'Off the beaten path' areas to visit

Do you have any idea what part of England you'll head to and how much time you'll have?

I went to Norwich in East Anglia in August 2017 and really enjoyed the city as well as a day-trip to Bury St. Edmunds. Lots of lovely historic architecture in that area, and I believe there are many old churches in East Anglia. Norwich itself has a good art museum with an Asian twist, the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts (on the university campus), and a museum-like shop called The South Asia Collection. You could spend a lot of time just wandering around the picturesque historic center. I didn't notice any other Americans, which makes it off the beaten track in my book.

This area isn't far from Cambridge, and if you continue westward, you can hit the WWII code-breaking center at Bletchley Park.

I think you'll find the average weather a bit drier and more stable away from the west coast, which might be helpful in May.

I also found enough to do on the channel island of Jersey to keep me busy for about 4 days. There are ferries from the south coast and (probably easier unless you want to visit Brighton, Bournemouth, etc.) budget airline flights from London-area airports. Jersey has a zoo focusing on preserving endangered species, a small but spectacular orchid garden and a museum-like memorial to the workers imported by the Nazis during WWII and forced to build defenses.

RG,

If you have a second, check out the posts in the Yorkshire question a few days ago. That's a wonderful area to base out of, and I - and many others - have lots of tips for that area. I spent months in Ampleforth and what a base! Hillwalking from a right turn in the middle of the village! Fabulous cycling; nature and art surrounds..... Assuming you know, but if not AONB when you look at maps is Area of Natural Beauty. That sort of says it all, doesn't it??

Susan
Expat in Ireland

Have you looked at the National Trust UK web site? Although the properties listed may not be anonymous...some are out of the way or may lead you to some adventures on the way. Membership can save money on admissions and offer parking. This and English Heritage led us to many unforgettable places. I liked the New Forest area very much...read Edward Rutherford's book "The Forest" to get a sense of it's history. Watch an English TV series called "Escape to the Country" (Netflix). It showed mostly working couples who upon retiring want a lifestyle change. "Real" British houses were enlightening as to popular taste and the area tours involved showed a great variety of landscapes and fascinating villages and historic sites.

There's an excellent guide from DK publishing called "Back Roads Great Britain" that specializes in off-the-beaten-track excursions. Might be just what you're looking for. Can find used copies on Amazon for just a few dollars.

Lyme Regis and the Jurassic coast, Durham and the fabulous Cathderal.

Urban areas can be "off the beaten path" too. I went to Glasgow, Manchester, and Liverpool in September 2016, and particularly in the first two, locals outnumbered tourists even in the designated "attractions" like museums and historic homes. Even in Liverpool, which does get tourists, almost all of them were from the UK. And as a bonus, many of the attractions in all three cities are free or low cost.

Glasgow has botanic gardens as well as homes designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh. In Liverpool, small group tours of the childhood homes of John Lennon and Paul McCartney are run by the National Trust. For this one you must reserve in advance, and it's not so cheap, but worth it. I didn't research gardens and historic homes in particular, so there are probably many more.

If any of this interests you, here's my detailed trip report: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/uk-trip-report-glasgow-manchester-liverpool-in-september-2016

One specific tip: do look into flying using Manchester airport instead of the London airports - either one way or both ways. It's a great way to get right to the north of England, and particularly if you're not going to London itself, can save a lot of time.

I have visited England many times in May. The weather varies at that time of year - - - can be low 60s or can be downright cold and rainy (around 50). Seems to be a little warmer in the southern counties in May, so in recent years I have focused there. I recommend Dorset for a nice combination of stately homes, gardens, and coastline. In the Midlands, Chatsworth and Haddon Hall are definitely worth seeing. Yorkshire also fits the bill in terms of having gardens, historic homes, and scenic area (the Dales), but compared to Dorset, it's a bigger area and would require more driving. I, too, recommend that you look at the National Trusts' website
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/

OK, I know that this is the England forum, but I am going to suggest Wales. Look at this map:> https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.8747147,-3.6859961,10z/data=!5m1!1e1

At the bottom, you will see the Severn bridges. I would cross the estuary on the M48 bridge and then come off the motorway at the first junction on the Welsh side - then A466 up the Wye Valley - where you may like to stay for a night or 2. (The green coloured areas are especially scenic). The ruins of Tintern Abbey are the main tourist attraction in this area.
https://www.visitmonmouthshire.com/places-to-visit/wye-valley-monmouthshire.aspx?AskRedirect=true

You will notice the A40 goes from east to west across this map. I would follow it to the Brecon Beacons National Park and stay maybe 2 or 3 nights. http://www.breconbeacons.org

Then continue west on the *A40 to Pembrokeshire (SW Wales) - heading first for a base in the Tenby area - though Tenby itself has limited parking so always check that planned accommodation has parking. (Always check places on the map by zooming down). Fantastic coastal scenery west of Tenby - I especially like the walk from Bosherston Church across the lily pools to the coast and then walk east to Barafundle Bay - which can also be reached from Stackpole Quay. (Tenby can be busy with Brit’s but is well worth seeing).
http://www.visitwales.com/explore/national-parks/pembrokeshire-coast
https://www.visittenby.co.uk

Having done south Pembrokeshire - head for St.David’s/ or direct via A478 to Cardigan and then up the west coast of Wales into the County of Ceredigion:> http://www.discoverceredigion.co.uk/English/footer/tics/Pages/tics.aspx

• You may like to take detours off this route to visit Carreg Cennen Castle, Aberglasney Gardens, Dryslwyn Castle & The National Botanic Garden of Wales. Google them if you are interested in my suggestions.

Consider The Peak District

Please be aware that there is a Bank Holiday the last weekend of May, so places will be busier /more expensive around this date and some places will already be booked up.

How long would your trip be?

The New Forest is a good place to spend a few days, including a visit to the historic sights of Buckler's Hard and Beaulieu, but the traffic will be a nightmare over the holiday weekend. You could go to the Isle of Wight for a day.

Places that I like include Norwich and north Norfolk. A good mix of history and stunning beaches for long walks and pretty villages such as Cley next the Sea.

Northumberland - great castles, Holy Island and stunning scenery without the tourist hoardes.

Kent - plenty pretty towns such as Whitstable and Canterbury plus castles, gardens and historic houses.

Rutland - like the Cotswolds, but without the traffic and the tourist masses. Visit Stamford, Oakham and Uppingham and take a boat trip on Rutland Water.

The border areas around Ross on Wye, Monmouth, Hay on Wye, Shrewsbury and Llangollen. Great countryside, castles and historic houses.

In Wales - the stunning countryside around the Gower and St David's.

Where have you been previously?

Not sure how long you have but as you are happy to try and want to experience more than just the usual tourist hotspots here's a circular route for you around some lovely English/Welsh countryside. Many of these places are just attractive to pass through and you may want to stop and have a coffee or a stroll through before continuing on. I'm assuming a flight into Heathrow as it's and easier gateway to the west of England but Gatwick could still work.

Head out of Heathrow westbound onto the M4, come off at junction 14 and pass through Hungerford, then Marlborough, if you're feeling brave go the less direct routes through places like Great Bedwyn as your see pretty villages and thatch cottages. Have a stroll along Marlborough High Street. Head south through the Savernake Forest through more pretty villages until Salisbury, stop at the Cathedral. Then head towards the New Forest. Nice boutique hotels, pubs in the middle of nowhere, great walks. I'd the head towards Christchurch/Bournemouth. You can have some fab seafront walks or just ogle at the big houses as you get closer to Poole. Drive onto the Sandbanks peninsula (mega mansions) and then take the short car ferry trip over to Studland. Really beautiful unspoilt beach. Maybe stay somewhere in this area. Swanage is nice and you could visit Durdle Door. Head up to Corfe Castle, on to pretty Wareham, blandford forum, Shaftesbury to visit Gold Hill and end up in Bath. Visit Dyrham Park as you head north out of Bath back to the M4 and then take the M48 bridge (toll) over to Chepstow and visit Tintern Abbey. Head up through the beautiful Wye Valley and end up in Gloucester for a visit to the Cathedral before heading on to Cheltenham. This is your gateway to the Cotswolds, with your own car you can enjoy just driving around the villages. Tetbury is nice and visit Westonbirt Arboretum. If your budget can afford it finish your trip at the wonderful Manor House hotel in pretty Castle Coombe. You'll then be close to the M4 motorway for your journey back to Heathrow.

We did a 28 day drive tour of South Wales and England in October. We didn't stay in London at all.

We visited a lot of wonderful places, some Americans would call out of the way places.

Here was our itinerary:

Bath, including Wells and Glastonbury
Cardiff, with Tintern Abbey and some great castles
Tenby, Wales, St. David's and a village in SW Wales where my paternal ancestors came from 300 years ago
Chipping Campden and the Cotswolds, Oxford, Blenheim Palace, Stratford on Avon, Warwick
York, Pickering, the Yorkshire Moors and Whitby
Durham and Hadrian's Wall
The Lake District in Cumbria, NW England
Winchester
Southampton
Here is my story of our trip
28 days in Britain and Celebrity Eclipse home
https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=599139

Finally getting back to read all the very helpful responses - To answer how long we'll be there, I think we've agreed to 3 weeks tho we'd stay a year if we could!

Acraven - East Anglia brings to mind the TV series "Lovejoy" and antiques! =) I'd mentioned the Channel Islands after reading "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" and seeing PBS' "Island at War"; my friend thinks they may be all WW2 and beaches. She was leaning more to the Isle of Wight. Any comments?

Robert - thanks for the "Back Roads Great Britain" suggestion; will definitely look it up!

Kathleen - I have seen ''Escape to the Country" once or twice; reminds me of Location, Location, Location =) And yes, we are exploring the National Trust & English Heritage sites.

Husband & I've seen Durham Cathedral several times as it's visible from the highway, but never visited the town. The Peak District was on the list last trip but I don't think we even drove through it in our wanderings. Same for Snowdonia. (Don't know what was wrong with us!) Wales is beautiful, as so many areas there are.

On our last trip, we did fly into London Heathrow and out of Manchester - same fare (or close) and saved a day of travelling as we were nearer MAN after staying In St Helens. We don't have much choice in airports flying from Wash., DC; I'd prefer the slightly smaller Gatwick but I think mostly flights from Miami arrive there.

I appreciate all the suggestions and will share with my friend. We still have time to decide our itinerary. She's really good at that & will keep us on track, but allow for "Oh, let's go there instead!" We've known each other 'forever' so we anticipate a good trip!

The New Forest is a spectacular place, a mix of forest, open heathland, small, historic towns and villages and a lot of history. Wild ponies roam the area along with cattle and pigs at certain times of the year. I have a stall at a monthly food market in a village on the Wiltshire border and I love the drive through the forest in the morning. Take care when driving through however as the animals are often in and alongside the roads.

From Lymington, a town on the coastal part of the forest, you can take the car ferry to Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight. If you're considering an overseas membership for English Heritage then you could visit the few castles on the IOW along with Osbourne House, Queen Victoria's residence.

RG, yours in the second thread in which the Channels Islands have come up within the last week. Which is really odd. I'd say the Channel Islands are more than beaches and WW II sites, but because of the time taken to reach them, I'd tend to rank them at least a bit behind a lot of places on the mainland. I do have a special interest in WW II, and the War Tunnels on Jersey were a significant draw for me. I haven't been to the Isle of Wight, but I am intrigued by it and hope to visit it on a future trip to England.

Quoting myself from the earlier thread, but editing and rearranging things a bit:

Last summer I spent 4-1/2 days on Jersey...and really enjoyed it...My research before the latest trip indicated that there were probably somewhat more sights of interest to me on Jersey [than on Guernsey].

This is what I did (in addition to time spent walking around the attractive central section of St. Helier on multiple occasions):

• Jersey Museum (history and some art; not outstanding, but the history information was good background)
• Orchid Farm. This is small and not cheap, but the displays are magnificent. I loved it. The owner is a multiple-medal-winner at the Chelsea Flower Show, which will not surprise anyone who sees the displays.
• Jersey War Tunnels. Very impressive memorial to the horribly-treated foreign slave laborers brought in to build the Nazi fortifications. The tunnels are still there, and the displays are museum-like, with good explanatory material.
• Jersey Zoo (formerly called the Gerald Durrell Wildlife Park). The zoo specializes in endangered species. Seeing the whole thing takes quite some time. You can certainly spend more than half a day there, I think.
• Samares Manor. Expansive gardens.
• La Hougue Bie. Prehistoric site.

The Channel Islands have their own currency and coins, on par with the standard British notes and coins (which also circulate locally), but definitely not guaranteed to be accepted by all merchants after you leave the islands.

Ferries are fairly often canceled. Presumably for reasons of weather, but I confess to being a bit suspicious since I've had two canceled in just two trips to the islands. Last summer there were cancellations for three days in a row. We're talking very large ships, and the weather didn't see that bad--though I know the Channel can be rough and certainly don't know anything about this subject. I can only recommend traveling to the islands by air.

Here's a link to the thread itself.

Yorkshire Sculpture Park, glorious wild outdoor experience, sheep grazing alongside the Henry Moores.

Stop in Durham and go IN the cathedral. It is one of the most amazing sites, I think. It has a completely different look than other cathedrals/abbeys and is awe inspiring. We went there after hearing that a friend (a minister's daughter) made a very expensive phone call home while visiting the cathedral because she was so awed by it.

I took a ferry from Portsmouth to Ryde, Isle of Wight. I went because I wanted to see Osborn House which was Queen Victoria's favorite home. The island has good public transportation and is large enough to have a number of towns. It is small enough a person can see most of it in a week. It didn't seem to be crowded with tourists. In summer folks were headed to the beaches on south of Ryde. I took a coach to Newport which is in the middle of the island and has the most city feel. M&S has a large store there and there are numerous coffee shops.