Help us plan a month in England?

My wife and I did a four week drive tour of S. Wales and England (no time in London) in October, 2017.

We visited many of the places that you mentioned. Here was our itinerary with some details:

Bath, we did three nights there and spend one full day exploring Bath and the other on a day trip to Wells and Glastonbury.
We stayed at the Brooks Guesthouse, which is at a great location. Also, the great restaurant, The Scallop Shell is nearby.
We then moved on toward Wales and stoped off at Tintern Abbey and a couple of castles on our way to Cardiff.

Cardiff, we did Cardiff Castle, Caerfully Castle and The Museum of Welsh Life, on our way to Tenby

Tenby, Wales is on the water and historically an interesting city. From there we went to St. Davids, at the SW tip of Wales, a very historic place. On the way we stopped at another castle. Our last stop in Wales was in a small village in Cardiganshire, where my Paternal ancestors came from, leaving to come to America in 1716., then back to England.

Chipping Campden, in the Cotswolds. We stayed six nights and used it as a base for visiting the Cotswolds, Oxford, Blenheim Palace and Stratford Upon Avon. We stayed at the Volunteer Inn, which I recommend. It had modern spacious rooms, good rates and a great pub and Indian restaurant.

Warwick, was next where we spend most of the time at the castle, which is a huge draw for British tourists. We saw many children there. It was good.

York, was one of favorite places on the trip and we did three nights there. Visited a couple of museum that were great, especially the National Railway Museum. We walked the ancient walls and loved the Cathedral (Minster) as well as the narrow streets of the old city.

From York we headed toward the Yorkshire Dales and on the way saw Castle Howard and spent the night (I think it was Pickering) before driving through the Dales all the way to Whitby, on the North Sea (don't miss this place).

Durham, we did two nights there and loved the old city and its historic cathedral. The Venerable Bede's toomb is there.

Then on to Haltwhistle to visit Hadrian's Wall for a day, after than on to Keswick for three nights at The Lake District. We did the drive of the circle around the lake that Rick Steves guide of Britain recommended. Very Scenic.

From there, back down to Winchester for three nights.

Recommend renting a car with automatic transmission and a nav system. Also, make sure all your luggage fits in the trunk (boot).

In the Lake District, if you are having a car, then if you want the convenience of Keswick you don't necessarily need to stay in Keswick itself where parking is pretty tight and expensive, you could try one of the surrounding villages where you can be quieter but are still in very easy access to fine walking.
Keswick has a swimming pool/sports centre, a movie theatre (a lovely old fashioned one over a century old but now modernised), a stage theatre for the evenings, parks with activities, a museum. And more than enough places for all budgets and tastes to eat at.
But the villages I am thinking of are Threlkeld 4 miles to the east (linked to Keswick by the K2T cycle way along an old railway), Portinscale (less than 2 miles across fields) and Braithwaite (under 3 miles, a cycle trail into Keswick along either the side of the A66 or the old loop road, now bypassed).
All have really good country pubs, and cafes. Braithwaite is charming in summer with the beck tumbling through the middle of the village, and the Whinlatter Forest Park just up the road (in winter rains that beck can be very destructive in full spate).
Lots of activities at Whinlatter FP including cycling and mountain biking trails and other things for the whole family. (you might like to run them up the pass in the car to the Forest Centre as the road can get a bit busy, but then leave them there, they can cycle all the way back down the trails into the village).
In Threlkeld there is a really good cafe serving local food, open all day every day in the Village Hall.
So in these villages you have the best of all worlds- walking on your doorstep (literally), a quietness when you need it but easy access to the facilities of the market town. Just generally more relaxed.
Keswick Market is a really good market (the only proper market in the Central Lake District) which takes up the whole of the main street on Thursday and Saturday.
And you have the lake cruises on Derwentwater.
All three have good bus services if you and/or the children want to go off to somewhere further afield.

@geovagriffith, thank you for your response! It’s so helpful to have a closer look at the details of an actual trip. I’m excited to look into those locations.

@isn3lc THANK YOU!! Those smaller towns outside Keswick are exactly the sort of thing we’re looking for. Your response got me so excited!!!

In Keswick, don't forget a visit to the pencil museum.

It sounds a very sensible time frame, giving you time to slow down and enjoy what England has to offer.

For the Yorkshire Dales, look at places like Settle, Hawes, Reeth or Richmond. A bit further north, there is Barnard Castle in Teesdale, County Durham which would give access to the Durham Dales as well as Durham. All are small market towns with a lot of character and would make a good base for exploring the area. There is lots of walking from any of these places.

Being pedantic, geovagriffith visited the North York Moors aftrer York NOT the Yorkshire Dales... (the two do t4end to get mixed jup but are very different areas). The Moors are quieter with fewer visitors but have a lot going for them - ruined castles, abbeys, steam railway, good walks... Pickering or Helmesley would be good bases.

I like geovagriffith's itinerary. The Cardiff area would be a great addition to your trip. The St. Fagan's Folk Museum is one of my favorite places I've been.