In a forest, by a lake: a UK holiday query

We fancy being on holiday, by a lake, in/near a forest, in the UK.

Any suggestions?

Kielder Water in Northumberland strikes me as a promising bet, as does Crianlarich in Scotland.

lake district ? i'm not sure how forresty it is though

Crianlarich is not actually on a lake but surrounded by them and is a good base for lakes forests and mountains.

Would love to go to Kielder one day

I don't think the Lake District is very foresty, really. Snowdonia has a couple of decent foresty bits, but I don't know about the lakes. North Yorkshire has plenty of forests, but no lakes.

Grizedale Forest in the Lake District. Loads of places to stay around there.

Also Loch Awe has some pretty great forest/loch action. Beautiful place.

And for a bit of remoteness Lochavich which is sort of between Loch Awe and Oban is very nice. I've never stayed there, only driven through it, but it was lovely and not too far from civilisation.

I've been to Loch Awe! It was so pretty. Awwwe.

Basically Scotland is your best bet. Get past Pitlochry and turn left and head down along Loch Tummel. Lovely loch/forests there.

Although the more I think about it the more I think the Lake District does have quite a lot of trees (if not yer actual forests). But also very busy in the summer.

Any ideas within, say, four hours of Oxford?

Doesn't have to be a big Lake District style lake ...

Anyone stayed in the Forestry Commission chalets or similar?

(Also, thanks for all suggestions so far)

Well, Lake District is definitely do-able in 4 hours from Oxford (especially the southern bit - Ambleside, etc) if you don't get stuck on the M6 somewhere along the way.

And you don't stop.

Snowdonia should be within range too. In the south-west there's Blagdon Lake and Chew Valley Lake, both in the Mendips.

The problem (in England) might be that a lot of places are like this. Now,I actually like this kind of thing, but then I'm a very sedate holidaymaker these days and like my home comforts, but it's obviously not to everybody's taste.

Snowdonia would seem like a good bet for 4hrs from Oxford. Bala would seem like a good bet and about 3:30 from oxford.

Sedate with home comforts is a good thing.

The Hoseasons place looks surprisingly tempting ...

Been to any of the Norfolk sites?

I suggest you don't watch Eden Lake before booking anywhere.

Loch Morlich in the Cairngorms National Park.

In a forest, by a loch, under a mountain, in a national park, has eagles.

Anyone stayed in the Forestry Commission chalets or similar?

We did this in Cornwall last year at somewhere called Deerpark, just a few miles north of Looe. Really peaceful location, but cos you're right out in the sticks, you're a bit more reliant on the car for getting around than I would have liked - no shops or pubs or anything much nearby, just trees, trees and more trees. Normally we'd rent a cottage, so this worked out a little bit cheaper. Cabins were good and more spacious than you might imagine. Would probably wait till our kids were a bit older before we went go again, then we could go off walking and cycling and stuff with them. As it was, we mostly drove to the beach.

http://www.forestholidays.co.uk/images/hr_deerpark_cover3_v_deer%20park%20258.jpg

I suggest you don't watch Eden Lake before booking anywhere

Yes, don't do that, because it's rubbish.

I've never been to any of those Norfolk hoseasons places I'm afraid. But you can't go wrong with Norfolk. My brother recommends Thetford for forests/woods type activities.

Norfolk is appealing ...

Right. A Hoseasons shed booked in Norfolk. Thanks all.

Post holiday thoughts: the "Woodlakes" resort was quite nice - nice lake, holiday homes a little too close together, road too close. But would do the "Hoseasons" thing again ...

Revived for an autumnal weekend ...

No forest, no lake, but autumn in Kent watching the waves smash seven shades of BOOM out of the Broadstairs seafront was super awesome the week before last.

Of course, you kinda have to be a fan of wave watching to enjoy this.

Forest of Dean!
Just came back from there. Lovely autumnal colours. Nice walks. There's even a walk by a lake.

Revived for a March weekend break.

Or by the sea would be nice . . .

Would recommend Lake District (we're just back from a couple of days there, terrific scenery, nice pubs/restaurants - Ambleside/Bowness-on-Windermere/Grasmere all lovely). Don't think you would go wrong with any B&B in any of the above.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEyKFkkcHAc

I am going to Cornwall to get my BIG WAVES!!! SMASHING SEVEN SHADES OF BOOM!!! action in April.

I suspect I'll rather be on the wrong coast for that, though. And I'll end up sitting in my cathedral height wall of glass flat overlooking Falmouth Harbour being all disappointed at the lack of WAVES! SMASHING!!! action with just lots of pretty sailboats floating by sedately.

The waves are smashier on the north coast, it's true, and iirc Falmouth is insulated further by being in an inlet, but it's pretty around there and there's probably still some smashing-against-cliff action.

Had some family scattered between Falmouth and Truro as a kid, also some in St. Ives on the north coast, but they were all rather elderly and the only ones still alive are a little too into their potty religious proselytising, so I've had no excuse to go to Cornwall for a long time :(

Ah well. If the waves aren't smashingy enough I can go and look at some Fogus or something. And churches and castles and things. Falmouth is supposed to be a two-castle town which I'm quite happy about.

Revived (for somewhere to go in late January?)

Winter holidays I have enjoyed in the UK: Hay on Wye, north Kent countryside. Both bucolic and lovely, with enough town stuff (pubs, second hand bookshops in the case of Hay) to provide relief if the weather is poor.

Recommend anywhere to stay in the New Forest, Hampshire for 4 or 6 people?

(need only meet the original "in a forest" criteria . . .)

was gonna say, lakes pretty hard to come by down there. Can't really help, though, have only passed through down there.

Lymington's nice - not actually in the Forest but v. close also near the sea (and you can go for a day trip to the Isle of Wight!)

Ta.

One last attempt before I book somewhere that looks okay rather than great . . .

so my parents have never been to the lake district and neither have i but man the internet sucks at being non-bewildering when it comes to figuring out where one can pitch up and have an alright time up there

any tips from you, dear readers?

Kinda depends what you want to do (walk/sightsee/relax), and where/how you'd like to stay? From experience, Windermere is pleasant but very busy (in season). Beacuse it's in a gateway style location (from the south at lewast) it's got good amenities and loads of places to stay.

Mrs A and I prefer Ambleside as a base (lots of places to rent, never hotelled there though) - it's got plenty of pubs, including a couple of excellent ones, some good places to eat, even a vegetarian restaurant/bar with attached arthouse cinema. Some terrific walking on the doorstep too.

If you fancy something a little less busy then strike on just a bit further to Ullswater - perhaps the most beautiful of the Lakes themselves, and a bit more rugged in general. I try to get up there at least once a year, just to blow away the city-living cobwebs, and Ullswater always delights; it's a magical place, even in pouring rain (half the time).

Couple of cracking places to eat in Cartmel as well, but I second somewhere in the Ambleside/Grasmere area.

ok, that gives me something to go on! thanks!

hey Bill A (or anyone else) do you have any specific recs on large-ish cottages?

I'd forgotten about this thread.

Where should I go in late Feb, for a weekend, no more than a couple of hours from Oxford?

Sorry, Tracer - missed your update. With my wife we've tended to only stay in smaller places as we go by ourselves - have booked through Cumbrian Cottages and they're pretty good and helpful, with an office in Windermere so keys etc are a doddle. I've also got a place that my pals and I have been to three times in groups of up to 15 or so, it's a little rough around the edges, but has two big pluses: wonderful location, dirt cheap - I can message you the owner's details if yr interested?

For the New Forest, this place is really good...

http://www.kareliaholidays.co.uk/

i actually found a dude at work whose auntie rents out a place in ullswater, v cheap, unreal views down to the lake - pretty happy!

however it's not quite big enough for all of us so i've rented a 1-br right next to it.

is it weird that the owner of the 1-br wants the entire amount paid six weeks in advance? i've given her a deposit already... dunno maybe it's fine, it just feels weird to pay the whole amt for accommodation before i've even seen the place.

Hey, nice one - Ullswater is stupendous. Def take a walk up to Aira Force waterfall if you get a chance, the Ullswater Steamers are great for sightseeing too, and if you stop off in Pooley Bridge on the way round then the Pooley Bridge Inn is excellent for a few pints and log fire.

Re: paying in advance, that's pretty standard for rentals in the Lakes I think - has been the case for everywhere I've rented there so wouldn't worry about it.

We went camping just outside Pooley Bridge a few years ago, these are all excellent suggestions.

Any Hay on Wye recommendations?

Strangely, Alan McGee is DJ-ing on the weekend we are there.

(Not that strange, given he seems to live there but ... it still seems incongruous).

So I'm trying to organise a bachelor party, but a pretty quiet one, as a key guest has hearing damage.

We want to go for a country pub crawl or country pub lunch - either Surrey/Sussex/Kent, or Essex/Suffolk.

I was thinking of a walk around Lewes - Alfriston - Eastbourne. Any recommendations for walks or pubs?

Beachy Head? (I'm not suggesting you go kill yourself btw)

Recommendations for somewhere in the UK to go to between Xmas and New Year?

Southwold has worked for us before - nice town (pubs!) if the weather is terrible and beach or Dunwich Heath if it is dry ... with the possibility of a very nice meal at the Swan. The latter has been refurbished though and may be out of our price range.