Holiday regions in England
From the fossil cliffs of the south coast to the rolling Yorkshire Dales, from medieval cathedral cities to the Lake District — England’s holiday regions each have their own character. Pick one to see destinations, featured towns and visitor guide ideas.
Holidays in England — what to expect
England is one of the most geographically and culturally varied countries of its size anywhere in the world. Its diversity is the thing that catches most visitors off guard — you can cross the entire country in under four hours by train, yet the landscape, accent, food culture and character of places change dramatically from county to county.
The South and South West is where most people start. Cornwall has become something of a byword for the UK’s most beautiful coastline, and rightly so — Porthcurno, Sennen Cove and the Lizard Peninsula have a quality of light and colour that surprises people who expect grey Atlantic weather. But the south offers far more than Cornwall: Dorset’s Jurassic Coast is a UNESCO World Heritage Site of extraordinary geological interest, Devon combines excellent surf at Croyde and Saunton with the calm wooded estuaries of the south coast, and the New Forest is a remarkable 150-square-mile stretch of ancient woodland accessible from Southampton.
Move into Central England and the landscape shifts again. The East Midlands has two world-class cities in Nottingham and Derby, both with strong industrial heritage, vibrant independent food scenes and easy rail access. Lincoln’s Norman cathedral, sitting high on a limestone ridge above the flat fenland, is one of England’s most spectacular sights. Head east to the coast and the picture changes again: Lincolnshire’s beach resorts, Norfolk’s vast skies and the traditional seaside towns of the East Riding have a refreshingly unpretentious quality that their more fashionable southern counterparts sometimes lack.
North England is where the landscape becomes genuinely dramatic. The Lake District’s sixteen lakes and surrounding fells were the inspiration for Wordsworth, Coleridge and Beatrix Potter, and they remain one of England’s most visited destinations for good reason. The Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors each offer a different flavour of high moorland walking, with market towns like Helmsley, Richmond and Skipton providing excellent bases. On the coast, Whitby’s Gothic drama and Whitby Abbey, Scarborough’s two-bay elegance, and the unspoilt Northumberland coast with its castles and empty beaches are consistently underrated.
England’s cities deserve particular mention. Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle, Bristol, Birmingham, Brighton and Bath all offer world-class museums, restaurant scenes, music venues and accommodation at a fraction of the cost and stress of London. The Northern Powerhouse cities in particular have undergone enormous reinvention in the last two decades and reward visitors who come with open minds rather than fixed expectations.
Whatever draws you — landscape, history, food, sport, music or simply the pleasure of moving through unfamiliar country at a manageable pace — England has more of it than you might think. Use the regions above to start narrowing down, and the destination guides below to plan your visit in more detail.
