UK for Christmas

I haven't had the opportunity to stay overnight in Manchester, but I day-tripped there twice from Liverpool and enjoyed the city--albeit in September rather than December.

Liverpool is another good option, I think, and I say that as someone who spent not 1 minute on Beatles-related activities. Trains between the two cities take as little as 37 minutes.

I think you want somewhere on the edge of the Peak District, but with easy train access back into Manchester for the Christmas market and other festivities.
The obvious choice would be Buxton. I am just a bit worried if we ever get a hard winter again. When I was a nipper roads and the railway often got snowed up and blocked into Buxton- only a day or two at a time, but enough to be a nuisance.

So I would suggest as a possible alternative Glossop- that feels like a town to suit your needs, but doesn't get international tourists. It is just over the Derbyshire border but also on the edge of Manchester.

There are a few towns in that area which would suit the bill like Marple or Whaley Bridge/New Mills. Areas with great level winter walking along the canal system if higher walking is precluded by weather. But also snug pubs and great scenic drives very close to hand. From Glossop be aware that the Snake Pass really does get any snow which is around. A great drive if the road is clear, but if the snow gates close not to be attempted. Go back towards Manchester when that happens.

Durham or York

Has anyone used the Channel Tunnel lately to transport their car? I have driven right-hand drive rentals in the UK, and occasionally see UK cars in Germany. Never drove a left-hand drive car in the UK. Is it a good idea to consider driving? I'd see a lot of country I've never seen before along the way. For me it looks to be a 2-3 day trip one-way (@16+ hours).

Yeah you can drive quite easily from Germany via the tunnel. It’s not a problem to be in a left hand drive car.

An alternative route is the overnight ferry from Hook of Holland to Harwich which cuts down on driving time.

Or, if heading to Manchester the Rotterdam to Hull or the Ijmuiden to Newcastle ferries.

Have you done London for Christmas? I did it in 2022 and loved it, It even snowed one evening, which brought everyone out into the streets being silly. Don't write it off just because it is a large city.

It has become a custom with me over the past few years to spend Christmas and New Year's in London.

I've also spent the week or two before in both Manchester and Scotland.

Aywhere you choose should be intersting.....however....keep in mind, the UK shuts down on Christmas day. No public transportation, no shops, only a few restaurants may be open. Boxing Day will have limited services.

So, plan accordingly.

I have done that trip many times, although not as far as Manchester only to the Midlands, and as far as eastern and southern Bavaria never in winter. In winter I haven't gone beyond Hessen and B-W. That was in my own car, English registered and right hand drive, the opposite of your driving.

I have used the Eurotunnel many times, Dover / Calais ferries only a few times, and back when there was one the ferry to Belgium (long gone).

I used the Harwich / Hook of Holland several times last year, all overnight.

If you avoid the typical British holiday get away periods you will probably avoid both the high prices charged when the kids are out of school and have the best chance of avoiding strikes on the British side. Strikes on the French side can be anytime and for any reason so I make no guarantee about those.

For simplicity and speed I don't think that anything comes anywhere near the Eurotunnel (now calling itself Le Shuttle).

Driving from your home via A6 and up to Luxembourg (fill up with super cheap fuel) there is no toll through Belgium, I usually go Namur, Mons, Lille, Calais, or because the roads are so much easier on the French autoroute I often pay the extra and sacrifice the Luxembourg fuel, so it is Metz (north of) Reims, St Quentin, via A16 or A26.

Either way as you approach Calais the Tunnel Sous La Manche is well labelled, with pictographs for cars, trailers, buses, etc. Unless you get the rare car Customs inspection you don't need to leave your car although there is a services building with a few shops and a couple of fast food places and lots of toilets. You go through check in, UK and French border controls, a possible security sweep of your car (groups are selected randomly) and then a queue for boarding. Once on you stay in your car until you drive off at the other end 35 minutes later. There are toilets on board in every 3rd carriage, but the walkways are narrow. They tend to be fairly clean and well stocked, but tiny. There are Services every few miles on the motorway network in the UK, with the fewest on the M25. It is very easy to change which side of the road you are driving and it is well signed.

It is rare these days to have night-time lighting on British motorways except in cities, and with the short days and the amount of driving you will be doing it is likely some will be at night.

Because of Operation Brock, the government's cunning plan for how to manage long queues of trucks dealing with the new Brexit checks and delays, the M20 carriageway between Dover and Folkestone and Ashford has been narrowed, a contraflow installed and low 50 mph, speed camera controlled, narrower lanes. It is a royal pain, but it is what has been imposed.

Google and other mapping programmes probably route you around the east of London to cross the river on the M25 (changes its name just for the crossing (called the Dartford Crossing on signs) and changes it back again. If you are going northbound you will be put through one of 2 adjacent tunnels with a low speed limit and the lanes are minimum width - those are called the Dartford Tunnels, and there is almost always traffic congestion getting to them. If you are going southbound you will be on the Elizabeth Bridge (unless the bridge has an issue in which case you will be routed to one of the tunnels, but that is rare). Tolls are based on vehicle size and are non-stop, you need to pay online after you cross by midnight the day after you cross. Cars at the moment are £2.50 but not after 22:00 and before 06:00. You might be tempted to go around the M25 clockwise, around the south, west and northwest but there are often delays. They don't call the M25 the world's longest car park for nothing.

Going via the Channel Tunnel to Manchester might not make sense time wise.

It is an hour longer to the Tunnel than to any of the ports in the Netherlands then 5 to 6 hours from through England.

From Hull to Manchester is under 2 hours, North Shields (Newcastle) to Manchester 3 hours or maybe a bit less, From Harwich to Manchester around 4 1/2 to 5 hours (all these times are from Via Michelin by the way).

If you route through the tunnel you would need an overnight either in Northern France or Southern England.

Going through the Netherlands you get the overnight as part of the ferry package.

But why not fly Easyjet Munich to Manchester then rent the car there? Talking a 14 to 15 hour drive each way feels like a lot. Before baggage fees that can be as low as £60 each way.

It is only 13 hours by train from Munich via Brussels and the Eurostar, then rent a car in Manchester.

The problem with both ferries from the Netherlands is the infuriating 100 kph speed limit until 7 in the evening. Coming from Germany with the autobahn, 130 minimum mostly and long stretches of not 130 you are absolutely crawling at 100. And then there is no speed differential to heavy goods vehicles or oma or opa, so traffic is much denser.

Netherlands is also expensive.

Boarding the Hollandica or Brittanica is never fast, and you can sit at the barrier for over an hour after check in while the little tugs move trailers in and out. They are nice boats, and we always pay more (£££) for the best cabins so you wind up spending more for a short night's sleep. Driving through Essex and Suffolk is also slow, and there are interminable road works on the A14 in Suffolk - they made repairs the wrong way and had to dig it all out again and are now a full year behind. Very heavy traffic, and mostly the A14 is only 2 lanes each way and while cars can do 70 mph the heavy goods vehicles are limited to 59, and they are always passing each other so the journey becomes slower and frustrating.

I am not particularly keen on being told that valid advice is stupid or whatever words you choose "makes no sense" ,to be superior - responding at the time to the specific question about using the Channel Tunnel and driving on the left - so if you can't find your polite hat on the hat rack maybe say nothing until you can.

I was responding to the specific question posed 7 and a half hours ago by the OP which read, if you haven't seen it,

Has anyone used the Channel Tunnel lately to transport their car? I have driven right-hand drive rentals in the UK, and occasionally see UK cars in Germany. Never drove a left-hand drive car in the UK. Is it a good idea to consider driving? I'd see a lot of country I've never seen before along the way. For me it looks to be a 2-3 day trip one-way (@16+ hours).

Rudeness has no place here.

I know you are still new here so maybe haven't learned the politeness that is our way here.

Remember when encouraging ferries that the trip will be in December or January. Experience tells me that the shorter the ferry at that time of year the better.

Bear in mind that the UK, shops and restaurants virtually close down from Christmas Eve afternoon until 26th for the shops, 27th for restaurants, so you would need to find or book in advance your meals for a couple of days in the limited choice of those that are open.
While Manchester is a great city, I would get the train from the airport to Liverpool, where there is more for the tourist to see and do.

I am not particularly keen on being told that valid advice is stupid or whatever words you choose "makes no sense" ,to be superior - responding at the time to the specific question about using the Channel Tunnel and driving on the left - so if you can't find your polite hat on the hat rack maybe say nothing until you can. Rudeness has no place here.

The OP was being addressed, not Nigel. No one is being rude, or trying to be superior. I am also entitled to express my opinion with a northern hat on.

Originally the OP was, by implication from their initial paragraph, thinking about flying over and renting a car here. That still, to me, seems to be the best option.

By the law of averages sooner or later we are going to get a harsh winter again- unlike the last few years. If and when that does happen it could affect the continent as much as the UK, and affect driving routes making the 8 hours or so to the Tunnel (or any of the 3 ports in the Netherlands) rather longer, likewise making the journey north in England more difficult than it would normally be.
If coming to the north of England I stand by my feeling that coming via the Tunnel feels like the long way round, "makes no sense" is the thought to the OP.
At any time of year I am very unconvinced, if coming by ferry, that Harwich is the best route to the North- which is why I would suggest the Hull or Newcastle ferry routes as a general rule. I am rather unsure whether that Via Michelin timing from Harwich is right- but it seems to be the route planner of choice here.
But equally, regardless of the ferry journey, I would be more than a trace worried about the relatively shorter trans Pennine drive from Hull or Newcastle if it was a bad winter. The M62 can be severe in winter conditions between Leeds and Manchester. That is why it was built at the summit as a divided motorway.

Stranded drivers up there used to be a staple winter news item locally.

And we have had times when all 3 TP routes are closed by snow-M62, A66 and A69. It's unusual, but far from unheard of.

While suggesting the train the DB suggested change at Brussels looks suspiciously tight to me. And I disregarded a suggested Paris connection on DB as unworkable.

So basically of the 4 options- drive via Tunnel, drive via a (any) ferry, train or fly my belief (wearing a Northerners hat) is that flying, then renting a car here (or using transit, not bothered) at Christmas is the most sensible or most efficient option (use whatever form of words you like). In the summer it would be a different conclusion.