Short days, cold hands, a pub fire you can smell from the car park. A British winter has its own pull, and a weekend away at this time of year tends to feel well earned.
No flights required. Some of the most rewarding cold-weather breaks around sit within a few hours’ drive of most UK cities, from the honey-coloured lanes of the Cotswolds to the pinewoods of the Highlands. The five below each pair winter staycations with a proper walk and somewhere warm to thaw out afterwards.
1. The Cotswolds, Worcestershire
Stay in Broadway. It’s small, it’s pretty, and the walk starts right on the doorstep. Follow the footpath up past the sheep (and through a fair bit of mud) to Broadway Tower, a folly built in the 1790s, and the Vale of Evesham opens up underneath. Allow a couple of hours. Snowshill and Stanton are a short drive away and worth a wander. Afterwards, the old coaching inns along the high street do what they have always done: low beams, uneven flagstones and a fire going from lunchtime.
Race fans have an extra reason to book. Cheltenham Racecourse, a short drive away, is the home of jump racing, and the winter calendar includes The November Meeting (13 to 15 November), The Christmas Meeting (11 to 12 December) and the New Year’s Day card. December also brings a crowded run of Premier League fixtures, so plenty of village pubs have football on one screen and racing on the other most weekends. Many visitors keep an eye on both from a fireside table, following live scores, comparing prices and placing the odd bet through online sports betting apps. A fixed budget, set before the first race, keeps it a bit of fun.
2. The Peak District, Derbyshire
The Peak District became Britain’s first national park in 1951, and November is when it starts to look its age, in the best way. Frost catches on the gritstone and cloud can sit low over the moors for days at a stretch. Mam Tor is the easy win. From the top, the ridge path runs along to Hollins Cross with the Hope Valley on one side and Edale on the other, and none of it is especially hard going. Stanage Edge takes longer and is worth every step. Later, Castleton and Hathersage have pubs with flagstone floors, a decent pint of local ale and, more often than not, a fire lit by mid-afternoon. One of the more popular winter staycations.
3. The Lake District, Cumbria
November in the Lakes is a different place from August. The car parks have space, the cafés have free tables, and the fells are mostly left to locals and their dogs. Catbells makes a good warm-up. It only reaches 451 metres, though nobody seems to have told the rocky last bit that, and on a clear morning Derwentwater sits below with Keswick and Skiddaw beyond. When the legs need a rest, Tarn Hows near Coniston has a gravel path of just under two miles round the water, with very little climbing. One practical point: by half four in December the light has pretty much gone, so a head torch earns its place in the rucksack. Keswick and Great Langdale are full of walkers’ inns, the kind with a drying room for soaked boots and an armchair close to the hearth.
4. Eryri (Snowdonia), Wales
Snow on the peaks, still water below, hardly anyone on the paths. Yr Wyddfa itself is a different proposition in winter, often needing ice axes and crampons, so it’s one for experienced mountaineers only. Llyn Idwal suits everyone else. The path starts at Ogwen and loops roughly three miles around a lake sitting in a glacial bowl, with the cliffs of the Devil’s Kitchen rearing up behind it. Down the valley, Betws-y-Coed has plenty of stone cottages with wood burners, plus a few cafés serving thick slices of bara brith.
5. The Cairngorms, Scotland
Head north for the real thing in winter staycations. The Cairngorms is the UK’s largest national park, and once the snow arrives it looks the part. Loch an Eilein, just south of Aviemore, has an easy three-mile track round it, mostly flat and usually fine for a buggy, with a ruined castle sitting on a small island out in the water. Kids will want to see the reindeer at Glenmore. The Cairngorm Reindeer Herd is the only free-ranging one in Britain, and the animals are surprisingly tame. The centre closes from January to early February, and winter hill trips depend on the weather. Later on, it’s a lodge, a dram and the odd glance at the sky. On a clear, frosty night the northern lights do sometimes turn up.
Before You Go
Winter days are short. Sunset in December comes at about four o’clock across much of the country, which means setting off mid-morning, not after a long breakfast. Waterproofs, a warm layer and boots with proper grip on wet rock are a must. Storms close paths more often than people think, so look at the forecast the night before. National Parks UK is handy for routes and seasonal advice, with all 15 of Britain’s national parks covered on one site.
Christmas and New Year winter staycations book up early. Cottages with log burners in the Lakes and the Cotswolds often go months ahead, which is no surprise given how popular both are for a romantic UK staycation. January and February are easier. The paths are emptier, and midweek prices often come down a fair bit.
Whichever one wins, bring wellies as well as walking boots. The fire will take care of the rest.
Images courtesy of unsplash.com and pexels.com
