Are you bored of beaches and sick of sightseeing? If you need an adventure but want to keep things cheap, these holiday ideas will give you all the joys of an exciting escapade without venturing far from home.
You really don’t need to head across the high seas to find your thrills, these UK spots double up as the world’s most exciting destinations.
1/ Climb the UK’s Everest
Everest is the pinnacle (literally) for many climbers and for most of us the 8,848 summit is out of reach, so why not settle for conquering the UK version and tackle Snowdon (the Everest of Wales) with a much more manageable climb of 1,085 metres.
Snowdon is an achievable climb for anyone who is moderately fit and the peak can be reached in just a few hours. If the hike still sounds like a struggle, there’s even a train which chugs its way up the side of the mountain and a café at the top for thirsty climbers.
The mountain is a nature reserve and the scenery on route is stunning, as are the views – much as you’d expect from the roof of the world (well, Wales).
2/ Take the Great British Road Trip
A lack of space means that the UK will never boast a road trip as iconic at America’s Route ’66, but there are shorter journeys along our little ol’ A-roads that pack a punch.
One such route is the grandly named Atlantic Highway, which winds along the north coasts of Devon and Cornwall along the A39 (…get your kicks on route 66… feel mighty fine on the A39..!)
There are amazing views on one side of the stunning coastline; on the other there are increasingly wild hills. Along the way are cliffs, rocky seashores and quaint and cutesy villages.
Find a holiday park in North Devon.
3/ Step back into History
The UK’s coastal castles are a sharp reminder of our not too distant past, when warring Kings and Queens battled among themselves, with their people and to keep away invaders from distant lands (especially France).
Pay a visit to any of these castles – they include Dover, Hastings, Caister, Corfe, Tintagel, Tattershall, Arundel, Bamburgh and Alnwick – and it’s easy to imagine the lives of Lords and Ladies in medieval times; to picture gangs of archers rushing up stairs to reach their battlement positions to quell an attacking army, and to feel the panic of courtiers as they gamely await the outcome of a battle.
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4/ Tour de North Sea
For most of us the bum numbing, thigh burning agony of mile after mile of the Tour de France is no kind of holiday so a shorter, but still wonderfully spectacular, alternative is the North Sea cycle route between Scarborough and Whitby.
The off-road trail follows an unused rail line and crosses 60 bridges, two viaducts and numerous disused railway stations as it follows the weather-beaten coastline on one side and the North York Moors on the other.
Find a holiday park near Scarborough.
5/ Walk Wales
There are many great treks and trails around the world, but the Wales Coast Path is the only one to run the entire length of a country’s coastline.
The route is 870 miles long and winds past 41 beaches, 18 castles and 12 nature reserves, taking in the dazzling scenery of Anglesey, Pembrokeshire and the Gower Peninsula.
We don’t recommend trying the entire journey in one attempt, but you can weave short walks into your short breaks and gradually explore the amazing sights of the Wales coast.
6/ Sail across East Anglia
Hark back to an age of Swallows and Amazons, pirates and adventurers, with a break exploring the Norfolk Broads. Although the original book was set in the Lake District, later stories featured the rivers and lakes of the East Anglian wetlands.
Sail among the islands, creeks and reedbeds on hired boats and spot some of best wildlife and birdlife in Europe. And even though the Broads is a wetland, the area has one of the driest climates in Britain.
Explore in a boat, on a bike, in a canoe or simply stroll along the banks, and relive the simple life of an era gone by.
Find a holiday park in Norfolk.
Have you been on a UK Adventure? Tell us about it in the comments below.