London) turning into a Harry Potter theme park... but I know not everyone shares that feeling!

I also second the recommendation to take the train between London and Lancaster if you don't have to stop off on the way- having done the train between London and the Lake District countless times, and driven once when the line was closed for engineering works, the driving took much, much longer and was far less pleasant.

Great recommendations re the train to Lancaster! We’ll look into renting a car from there instead of London.
A couple other questions I have are about day to day things like, do we need to carry cash at all? I’ve heard most everything is tap and pay. I’m wondering for the smaller unusual places, like Hill Top House, the ferry for the lake (Windemere?). I could also email them to find out before we go.

Personally, I very rarely carry any cash these days- pretty much everything has contactless payment. However, you never know when you might need some (particularly for tips) so I would advise carrying a little bit. I think something like £20 is more than enough, though you might want that in smaller notes.

As regards local Church records those are all at Lancashire Archives in Preston (if they survive) assuming the ancestors are from modern Lancashire. If they are from the majority of the old Lancashire North of the Sands (that is modern South Cumbria) they will be at Kendal Archives. From Ulverston westwards they will be at Barrow Archives.
Archivally we do not allow members of the public to view original registers other than in extraordinary circumstances. Normally they are viewed on microfilm. Certainly at Kendal and Barrow that is by prior appointment. Preston has a lot more room so may be able to take walk up bookings.
We know there are no surviving records in England for John Robinson. What little survives is at Leiden in the Netherlands.

Apparently Gainsborough United Reformed Church was built as the John Robinson Memorial Church. I don't know whether there is anything except a foundation stone to mark that association.

Hill Top is very easy- up the A6 (or pick up the M6 at Carnforth then off at exit 36 onto the A591, then the A591 past Brettagh Holt/ Sizergh Hall to Plumgarth's Roundabout at the north end of the Kendal By pass then follow the signs for the Windermere Car Ferry on the back road through Crook (don't go on to Windermere then fight with traffic through Windermere and Bowness). You can then drive up to Hill Top. There is not too much parking up at Hill Top. You may be better leaving the car on the Windermere side of the ferry at Braithwaite Fold Car Park for a short walk back to the ferry, then going over as foot pax and catching the bus on the other side.
If you did drive over and the parking at Hill Top was full continue on to Hawkshead, park up there then take the bus back down to Hill Top.
It's a steep pull up the hill but you can walk it up to Hill Top from the ferry in between 30 and 45 minutes depending on pace.
If you've driven over my recommendation would then be to return via the Grizedale Forest Park and Rusland (the Children's author Arthur Ransome's burial place) to join the A590 at Greenodd then follow the A590 back to Sizergh to regain the route south. Those are really nice roads to traverse, a part of the area which is often missed.
If you take the A6 to or from Sizergh you pass Levens Hall.
That would make a very nice day.

PS- The Windermere Car Ferry certainly takes cards as does Hill Top. It never hurts to have a bit of cash- card machines can be unserviceable at times.
Hawkshead Grammar School is where William Wordsworth (poet) was schooled- there is a nominal entrance charge.

Mary's husband here, great tips from all. Thank you very much for adding to the excitement of our trip. This is a lovely community.

plus walking along the Shambles altho it seems to be unpleasantly full of Harry Potter shops these days.

There are two Harry Potter shops in the Shambles. Hardly full of them!

@Johnew52, from what I've been able to find online for train prices from Kew to Lancaster, does $115 each, one-way, sound about what to expect?

$115 is full price, fully flexible fare.

You can't book until 12 weeks before travel anyway, but if you book fairly early and can commit to a specific train it should be about £29.50 each ($35) London to Lancaster.
I book 3 to 4 weeks out (to Carlisle, further north) and usually still get that fare.

EDIT- If you were going to buy full price tickets, then buy a Two Together Railcard for £30 before March, £35 afterwards, to get 33% off the fares (only after 9.30am on Mondays to Fridays).
Even for that one journey it will be worth it.

I second the suggestion for the Two Together railcard- we use ours all the time and it's huge savings, even for just one long-distance journey. It's valid on weekends, too.