Hi - we plan to go to UK from Zurich for a long weekend (leave Friday and come back Monday) next week. I have been looking around for places to go where we can visit a few nice villages, do a lot of walking/hiking in the english countryside and enjoy some spa and relaxation. I found this thread

can you recommend a nice spa / southern England?

which is helpful but not too many choices. As there are so many people from there, do you have any recommendations for a first time visitor to UK (except London where I've been already).

thanks

Hull, York. Hull, Hull

No im not biased


Basically anything in Yorkshire or lake district

Peak district or lake district if you're looking for countryside. If you're looking for a city, it depends on what you like, really.

Hull! Appalling place.

South of England? If you're flying into Gatwick, you're already in Sussex which is a beautiful, rustic English county with tons of charming villages and quaint pubs. Also has the South Downs with great walks and scenery. Plus Brighton and the coastline

If you have a car, further west to the New Forest and Hampshire/Dorset in general are very nice. Again, quintessential England.

Another slice of classic England is the Cotswolds with its choc-box villages. If flying to Heathrow, you could drive over to that area in a couple of hours. (North of Bristol).

As for a spa, I can't help. The only one I know is Ragdale Hall near Melton Mowbray, but that's in the midlands. Great place though and nice countryside.

If you aren't flying into London, we went through Birmingham airport and it was so easy to check through customs and pick up our pre-booked hire car within a few metres of the terminal...

In our case it was to go to a wedding in Gloucester with the reception near the Cotswolds... and we had a fine time!

Give me an unlimited budget and I'd hire a small van and do a 'second hand book and charity shopping tour' of the english countryside...

Depending where your flights are to? From Luton, you can go North to Rutland, the smallest county of England, bijou and much less touristy than the Cotswolds, by Rutland Water. Visit Burleigh House (Elizabethan Castle and park - where they recently filmed Da Vinci Code and Pride and Prejudice) and Stamford, a lovely stone 18thC town- and make sure to have lunch or 'cream tea' at the Georges Hotel - with spa, albeit small. Oakham and Uppingham are very pretty too. For great meals go to Hambleton Hall Hotel, on the Hambleton Peninsula- very posh and grand setting. Or up to the Olive Branch in Clipsham, north of the Lake- a lovely informal pub with a Michelin star.

www.barnsdalehotel.co.uk

Make sure you ask for a south facing room or suite.

Oxford would be nice option; visit some of the colleges, then head out to countryside for a nice Sunday pub lunch. Walk along the Isis, meander through Port Meadow etc etc

And if you fly to Stansted- Cambridge is just up the road. Lovely at this time of year. don't know about a spa there though.

We haven't yet booked the flights (yeh I know a bit late) and hence quite flexi where to fly. Great tips though - a lot of them. Shall browse the various names and come back with more questions

Thanks

You could fly into manchester and go from there, probably better than flying into London.

Brighton - beaches, coastline, beautiful countryside, shopping, small enough to feel intimate, great music scene. A very cool little city, you won't be disappointed.

+1

And only 25-ish miles from Gatwick.

TBH, for a first trip to England, it's hard to beat the convenience of Sussex. It has a bit of everything - landscape, history, castles, great pubs etc.

For future trips, with perhaps a bit more time, places like the Lake District, North Yorkshire Moors, and Devon/Cornwall are all well worth a trip. Then of course, you have Wales and the Highlands of Scotland. In fact, you could spend all your holidays in the UK and never run out of options.

So many places to visit, so little time...

I'm a Bath fan (lived there) so I vote: Bath!

I'd vote for Yorkshire or the peak district but I'm probably a bit biased too. You could go to York and Harrogate (I'm pretty sure their's a spa there) and take in some of the fantastic Yorkshire countryside at the same time.

Well I am going to throw Stratford Upon Avon into the hat. Shakespeare country, with some charming outer villages and of course Warwick Castle in the area as well. Cheaper area to stay would be Leamington Spa if you are hiring a car to get you to these places.

Although have to say that anywhere that everyone else has already suggested would be good. There are so many places to visit, good luck choosing.

Yorkshire!!



You can do the three peaks walk in the yorkshire dales, which imo is one of the prettiest walks in the UK.
http://www.yorkshire-dales.com/three-peaks.html
There're several romantic B&Bs in the surrounding villages to stay overnight, like Kirkby Lonsdale, with a lot of restaurants with excellent dining.

And the trail looks harder than it is - my hubby who is not into sports/hiking managed to do the three peaks in two days (we went there Fri evening and did two peaks on Sat and one on Sun., then drove back to London).

You guys are the best! eBookers, tripadvisor and all the rest should strike a deal with EF to benefit from the variety of input here!

as you said, so much to do, so little time....

Thoroughly recommend Sussex. If you fly to Gatwick there is so much to do in that county.

You can drive down to the coast to Brighton and head along towards Eastbourne and you will past some fantastic scenery, especially at the Seven Sisters and beach head. If you carry on along the coast you would end up at Rye which is a lovely old town on a hill (but just over the border in Kent).

There are some great pubs.

Lewes is also another lovely town if you are heading down towards Brighton.

Also in Sussex you have Arundel and Chichester.

Enjoy!

For convenience Brighton has everything, great restaurants, bars, pubs and clubs, the shopping is great down "the lanes" and many a bargain is to be found in the multitude of second hand and "alternative/hippy" shops. My only problem with Brighton is the number of stag and hen parties that seem to take over the nightlife and can be a bit intimidating when they are drunk.

To fulfil your criteria for walking, countryside, nice villages and a spa then Bristol/Bath is your best bet.
Bristol is fantastic for night life, food and shopping. Loads of tiny villages spread out from there with more than enough countryside to walk around in, Bath is in cycling distance and has amazing Roman baths and is indeed a spa city. Hotels are plentiful and range from cheap and cheerful to full on 5 star so a great range of options.
Hope this all helps and enjoy the UK countryside, it really is the best place to be when the sun shines.

Which airline flies from CH to Bristol then?