Parts of the Lakes will be slammed in August - there is a Bank holiday weekend the beginning of August so basically those 4 days Aug 2-5 will be very crowded.

The Dales are terrific - but the roads are very narrow and they will be crowded over that same weekend -- expect lots and LOTS of motorcycles.

The Peaks should be a little less crowded.

What I'd suggest is nail down your accommodations for the Bank Holiday first and then design the rest of your itinerary around that.

Jerry

A warning before you plan, we have some beautiful scenery in the UK but you have to remember that there are over 60 million people packed into an area the size of North Carolina. The end result is that the wildlife has taken a bashing. To see wildlife on a par with that of other areas of the world you need to head for the highlands. It is entirely feasible to drive to the Scottish west coast, its only around 4 and a half hours.

However, there are many areas of outstanding natural beauty.

Consider an area like the Eden Valley or Kirkby Lonsdale/ Kirkby Stephen which are beautiful in their own right but centrally located for day trips to all areas. I would personally spent 6 days in say Ripon which will get you to York, the Abbeys and North Yorkshire. Then spend the other 6 days in The Lakes.

Would you like a cottage or hotel? budget ?

Janisj

Things are moving on annually. Five years ago the fuel costs from the areas of population like Manchester and Leeds to say The Lakes, North Yorks etc were around £25. Fuel has doubled in price and the recession has left closer areas like The Peaks as being ridiculously busy and The Lakes less so.

In the days of old we queued on the M6 for on hour on any given weekend in summer. Bank holidays were just awful. Since the recession there is far less traffic around.

What is this extra Bank Holiday?

This is the official tourist board website for researching the Lakes http://www.golakes.co.uk/

For literary connections visit Hill Top, home of Beatrix Potter. http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/hill-top/

Just round the corner is this wonderful b&b - Buckle Yeat - fantastic breakfast http://www.buckle-yeat.co.uk/

Grasmere is popular place to stay; several hotels. Nothing finer than a walk round Grasmere, visiting Dove Cottage (Wordsworth's home) and buying gingerbread from the Gingerbread Shop http://www.grasmeregingerbread.co.uk/

If you prefer a larger town would I suggest Keswick.

As janisj says the honeypots will be busy, but you can find peace and solitude away from the crowds up on the fells - especially to the west, Wastwater for example.

Consider Northumberland. Great scenery, wildlife, villages, coast, castles. Nowhere near as crowded as the Lakes for instance.
Or stay in Wales of course.Plenty of Wales to see and if you are prepared to walk you can easily get away from any crowds.

August Bank Holiday is 26 August not 5 August.

I think Northumberland is well worth investigating too - it's a beautiful area. We often stay in the area around Chillingham and you can walk all day in the area and hardly see a soul.
Personally I wouldn't stay in Ripon, It's a nice enough place (I live a few miles away) with a stunning cathedral and it's near Fountains Abbey. But as you clearly like the countryside I'd go for somewhere more rural, maybe in the Dales National Park or the North Yorks Moors National Park.

5th August is a Bank Holiday in Scotland and ROI, the 26th is a UK Bank Holiday so outside of Scotland should be fine. However, if the weather is good, both the Dales and Lake District will be busy.

You haven't given a guide to hotel prices, but there are a number of hotels in Bowness on Windermere that cover the range from B & B to 5 star. It's a good base for the whole of the area and has a good choice of restaurants.

Don't miss a couple of nights in Manchester on the way home, for its great buildings, history and choice of food from across the world.

Thanks for all the terrific information. Our dates are August 9-20 so at least we'll miss the bank holidays, if not the usual crush of tourists in August. I prefer off season but it wasn't to be this time.

Just talked with a friend who mentioned Malham, Grassington and Settle as bases for the Lakes. B&Bs seem to be about £60-65/night for two which is within our budget.

Grassington and malham are in the middle of the dales and not bases for the Lakes. Settle isnt in the lakes either so don't understand why any of those places have been suggested as 'Lakes bases'!!

Thinking about my reply above - I think your friend must have meant bases for the Dales and not the Lakes??
Grassington and Malham aren't that far apart so you wouldn't need to stay in both. They are very different.
Grassington gets very busy especially on a sunny August weekend (yes, we do occasionally get them up here!). There's a National Park Centre, lots of car parking etc. Advantages are that there's a good range of places to stay, pubs, restaurants, shops etc. There are some wonderful walks all around the area. Disadvantages are that it will be thronged if the weather is good.
Malham is tiny and the big draw here is Malham Cove which is an absolute must see. Again it will be very busy at the weekend - cars are channelled into a large car park because the lanes are very narrow and there is very limited road parking.
The Dales cover a huge area and you can easily find quieter places if that is what you are after. I live in Lower Wensleydale and it is stunningly beautiful but I rarely see a motorbike, and not many tourists either!

I would choose Grassington above Malham (too small),I actually think the south Lakes are very reachable from these places, visitors from America etc would not find our distances that challenging. Masham is also a possibility - nice pubs and nice beer, and again convenient for Lakes and rest of Dales. Parts of Northumbria are very close to the Lakes - what about Durham allowing access to North York Moors, Lakes and Northumbria?

Morgan lives in a wonderful place but getting around the Dales can be torture due to the nature of the roads.

It may be worth considering staying near either the A66 or A65 to make day trips easy.

Ingleton?

Grassington?

I agree totally with Masham and then a stay in The lakes.

Morgana

I probably meant near Ripon, I really like it as a town, more so since it got itself a Booths.

am i missing something?

why not spend at least some of your time in North Wales? although it won't be deserted that time of year, it probably won't be heaving.

unless you've already done this, it seems a wasted opportunity.

Got itself a Booths but lost its Marks and Sparks food shop. You win some you lose some!

North Wales isnt normal Fodor fodder - but totally agree; Anglesey is a delight. With this in the equation it makes it even more difficult to decide.