Road trips
Best road trip around Manchester: complete guide
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Manchester! The northwest city and second-most populous urban area in the UK is a famous and much-visited destination, long associated with lively nightlife, first-class music, world-beating football and so much more besides. But taking a Manchester road trip is even better than having a city break, especially on a campervan tour! You get to explore this vibrant and historic city, then set off into Lancashire, Yorkshire and three of Britain’s magnificent National Parks… plus so much more.
Below are the best places to explore on the ultimate road trip from Manchester!
8 places you can’t miss on a road trip around Manchester
1. Manchester
One of Britain’s main cities, Manchester has something for everyone. Among its many highlights are the football stadia Old Trafford and the Etihad Stadium for Manchester United and Manchester City; iconic buildings like Manchester Cathedral; seeing the stars from Jodrell Bank Observatory; one of the biggest city parks in Europe; six nature reserves; and a lively and longstanding music and cultural scene alongside buzzing nightlife… get out into the city and get stuck in!
When it’s time for a rest, retreat to a Manchester campsite for the night. Just outside the city near Oldham,Hawthorne Caravan & Camp Site (postcode OL4 5LN) is a peaceful green campsite metres from The Low nature reserve. Pitches start from £20.
2. The Peak District (distance from Manchester – 29 miles)
To the first national park on our Manchester road trip, the Peak District, Britain’s first designated national park.
Arrive in the Peak at Edale, the little village at the southern end and starting point of the 268-mile Pennine Way, surrounded by hills with the limestone plateau of Kinder Scout to the north. The village has two pubs, both serving food, as well as a couple of cafés. For a day trip, walk or take the bus to Castleton to see Peveril Castle, the only surviving Norman castle in Derbyshire, or hike up to Winnats Pass, a limestone gorge above Speedwell Cavern.
Peak District public transport is accessible from Castleton.
Stay at an Edale campsite in the Hope Valley atGreenacres Campsite (postcode S33 7ZH), where campervan pitches start from £20 per night. Book in advance if you want a pitch with electric hook-up, as these are limited.
3. York (distance from Edale – 73 miles)
One of the most visited cities in England’s north, York’s most iconic sight is the cathedral York Minster, one of the biggest in northern Europe. York is also known for its medieval city walls – there are more miles of intact wall here than any other city in England – and for its Shickleways (medieval narrow lanes) that include The Shambles, a perfect rest stop for tearooms and shopping.
Other recommended sights in this historic city are the National Railway Museum, the Jorvik Viking Centre, York Castle, the Yorkshire Museum and its Museum Gardens, and the York Art Gallery. For a very English experience, take tea at Bettys Café Tea Rooms in the city centre, also an iconic York building.
Campsites are easy to find around York.York Rowntree Park Caravan and Motorhome Club Campsite (YO23 1JQ) has touring pitches from £18.70 per night, in a city centre but rural setting on the banks of the River Ouse.
4. Harrogate (distance from York – 22 miles)
North Yorkshire spa town and market town Harrogate is the setting of the original Betty’s Tea Rooms, in the town’s Montpellier Quarter. The Montpellier Quarter is also home to the Mercer Art Gallery, showcasing local artworks, and to Harrogate’s nightlife around the Royal Baths. Another top Harrogate attraction is the Royal Pump Room, a former spa water pump house that’s now Harrogate’s museum.
The award-winning RHS Harlow Carr Gardens on the western edge of Harrogate are the Royal Horticultural Society’s main site in England’s north and are well worth a visit. You could also stroll around The Valley Gardens, Harrogate’s main park – or visit both, as The Valley Gardens are on the way to Harlow Carr.
Stay on the Great Yorkshire Showground atHarrogate Caravan Park (HG2 8NZ), on the south side of Harrogate overlooking the Crimple Valley. Pitch prices start from £23 per night and include electric hook-up and awning space.
5. Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty/Pateley Bridge (distance from Harrogate – 14 miles)
Next up is the town of Pateley Bridge, on a drive from Harrogate into the Yorkshire Dales and the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, very close to the Yorkshire Dales National Park.
The only town in the Nidderdale AONB, Pateley Bridge is in the heart of Nidderdale on the River Nidd. Stock up on supplies from the Pateley Bridge sweet shop, the oldest in the world, and have a look around the Nidderdale Museum before taking a walk into Pateley’s peaceful surroundings: both the Nidderdale Way (54 miles) and the Six Dales Trail (38 miles) both pass through the town. Elsewhere around the AONB, try mountain biking around Upper Nidderdale or caving in the Upper Nidderdale caves. For sightseeing, spectacular Fountains Abbey is 10 miles to the east.
For an easy accommodation option, stay on at the Harrogate campsite above and take public transport to and from Nidderdale. Or stay in the AONB atStudfold Caravan and Camping Park (HG3 5SG), an award-winning caravan, camping and glamping park with an on-site adventure trail and regular events. Campervan/motorhome pitches start from £20.
6. Bowness-on-Windermere (distance from Pateley – 68 miles)
A spectacularly scenic drive now through our second national park – the Yorkshire Dales – to arrive at the third on the trip – the Lake District. Our route arrives in the Lakes at Bowness-on-Windermere in South Lakeland, on the shore of Windermere, Britain’s biggest lake. At 11 miles long, there’s loads of choice for getting out and about on and around Windermere, with pleasure cruises, boating, hiking, swimming, sailing and rowing all available.
Bowness town is home to The World of Beatrix Potter attraction, exploring the life and works of the children’s writer. You can also catch the Windermere Ferry from Bowness, to Far Sawrey on the western side of the lake, or start a lake cruise from Bowness Bay to the north of the lake at Ambleside and south at Fell Foot.
For a Windermere campsite, tryHawkshead Hall Campsite (LA22 0NN) at the lake’s north close to Ambleside for handy access to our next stops; a hardstanding motorhome pitch with electric hook-up, TV connection and water connection starts from £25.50 per night.
7. Keswick (distance from Windermere 21 miles; from Ambleside 17 miles)
The market town of Keswick is our next stop, 21 miles from Windermere just north from the lake of Derwentwater. It’s a lively and arty town with plenty to see, such as the Keswick Museum and Art Gallery in Fitz Park, the Theatre by the Lake and the Derwent Pencil Museum. If you want to get out on the water, the Keswick Leisure Pool and Fitness Centre offers canoeing lessons, or you could hire a boat from nearby Lodore Falls.
On the shore of Derwentwater,[Keswick Camping and Caravanning Club](https://www.campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk/campsites/uk/cumbria/keswick/keswick-camping-and-caravanning-club-site/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_content=Keswick&utm_campaign=google_places# Availability) (CE12 5EP) is within walking distance of Keswick town centre. Pitches start from £8.75 per person per night.
8. Barrow-in-Furness (distance from Keswick: 48 miles)
Our final Manchester road trip stop is Barrow-in-Furness, the Cumbrian town on the tip of the Furness peninsula, just outside the Lake District on the north-western edge of Morecambe Bay. It includes the Islands of Furness – Walney, Piel, Sheep and Foulney among others – and popular tourist destinations like the South Lakes Safari Zoo, Piel Castle and the Dock Museum.
Barrow also has around 37 miles of coastline to explore, including Biggar Bank, Earnse Bay, Roanhead and Rampside; and two nature reserves/Sites of Special Scientific Interest on Walney Island. One of these, South Walney, is the only place in Cumbria to see grey seals.
Stay on Walney Island by this nature reserve atSouth End Caravan Park (LA14 3YQ), a small, family-run Barrow-in-Furness campsite with an indoor pool, bar and play areas. Prices start from £20 per night.
Extending your Manchester road trip
To extend your trip by another couple of stops, we suggest detouring west fromBarrow-in-Furness to Blackpool (80 miles) then heading south fromBlackpool to Liverpool (51 miles). Liverpool to Manchester is 34 miles to finish off your trip.
The fullroute from Manchester to Liverpool including all 10 stops is 412 miles.
Organise your Manchester road trip with Camplify
First things first – check our listings forcampervan hire in Manchester! If you’d like to start at another destination on the route, we have heaps of choice in our full listings forUK campervan hire.
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