So I will be returning to Canada permanently next year and as such I am planning on spending a last Christmas at " home". I have no ties or roots in the UK and presently live in Germany so any location would suit me.

I just fancy a last feel of British pubs, TV, food and country walks etc, I will be joined by some American friends, so places of interest and beauty near by would be good.

Any suggestions?

Thanks

That sounds a bit dangerous.

Couple of beers in front of a proper fire in a country pub as your last memory of Britain and you might regret a move to North America.

You could do a lot worse than either Cheltenham or Cirencester in the Cotswolds. Lovely old architecture, nice hotels and country pubs and walks along the Cotswold Way (Cleeve Hill etc.).

Currently my neck of the woods and also hopefully the last Christmas there myself before moving to Canada.

Don't mean to be funny or anything but why ruin people's Christmas? People in the UK have enough to deal with at that time of year.

Then, of course, there's the Lake District, say Bowness on Windermere, with The Hole in t' Wall pub, now apparently called The New Hall Inn.

I would go to Blackpool - tell your Yank mates that its a bit like Vegas but with more of a California beach vibe.....

North Yorkshire.

Yeah, right.

Remember most pubs close on Christmas day. Many others are ticket only at the Christmas period.

Clachaig Inn in Glen Coe
Pen-Y-Gwryd Hotel, Snowdonia
Wasdale Head Inn, Wasdale
All three offer rooms. Clachaig looks a good bet
https://www.clachaig.com/specialoffer/2234/

What about somewhere like Lyme Regis? Hire a cottage on the Front between you. Beautiful coastline, cosy pubs, reasonable restaurants. Day trips to Exeter, Dartmoor, even Bristol and Bath/Wells.

Second that. There is also something magical about Cumbria in the depths of winter especially if you want to get away from it all.

Do they? Christmas night I remember them not opening but lunchtime was open as normal. Or at least 'Sunday' hours.

That was when we regulars got our free pint from our stingy landlord who wouldn't do it another time if you couldn't make it in.

I second Hurlabrick's shout out for Cheltenham. Lots of the other suggested locations are lovely, but Christmas weather in England can be pretty unpleasant so I'm not sure you would do justice to regions famed for their breathtaking hilltop views. In Cheltenham you are within easy day-trip reach of Oxford, Bath, at a push Stonehenge, and on the doorstep of quintessentially English Cotswold villages like Bourton-On-Water & Stow on the Wold. There are more top-notch pubs with roaring log fires than you could possible fit into a holiday. It would really appeal to your American visitors. I've seen more of my Canadian friends since buying a house here then I did when we were living in Ontario!

Take a walk down Oxford St (London) at night when the Christmas lights are on. Buy some roasted chestnuts, and finally go into the Nag's Head on Kinnerton St for a pint.