Holiday activity guide researcher

Tourist guide and information

Where to holiday in England? - Our editors explore where to rent a cottage and what's going on. - Visitor hot-spots on south coast seaside locations Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Sussex and Dorset. - National Parks at Cumbria (the Lake District National Park), Norfolk Broads, Dartmoor, Exmoor, New Forest, Northumberland, North Yorkshire Moors, Peak District, South Downs and Yorkshire Dales. And so much more, solitude in the mountains, and friendly atmosphere in villages throughout England. - Ten large vibrant cities: Manchester, Cambridge, Oxford, London, Warwick, York, Liverpool, Exeter, Brighton, Chester. - Ten beautiful towns / villages: Castle Combe in Wiltshire, Padstow and the Lizard Peninsula, Polperro in Cornwall, Hawkshead in Cumbria, Rye in East Sussex, Burford in Oxfordshire, Dedham in Essex, Bibury in Cotswold valley, Chipping Campden in Gloucestershire, Whitby on Yorkshire coast and Shrewsbury in Shropshire. - British seaside resorts: Blackpool, Bournemouth, Bridlington, Brighton, Broadstairs, Cromer, Eastbourne, Great Yarmouth, Mablethorpe, Margate, Minehead, Morecambe, Newquay, Sandown (Isle of Wight), Scarborough, Southend-on-Sea, Swanage, Torbay and Weymouth. Find in-depth information through our tourist guides.

coastal walk in Northumberland

North East - Northumberland, Durham & North East coast

The atmospheric north east of England with its wild landscape, running from Yorkshire to the south to Northumberland in the north has an independent, rugged beauty. There are many holiday rental cottages in the north east from which you can explore the spectacular castles and the superb golden coastline by car, bicycle or on foot. Stay in anything from a clifftop castle on the Northumberland coast to a cosy pine lodge in the countryside of the Tees Valley. Sample some local hospitality in some of the characterful inns and restaurants that nestle among the gorse–tattooed beauty of the North Pennines. Or visit the wonderfully distinctive, cities of Newcastle, Gateshead and Durham. There are many reasons that you’ll want to stay in this beautiful corner of England and there are many carefully restored character cottages to stay in. There is also an increasing selection of eco-friendly cottages, using sources of sustainable energy and materials that impact less on the environment.

Holiday activities in The Lake District

North West - The Lake District, Cumbria, Cheshire & North West

There is much more to the North West of England than The Lake District, albeit that the Lakes are one of the most iconic tourist areas. Beautiful mountains, rugged landscapes and of course Lakes! Picturesque villages, pubs and great walking are a few of the attractions. In the Lake District there is a wide choice of accommodation for self-caterers to rent for their vacation - cottages, lodges, farmhouses and larger country houses. The main towns visited by holiday makers in the area are Windemere, Ambleside, Kendal and Keswick.

Yorkshire steam railway

Yorkshire - Yorkshire Dales, Yorkshire Moors and Yorkshire Coast

Yorkshire is the largest county in the UK. Famous for its three national parks; the Yorkshire Dales, the Peak District and the North York Moors. Yorkshire has a protected Heritage Coast and award-winning wildlife sanctuaries. Towns and cities with a unique heritage Leeds, Sheffield, Bradford, Rotherham, Doncaster, Barnsley, Scarborough, York, Skipton, Hull, Ripon, Harrogate, Halifax, to name just few.

Transport links to and from the county are second to none. With Leeds/Bradford, Humberside and Robin Hood (Doncaster) airports, the port of Hull, the East Coast mainline rail network and A1 roads linking London with Scotland, and the M62 and M1 motorways traversing, the county is so easily accessible where ever you are travelling form.

Belper, town in Derbyshire in Heart of England

Heart of England - Cotswolds, Forest of Dean, Peak District, Herefordshire

Great Britain has some fantastic places to visit and a host of beautiful and charming areas to enjoy for a short break or a weeks holiday. The coast is varied and changeable with enchanting towns and villages. The Lake District is an amazing place and rightly very popular. However we are always amazed at how brilliant some of the other parts of Britain are, particularly inland in the very Heart of England - there is lots of over laps of regions not only with the English Welsh border.

However you like to relax and enjoy your time off, there will be something for everyone in The Heart of England. The Cotswolds, Hereford and Forest of Dean are close to each other and are a rural idyll with charming villages , rolling hills, forests and rivers. The Peak District, as the name suggests is slightly more mountainous with moorlands, craggy hills and far reaching views.

East Anglia - Cambridge, Lincolnshire, Essex, Suffolk & Norfolk

The East of England is a glorious part of the nation and well worth visiting!

It is actually quite a large land mass, from Lincolnshire in the North all the way down to Essex via Suffolk and Norfolk! The most well know part is of course Cambridge with its magnificent buildings full of history and the glorious River Cam! East Anglia has some marvellous countryside, scenic farmland, churches, castles, villages and beaches. It feels like stepping back in time with so much history! Norwich is an historic city at the centre of Norfolk and close to the Norfolk Broads - a large series of inland waterways popular for all types of boating. The coastline from Essex, through Suffolk to Norfolk has some amazing open beaches and some picturesque villages.

South of England - London, Sussex, Berkshire, Kent and Home Counties

The South of England has a wide variety of counties each with its own distinct identity. London is the epicentre and many people who work in London choose to live in the countryside nearby. Consequently some of the counties near London have relatively large populations.

Within the South of England there are some amazing towns and cities and some really picture postcard villages. The South enjoys a slightly better climate and there is beautiful countryside and gardens, There are so many attractions that it is difficult to know what to recommend, suffice to say there is something for everyone. The main counties are Kent, Hampshire, Surrey and Sussex and of course the sea is never too far away – there are some fantastic towns on the coast, the most famous being Brighton. The New Forest in Hampshire a special area and the South Downs re hills that follow the line of the coast. So whatever you like to do, whether walking, sailing, shopping, visiting gardens or Stately Homes there will be a great Holiday Cottage in the South of England

South West England - Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset and the coast

There's something for the whole family in South West England - from brilliant bodyboarding beaches in Cornwall and fantastic all weather family attractions in Devon, to fascinating underground caves in Somerset and stunning blue flag beaches in Dorset. The West Country is an ideal self-catering holiday destination and whatever you're looking for you’ll find what it takes to make great family holidays and a wonderful selection of holiday homes to rent!