According to a survey carried out by Vouchercodes.co.uk 83% of Britons will opt for a UK staycation this year, an increase of 17 per cent on last year’s figures. In light of these findings we’ve uncovered three driving staycations within the UK, perfect for your summer holiday.
If you are choosing one of our staycation ideas you can follow our top six essential summer driving tips to ensure you remain safe and happy on the road to your getaway. Here’s hoping the weather is as impressive as the attractions and you’ll need to read these tips on how to stay cool in your car this summer.
Most scenic
Glasgow – Loch Lomond– Fort William – Aviemore, Cairngorms National Park
This was a difficult one to choose as the UK offers such diverse and impressive scenery, but with our HQ based in Glasgow we are slightly biased towards a staycation in Scotland. Starting the journey in Glasgow and on to Loch Lomond and the Trossachs via the M8 to the A82 for 33 miles, taking just over 45 minutes. Scotland’s first National Park is 720 square miles of breathtaking scenery, with lochs, glens and mountains. Be sure to take your camera as you will definitely want to stop and capture the stunning landscape. There are plenty of accommodation options to make the most of your visit.
From Loch Lomond we take a trip to Fort William continuing on the A82 through areas such as Ardlui and Tyndrum both next to the West Highland Way then on to Bridge of Orchy carrying on through to Glencoe with its dramatic glen, until you reach the next stop of our tour, Fort William 75.5 miles from Loch Lomond.
Fort William is located on the shores of Loch Lihne and in the shadow of Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in Britain. It is the largest town in the Highlands and the second largest settlement. A varied landscape offers picturesque views.
Return to the A82 keeping Ben Nevis to your right, before taking the A86 to our next stop on our highland getaway, Aviemore. A 62-mile journey taking roughly an hour and a half past Stob Coire Easain and Creag Meagaidh alongside Loch Laggan and into the Cairngorm National Park. Aviemore offers excellent views of the Cairngorms from various points in the town. There is a wide choice of accommodation available, as well as multiple activities to keep you entertained.
Most historic
Bath – Cirencester – Gloucester – Cheltenham – Stratford-Upon-Avon
The beautiful city of Bath has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage site. The city offers lots in the way of historic sights to visit, including the Roman Baths, The Royal Crescent, The Fairfield House Museum, Cleveland Pools and The Circus.
A 37.1-mile drive north-east along the A46 and A433 is Cirencester, a market town on the River Churn. The town is dominated by one of the largest churches in England, the Parish of St. John Baptist built in 1490. Other sites are Cirencester Park and Corinium Museum. If you time your visit right you can visit one of the markets.
Our third location on the historic tour is Gloucester, just 18 miles north west of Cirencester. The A417 offers a fairly straight drive along the A417 a wide country road to the cathedral city of Gloucester. Located on the River Severn Gloucester offers plenty of history, being founded in AD97 by the Romans. One of the main attractions is Gloucester Cathedral in the heart of the city, there is also Gloucester City Museum and if you fancy a different mode of transport other than your car there is the Gloucester Leisure Cruises. There are plenty of places to stay in Gloucester, too.
Cheltenham is the next stop on our tour, only 9.5 miles north east of Gloucester along the A40. Cheltenham is a large spa town and known as the cultural centre for the Cotswolds where you can enjoy a walking tour of the regency town and it’s historical sights.
The final stop is Stratford-Upon-Avon, a north-eastern journey of 31 miles from Cheltenham along the A40 and A46. Stratford-Upon-Avon is renowned for being the birthplace of Shakespeare and provides plenty of culture and history. Located on the banks of the river Avon (as the name would suggest) Stratford-Upon-Avon offers the Mechanical and Art Museum, Holy Trinity church, Ghost walks and boat tours, as well as all of the Shakespeare related attractions.
Most literary
Thornton – Haworth – Burnley - Stoneyhurst– Ambleside – Cockermouth
A tour of the North of England encompassing the beautiful Yorkshire, Lancashire and Cumbria scenery with the homes and birthplaces of some of the UK’s literary masters.
Our tour starts in the Yorkshire Moors, home to the Brontë sisters, they offer stunning scenery. The birthplace of the Brontë sisters is on Market Street in the village of Thornton, on the outskirts of Bradford. The building has been restored after being under many guises previously, including a restaurant and a butcher’s shop. It is now a continental style bistro and coffee house.
In 1820 the Brontë family moved to Haworth just over six miles north west of Thornton (along the B6144), where the Brontë Parsonage Museum is now located. Surrounded by Moorland it is clear where the sisters got their inspiration.
From there we head to Gawthorpe Hall, another Brontë stop on the tour across the Yorkshire/Lancashire county border. It’s an 18-mile journey, mainly along the M65, to Padiham near Burnley. The Elizabethan country house on the banks of the River Calder was home to the Shuttleworth family. Charlotte Brontë was a good friend to John Kay-Shuttleworth and it was where she stayed when she was mourning her sisters.
On from there is Stonyhurst College, a short 9.5-mile trip north west along the A671 and B6246. This 16th Century manor house is where JRR Tolkien spent time visiting his son who was evacuated there during the Second World War. It was also where Sir Arthur Conan Doyle studied from September 1868 and is said to be a big inspiration for The Hound of the Baskervilles.
Our penultimate literary attraction follows one of the longest journeys between stops, we head 67.8 miles along the M6 and A590 (roughly an hour and a half). Across another county border, from Lancashire to Cumbria, to the home of Beatrix Potter, Hill Top house in Ambleside. The children’s author found inspiration for many of her books here and it provided the setting for her Tales of Peter Rabbit. She left the house to the National Trust and it is now open to the public and has been kept as Beatrix herself would have kept it.
Our final stop is 31.6 miles from Ambleside, along the A591, A66 and A5086. Wordsworth House was home to the Wordsworth family in the 1770s and has been restored by the National trust to depict life back then, open to the public from March–October there are hands-on activities and costumed servant talks.
The counties of Yorkshire, Lancashire and Cumbria have plenty of accommodation on offer, where you can stay while following the route around these literary hotspots.
If you have found any better routes for your UK staycation, let us know!
If you fancy a driving staycation but don’t have a suitable car then think about renting one.