Hello there and welcome to VT. A lot depends on whether you have your own transport or not. Will you be hiring a car or using public transport? If you let us know, we can assist you much better.

Thanks for your prompt reply..Would prefer using public transport..

Do you mean England or the UK? I ask because, despite its small size, there is a vast amount of countryside...and a vast amount of different types of landscapes...to enjoy but there is no point in telling you about areas in Scotland or Wales if you are focusing on England.

If you do not intend to hire a car then your access to the countryside will be much more limited. Railways serve settlements,. mostly the larger ones, and getting into the countryside will mean using buses...and they take routes which serve smaller settlements rather than the countryside itself.

You can see a map of the railway network here:

nationalrail.co.uk/stations_...

With such small children, I'd suggest you consider just one or two bases. Perhaps use public transport to get to them and then hire a car when you are there so that you can explore more widely. You'd need to arrange beforehand with the hire company to have the legally-required seating for your children.

July is high season and, from early to mid-July, schools will be on holiday. So you can expect places to be busy and prices to reflect that. Do book your accommodation well in advance for that time of year.

There are a number of possibilities which come to mind:

• Train to Moreton-in-Marsh and then explore the Cotswolds, an area of rolling countryside and pretty villages. Bus services are reasonable enough to allow you to explore fairly widely.

• Train to Penzance, in Cornwall. Buses will allow you to explore fairly widely, including accessing Lands End and St Michaels' Mount, although a car will be more useful.

• Train to Stratford-on-Avon and use buses to explore the Warwiickshire countryside and the northern part of the Cotswolds...though car would be better.

• Train to Scarborough and bus to explore the Yorkshire coastline and possibly a bit of the moors. You'd need a car to explore more widely.

There are other possibilities too...the south coast, south Devon, the Lake District....and more.

Vow.. Thanks for all the info.. If i say, the UK.. Would wales and scotland hold better options?

To add to Leics's answer, I would also suggest areas around London, such as Kent and Surrey, stopping at small villages or market towns. Although Surrey and Kent are very much built up, there is still countryside and small towns. The advantage of this area is its proximity to London with lots of public transport. You mentioned Wales and Scotland which both offer wilder mountainous scenery, but have the disadvantage of being further away from London. Also because the mountainous areas are more remote, there is less public transport. You may consider the Lake District which is mountainous with many lakes and lovely little villages which can be reached by bus from Kendal station. As for Scotland, I would suggest leaving it for a trip on its own as the travelling alone would use up 2 days of your visit; or you could change your plans and visit Scotland instead, but then I suppose I am a wee bit biased. Hope this information helps. Enjoy your travels. Bruce

Having travelled with a small child I know it can be hard work, so whilst I'm a northener by birth (and opinion), I'd probably try to avoid going too far.

The train to Weymouth for the beach and then the local bus Portland would be an option. Weymouth has plenty of classic British seaside attractions to it. Portland is as spectacular bit of landscape as you'll get in Britain.

For its size, England has a surprising range of different countryside: mountains, rolling hills, woodland, lowlands, lakes. Are you looking more for majestic landscapes, or country villages?

>Would wales and scotland hold better options?

Not 'better' in any way...just even more options!

But you only have a short time, especially as part of your trip includes London, so you are better, imo, to focus on just one UK country this time round.......especially with such small children. Even though distances may seem short on the map travelling takes time, especially if you use public transport, is tiring (even without children) and will eat up your holiday time.

When are you planning to travel in July?
The Grand Depart for the first stage of the Tour De France takes place in the North of England Mid - July - this could be a bonus - a chance to see a world class event or a negative due to increased prices for accommodation/ traffic problems.
Sheffield is the final stage of this race -2 hours from London by train and we have easy access by public transport to the scenic Peak District!

We prefer Majestic landscapes.. Guess would keep Wales and Scotland for another time and not include these in my itinerary. However would love to try out Lake District.. Thanks for the update on the Tour de France.. Do keep suggestions coming in and would let you all know on what my final plan is and how it goes..

If you want 'majestic' then I'd imagine the mountains of Snowdonia or the Lake District or the Scottish Highlands might be best, though none are short journeys from London and all have fairly limited public transport (buses) once you've arrived.

The Lake District is beautiful and certainly majestic. Here are a couple of websites to check out and see what you think :

lakedistrict.gov.uk/visiting...

golakes.co.uk/travel/getting...

This is a local company offering day trips and tours to give ideas :

http://www.mountain-goat.co.uk/

Happy Planning!

You might like to research North Yorkshire and / or Northumberland, there is some pretty majestic scenery in both places.

If you base yourself in York you will have very good transport links to the Moors, Dales and Durham and Northumberland. Because you are using public transport there are a number of good value rover tickets available for unlimited travel on the trains - see my tips at -[original VT link]
The North East Rover is a very good price and would allow you to see a great deal of this beautiful part of England. Plus basing your self in York would give you the facilities of a tourist town.