You're such a bunch of nice guys!! I could probably add a few pounds to my weekly budget, it was just a starting point. No, I am not 'young' anymore, 47 actually, but I love a challenge. It is an unexpected opportunity that puts me in England and I cannot decline the offer.

You may be able to manage a hostel at about 15 pounds per day. I think hostels with kitchens tend to be more expensive than those without, but it's worth investigating. Take a look at each of these. The same hostel can be different prices on different sites.
www.hostelbookers.com
www.hostelworld.com
www.hihostels.com

You also might want to have a hunt for a cheap off-season cottage/flat to base yourself in for a week. You should find something for around £250 a week, which leaves you a reasonable amount of spending money. If you pick a good location with local buses you can get out and about quite cheaply, they might even have a bike you can borrow, and you'll have plenty left to go down the pub a couple of nights. Pick one within walking distance of a town/village though, you don't want to be stuck in the middle of nowhere in winter as a tourist. For example, I've picked Newquay at random but looking here you can get an idea of out-of season prices for hostels,cottages and apartments - http://www.iknow-cornwall.co.uk/newq...scounts_deals/

Cup o noodles are called pot noodles here and are only eaten when drunk and/or stoned.

As you budget is eye-wateringly tight I have a suggestion.

There is a large community of Sith Effrikans in London, based mainly in Southfields (it's easy to find - it's where the "Wimbledon" tennis courts are). They all live in shared accomodation and pay about £100 a week.

Have a look on Gumtree and see if you can't find a short term room rental (it shouldn't be hard).

Off season apartment might be a good idea, so a seaside destination or maybe somewhere like Harrogate (people visit for the summer).

Clothes, my Zimbabwe nephew turned up in Shorts and a T shirt in November. It will be wet, damp (which can be soul sapping) and chilly. If it snows(unlikely) the whole place grinds to a halt.

YHA might be a good idea as they have various hostels open all year (all over the country) round www.yha.org or co.uk I think and the bus companies might be the way. YHA might also be a solution to Christmas as they seem to theme times about then

<<< Cup o noodles are called pot noodles here and are only eaten when drunk and/or stoned. >>>

Or a student - but then as most students are drunk / stoned I suppose it's true

something of interest that may help stretch your budget is to do one of the National Trust working holidays.
I have found 3 on during December and you do say you like a challange.usually after volunteering for a week you get a free pass for NT properies.
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/mai...g_holidays.htm

unclegus, that does sound really interesting! I saw this on the web site, though:

"The National Trust regrets that, until further notice, for legal reasons we are unable to accept bookings from volunteers who do not hold a European Economic Area or Swiss passport."

Assuming the OP doesn't have either, that may not be an option.

Thats a pity,I was on one of these holidays several years ago on th north yorkshire Moors and there wer people from Australia and New Zealand on it ,and this was helping subsidise their trip to Britain.

Renting small cottages or holiday flats will work for much of the time -- but not for your last two weeks. Most holiday rentals are dirt cheap in Nov/Dec but double their rates for the Christmas/New Year weeks.

So renting 2 or 3 cottages in different parts of the country and then relying on hostels for the final 2+ weeks might be a good way to go.

laeti -- you might check out www.couchsurfing.org. You make connections with people through the website, reading profiles and posting your own. Then you stay with those people, sleeping on their couch or in a spare room if you're lucky. We just hosted some couchsurfers for about a week. They couchsurfed all over Europe and South America last year. They usually bring a hostess gift or make a special meal for their hosts, but other than that -- it's free.

I don't think I could do it -- but it works for some. Good luck!

Get a guidebook.

Thank you all so much! I will indeed buy myself a guidebook and along with all the good tips you gave me, I am sure I will be able to put some sort of itinerary together. I am looking forward to this adventure.