The best adventure holidays for the over 50s in the UK

A touring holiday in a caravan or motorhome fits this style of adventure holiday perfectly. With a leisure vehicle, you get to bring your own space with you, plus all of the everyday essentials you’d rather not do without. It just means you can have your adventure during the day without wondering where you’ll sleep or how comfortable you’ll be when you return to where you’re staying.

In this guide, we explore five types of adventure holidays that you can have right here in the UK, and all from the home-away-from-home comfort of your very own caravan or motorhome.

Trekking & walking holidays

The UK is particularly well-suited to all kinds of trekking holidays, and that’s largely because of the sheer variety its four countries offer.

When you think of the rolling hills of South West England, the rugged landscape of Wales or the peaks of Scotland and Northern Ireland, you can choose a destination to match your fitness level. And, most areas even have great walking options that included shortened or extended routes.

This type of holiday suits:

• Couples who enjoy being active outdoors
• Walkers who love to try and earn a spellbinding view
• Anyone who loves to take an interesting or relaxing route to a great pub lunch/dinner

UK walking areas to consider

These places offer excellent walking without the crowds or of the obvious and popular routes:

• The Howgill Fells (Cumbria)
  Often described as a quieter cousin to the Yorkshire Dales, the Howgills offer a range of grassy hills for you to summit. The highest of these is known as The Calf (676m/2218ft), but there are other options like Calders and Arrant Haw for you to explore too. You’ll find parking easily at the beginning of the Sedburgh ascent, with good paths that take you all the way to the top.

• The Shropshire Hills
  The Shropshire Hills National Landscape is a very underrated area of the UK that offers expansive views at the top of very gentle, easy gradients to climb. There are 50 (yes, 50!) recommended hills to explore—all accessible by public rights of way—that encompass everything from viewpoints, ancient hillforts and areas great for spotting wildlife. For something to see after you walk, there’s also a great variety of market towns like Church Stretton and Ludlow close by.

• The Elan Valley (Mid Wales)
  This area in Powys, Wales, is often called the ‘Welsh Lake District’. It offers you 70sqm of lakes to explore, and most offer circular walks for you to take in their sheer beauty. A particular highlight of the Valley is the four dams at Craig Goch, Garreg Ddu, Pen Y Garreg and Caban Coch, respectively. Each is a spectacular backdrop for any photographs, particularly at golden hour.

Wildlife & nature holidays

Wildlife-focused holidays tend to suit those who love to take travel at a much slower pace. This is because you can never guarantee when the wildlife will show up and may need to take time enjoying the scenery as you wait in one place until it does.

These types of holidays are not packed with activities—although there may be some walking involved—and instead focus largely on looking for specific species such as trees, butterflies, or birds. If you love to be unhurried when travelling, this may be ideal for you.

This type of holiday suits:

• Anyone who loves to sit in nature for an afternoon
• Birdwatchers, photographers and nature lovers
• Those who prefer to take in the atmosphere of natural scenery over that found at attractions

UK places for wildlife and nature

These areas offer rewarding encounters without the crowds or complexity of more frequently visited destinations:

• The Flow Country (Caithness and Sutherland)
  The Forsinard Flows are a vast peatland landscape in the far north of Scotland, recently recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage site for its global environmental importance. It is the only peatland World Heritage site in the world!

Head to the Forsinard Flows visitor centre, which is based in the old train station, for a small museum, information on the conservation and an incredibly striking lookout giving a view over the entire landscape. The trails here are flat and the boardwalks make them accessible.

• The Solway Coast (Cumbria and Dumfries & Galloway)
  Head to this Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty for saltmarshes, tidal flats and wide skies that create a constantly changing landscape. There are several peatlands and bird life to keep a lookout for as you take in the walking routes, which are generally level. Plus, parking is straightforward near coastal villages.

• Kielder Forest and Observatory (Northumberland)
  Set in the third largest Dark Sky protected area in the world, Kielder Observatory sits in Kielder forest and offers the largest stargazing programme of events in the UK.
  Across the 40 events the Observatory hosts a month, you can expect to see things like The Secret Life of Stars, The Origins of the Universe and Aurora Night. There’s even a brewery on site for some refreshments after all the excitement!

Why choose a caravan/motorhome for adventure holidays?

Comfort across every season
Many of the most rewarding UK trips happen outside peak summer. Bailey’s Grade III insulation and heating, found across all of our ranges, keeps you comfortable no matter what season you head out for an adventure.

Practical storage for any adventure
Whether it’s walking boots, waterproofs, binoculars or picnic gear, touring holidays come with equipment. At Bailey, we design storage around how you’ll live in the vehicle, with under-seat access, external lockers and garage spaces in models like the Adamo XL range. All of it helps to keep your everyday clutter out of living areas.

A sense of familiarity wherever you stop
One of touring’s strengths is it gives your holidays consistency. Sleeping in the same bed, using the same washroom, even knowing how everything works helps each day start smoothly. Our designers focus on intuitive layouts and dependable systems, leaving you free to enjoy where you are, rather than manage where you’re staying.

Cultural exploration trips

If you’re the kind of traveller who loves to get absorbed in a local town’s way of life, then this will be the trip type for you. These holidays are all about learning about the what, who, when, where and, crucially, why of a place through its historic buildings, art, theatre and food.

You’ll be just as happy wandering around the ‘must-see’ historic attractions (think castles and manor houses) as you are getting lost in the local markets and independent shops. The UK lends itself well to this slower approach. Many towns and regions reward a couple of days’ stay, with enough to explore without ever feeling busy or overwhelming.

This type of holiday suits:

• Travellers over 50 who love to learn about the local culture and traditions of different towns
• Couples who like mixing walking with galleries, museums and a bite to eat at a local restaurant
• Those who are more at home in built-up areas than in the countryside

Thoughtful UK destinations for cultural touring

These places offer rich experiences without the crowds of more obvious cultural centres:

• Bradford-on-Avon and the Kennet & Avon Canal
  A lovely Wiltshire town that offers a compact way to take in its history. There’s easy walking, independent shops and excellent access to the canal towpath. Plus, if you time your visit right, you may even be able to make one of the UK’s most charming annual events: The Duck Race. Parking is straightforward outside the centre, and nearby towns such as Devizes and Pewsey make easy day trips.

• Dundee and the East Neuk of Fife
  The East Neuk of Fife (Scots for ‘Nook’) is a small coastal area of Dundee that takes in many small, quaint fishing villages. Dundee’s waterfront museums and galleries combine well with villages like Crail and Anstruther. The roads are short but incredibly scenic, and there’s plenty to enjoy at a relaxed pace.

• The Scottish Borders
  Across the 96-mile border between England and Scotland, you’ll find a fusion of cultures and history. There are textile mills, small local museums and historic houses that all sit within gentle countryside. Towns such as Melrose (famous for the invention of rugby) and Selkirk are easy to navigate, with good walking routes and cafés close at hand.

Active & scenic

While this may be the closest holiday type in this list to the typical ‘adventure holiday’, that doesn’t mean that these trips are necessarily demanding.

Active and scenic holidays are about being out in the landscape to see it by whatever means you enjoy; that can be via walking, cycling, boating, or even soaking up lots of miles via road tripping. The key is that you let the scenery do the work.

For many over-50s, this is where touring really comes into its own, offering a chance to create days that feel full, but never rushed. And the UK offers countless routes and regions where gentle activity and striking scenery sit side by side.

This type of holiday suits:

• Couples who enjoy being out and about to fully explore the local natural scenery most days
• People who love to do a mix of activities while on holiday
• Anyone who prefers to get a little off the beaten track to explore

UK routes and regions to explore

These areas lend themselves well to scenic, low-pressure days:

• The Deeside Way (Aberdeenshire)
  The Deeside Way is a largely level route that follows the winding nature of the River Dee, and it’s ideal for walking or cycling in manageable sections.
  If you’re after the most scenic part, then head for the part that goes between Dinnet and Ballater, because this is the section of the trail that cuts through the Cairngorms National Park. You can expect a meandering trail through forest, farmland and moorland, all well-served by villages and cafés, with plenty of parking points along the way.

• The Cinder Track (Scarborough to Whitby)
  This is a 21-mile-long coastal route that heads between Scarborough and Whitby, ideal for you to break up into shorter stretches. You’ll have plenty of sea views, cafés at either end and the option to mix walking with train or bus returns.

• Nidderdale (Yorkshire)
  This hidden gem of a National Landscape offers big views without big crowds. It’s ideal for several days of exploration, because short drives link reservoirs, settlements and viewpoints, with plenty of short walks that can be adapted to the day. The only town is Pateley Bridge, and it’s worth a visit for its picturesque, classic Yorkshire brick buildings.

Ready for your adventure holiday in your home away from home?

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