UK Holiday

Hampshire

PORTSMOUTH: Visit ships, get all inclusive pass, submarine/firepower museum, spinnaker tower - panoramic views. Southsea or old seafaring pubs for food.

WINCHESTER: Guided walks, free internet, nice cathedral / try to be there for evening - 5:30 (3:30 Sunday), guided tours on the hour.

NEW FOREST: Walk / ride at Lindhurst or Brockenhurst. Ranger-led hikes.

BOURNEMOUTH: Good nightlife, stay in hostel?

ISLE OF PURBECK: Beautiful castle (Corfe castle), Go from Poole or long road from Wareham (and use Harry's Bar - free net access). Beach at Shell Bay or Studland Bay - lovely. Places to stay at Swanage. Durdle Door - famour limestone arch. Many small towns in inland Dorset, e.g Longleat

Wiltshire

STONEHENGE and AVEBURY

Oxfordshire / Cotswolds

WANTAGE: White Horse Hill (lovely views) near Wantage.

OXFORD: Excellent guided walking tours, several daily, book in advance. Loads to do. Classical / theatre for nightlife.

COTSWOLDS: Great Tew (nr. Chipping Norton) for the Falkland Arms pubs. Lots of villages.

Bristol, Bath and Somerset

BRISTOL: Lots of historical attractions, waterways, Clifton Suspension Bridge, Camera Obscura, good nightlife.

BATH: Roman Baths, pump room, Thermae Bath Spa - thermal open air pool etc., charged per time. Free walking tours or bus tours.

WELLS: 20m south of Bristol. Nice cathedral.

WOOKEY HOLE: Cave complex with deep pools/rock formations, spooky.

CHEDDAR GORGE: Great vistas.

Devon and Cornwall

BEER: On the coast.

TORQUAY: Marina, beach, Living Coasts - penguins!

PLYMOUTH: Views over THe Sound, inns.

DARTMOOR: 2 hour walking tours, perhaps drive through?

EDEN PROJECT: 10 - 4;30, 0.5 day, good food, accompanied rides nearby, happytrailbikerides.co.uk.

LANDS END / ST IVES: Art scene.

TINTAGEL: Nice, castle ruins.

East Anglia

BURY ST EDMUNDS: Pretty, first planned town, Britain's smallest pub.

SOUTHWALD: Non-touristy seaside town.

NORWICH: Many grand cathedrals, old places to walk around, do NOT go on Sunday.

BLAKENEY: Lovely. Nice harbour, seal colony, www.beansboattrips.co.uk.

CAMBRIDGE: Guided walks, colleges.

West Midlands

IRONBRIDGE GORGE: Shropshire, Ludlow, picturesque, good food.

PEAK DISTRICT and BUXTON: The crescent, fountain, good base for P.D.

POOLES CAVERN and SPEEDWELL CAVERN near Castleton.

Places to visit in the North

Malham cove / tarn / limestone pavement, in Malham, Yorkshire Dales, http://www.malhamdale.com/

Robin Hoods Bay, scenic fishing village, North Yorkshire coast, http://www.robin-hoods-bay.co.uk/

Whitby, scenic fishing town and home of Captain Cook, North Yorkshire coast, http://www.whitby.co.uk/

Mother Shipton's Cave, Knaresborough, Yorkshire, http://www.knaresborough.co.uk/attractions/index.html

Settle-Carlisle Railway, Yorkshire Dales, http://www.settle-carlisle.co.uk/

Northumbrian coast, Alnwick to Berwick, fantastic long empty beaches, sand dunes, catles, http://www.alnwickcastle.com/ http://www.bamburghcastle.com/ http://www.seahouses.org/

Holy Island / Lindisfarne, Northumbria, http://www.holyisland.org/ http://www.lindisfarne.org.uk/

Hadrian's Wall, Northumbria, http://www.hadrians-wall.org/

Kielder Water (massive reservoir) and Kielder Forest (massive forrest), Northumbria, http://www.kielder.org/

Museum of Science and Industry, Manchester, http://www.msim.org.uk/

Tramway Museum, Derby, http://www.tramway.co.uk/

Urbis, Manchester, http://www.urbis.org.uk/

Buxton, market / spa town in the Peak District, http://www.visitbuxton.co.uk/

Blue John Cavern, Castleton, Peak District (big limestone cave), http://www.bluejohnstone.com/