UK weekend breaks & holidays
Great ideas for holidays and weekend breaks in Britain
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Bamburgh Castel, Northumberland coast - © www.visitnorthumberland.com
Britain is full of interesting and entertaining cities, towns, villages and countryside escapes offering great pubs, restaurants, museums, walks, and exciting and unusual things to do. To make your weekend getaway a little easier to choose, we sent our homeland lovers out to experience the best England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have to offer.
Can't find what you're looking for? Make sure you check back as this guide is regularly updated with new destinations.
Cornwall
Padstow
Get on board with paddle surfing, the latest craze in British watersport
Hype it up and hang ten as often as you like, Cornwall ain’t Santa Cruz – but now it’s got a very British watersport. Helen Ochyra goes paddle surfing.
Penwith Peninsula
Taking ‘locally sourced’ food to the next level, foraging is on the up
Ismay Atkins gets a taste of the wild near Land’s End.
UK breaks: Penwith Peninsula, Cornwall
Devon
Lynton & Lynmouth
North Devon’s most beautiful twin villages
Hidden by forests and moorland to the south and facing out to sea on the north, this fairytale scene exists far from north Devon’s more fashionable hotspots.
Dorset
Moonfleet
The perfect place for a British family holiday in Dorset
The British family holiday still revolves around the theme park and the wind-blasted beach. But Peter Watts finds refuge in a country manor made for grown-ups as well as little ’uns.
Essex
Mersea Island
Creeks, a beach and the all-important oysters
You might struggle to guess the answer in a pub quiz, but the most easterly inhabited island in England lies just nine miles south-east of Colchester. And, yes, it’s a proper island, five miles by two, which, though connected by a causeway (The Strood), is still cut off a few times a month at high tide.
UK breaks: Mersea Island, Essex
Hampshire
The New Forest
Ramble past sparkling streams and free-ranging ponies
Lucy Halfhead meets an award-winning sommelier, visits an award-winning pub and avoids an acorn-snuffling pig on a New Forest country walk.
Kent
Whitstable
Cycle on the seafront and suck oysters in Kent’s quaintest seaside town
Pedalling furiously along the paved promenade and enjoying the invigorating autumn air, I smiled at the thought that I’d not yet encountered any other weekending Londoners. It was a peaceful Sunday morning, and the only people out and about were walking dogs.
Lancashire
Manchester
Rejoice in Manchester's cultural energy and football fervour
Manchester today is unrecognisable from the post-industrial city of 20 years ago. Home to grand relics of the industrial revolution, the modern city is also studded with independent boutiques and top-flight shops, cool bars and snug pubs. Not only do its museums house some of the UK’s finest historic collections, but Manchester has a contemporary cultural pulse that puts other British cities to shame.
10 great things to do in Manchester
North-east England
Northumberland coast
Two castles, three lighthouses and a beach
Illuminated gospels and brilliant beaches – Edoardo Albert is enchanted by England’s north-east coast.
UK breaks: Northumberland coast
Oxfordshire
Appleton
Go wild in the country!
In an effort to shake off his urban ennui, Daniel Neilson goes wild on a bushcraft weekend in Appleton, Oxfordshire.
UK breaks: Appleton, Oxfordshire
Scotland
Edinburgh
Read our full online guide to Edinburgh
Sussex
Amberley Castle
A 900-year-old castle with a rare mixture of grandeur and homeliness
Love conquers all – except old VW vans. Bella Todd rescues her honeymoon with a night scaling battlements and treehouses in Sussex.
Wales
Harlech
Explore the high mountains and haute cuisine of the Welsh Rhingos
The first Welsh word I learned on the drive from London to Harlech was painted on every bend in the road. 'Araf'. Slow down. It was exactly what I intended doing when I got to north-west Wales.
Laugharne
Where Dylan Thomas came to write and drink
Bob told me the guest book in the Boathouse had been signed that morning by a literary pilgrim. He said she’d put only one word in the comments box: ‘Lonely’. He said he’d found that moving.
Yorkshire
York
Historical buildings, art and the National Railway Museum
While we like to champion Britain’s lesser-trod paths, what about those places that do merit a visit but are already overrun with tourists? Chris Waywell takes on York.
Great British breaks
Beaches, walks, spas, hotels and holiday lets
Everything from the best budget hotels to the quirkiest holiday homes; from adrenalin-fuelled outdoor activities to weird and wonderful adventures.
Great British breaks
Time Out Britain guidebooks
Time Out produces an indispensable range of guidebooks to help you get the best out of Britain.
Discover more great things to do with Time Out's '1000 things to do in Britain' book, available from www.timeout.com/shop at the discounted price of £8.44.
Discover 100 British coastal gems with Time Out's 'Seaside' book, available from www.timeout.com/shop at the discounted price of £11.04.
Discover 100s of places to stay in Britain with Time Out's 'Britain - Perfect places to stay, eat & explore' book, available from our shop www.timeout.com/shop at the discounted price of £11.80.
See all of Time Out's Britain guidebook range in our shop www.timeout.com/shop.
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