Lucie

Going to the North of England in July. Any recommendations for places to see or stay? We would prefer B & B or castles.

Fiona

Chester - histioric, walled city, great for shopping , easy to walk round with many interesting buildings.
York - another historic city, nice castle, make sure you visit the Yorvik (sp?) Viking centre.
Durham - never been personally but it's supposed to be really nice.

Linda

I love rural Yorkshire myself. The Yorkshire Dales were the setting for James Herriot's stories and the TV series "All Creatures Great and Small" was filmed there. The Bronte sisters' home and the surrounding moors, in the town of Haworth, are wonderful if you are a fan of theirs.

There are thousands of B&Bs. I recommend you visit a web site such as that of Smooth Hound Systems (http://www.s-h-systems.co.uk/), where you can see online brochures for many. That should get you started.

sandy

I love the Lake District in Northern England, but avoid all the motorcoach tours in Windermere and go instead to Keswick. It's a beautiful and friendly place, and the tourism center will steer you to a lovely B&B or country house hotel.

I agree with the person who suggested York and the Yorkshire countryside, as well. Be sure to go to Whidby to see the ruined Abbey and walk on the boardwalk all the way to the end. But don't stay there. Go to Robinhoods Bay and stay at the Victoria Hotel. We stayed in the octagonal room on the third floor. Wonderful! And don't miss Reiveaux Abbey, whatever you do. It is magnificent, even in ruins, and the setting is lovely.

Fiona

Don't mean to be petty but it's spelt Whitby (just in case you want to find in on a map. It's a really nice area but Robin Hood's Bay would be a problem for anyone with mobility problems as it's built on a very steep hill.