What's the deal: The Independent's travel team battle it out to find the best UK bank holiday weekend away

Three breaks you can still book

The Cairngorms are home to pine forests and mirror-still lochs (Shutterstock)

Each week, The Independent’s travel team go head to head to see who can come up with the best version of a particular trip. Today we’re tackling a UK bank holiday getaway for two; here are our tips for last-minute escapes

Simon’s choice: a bargain city break in Aberdeen
Price for two people: £130

Once the North Sea oil industry began, the “Granite City” became the Houston of north-east Scotland, blossoming as the cash flowed in on the Forties oil pipeline. The slump in oil prices has hit the local economy, making it the stand-out bargain for a bank holiday break (for England and Wales, not Scotland). The Premier Inn may look like a multi-storey car park, but it is plumb in the middle of the city. A walk will take you to the fascinating Maritime Museum, which explains the perils and profits of the oil industry in spectacular fashion; the fishing village of Footdee; and the haunting St Machar’s Cathedral. And when the sun shines, make the most of the best city beach in Britain. The price is for three nights’ room only, arriving Friday 26 August.

Simon Calder, travel correspondent

Aberdeen is very walkable (Mkonikkara/Wikimedia Commons)

Nicola’s choice: a gourmet escape to the Lakes
Price for two people: £388

I’m about to spend a weekend walking in the Lake District, so it would have to be my choice for the bank holiday. Base yourself in the village of Grasmere, known for its gingerbread, Wordsworth connections and, of course, lake. This is where you'll find The Forest Side, a new hotel here that’s really got people talking - in a good way. The rooms are stylish and comfortable, but it’s the restaurant that's really worth visiting; headed up by Kevin Tickle, alumnus of Simon Rogan’s two-Michelin-starred L’Enclume, it serves a menu of dishes made using as many foraged and homegrown ingredients as possible. The price of £388 will get you two nights’ B&B, arriving Saturday 27 August, but for the full experience, splash out another £50 per person for a three-course dinner – you can always walk it off the next day.

Nicola Trup, head of travel

Dishes make the most of foraged ingredients (Jenny Heyworth Photography)

Laura’s choice: an action-packed trip to the Cairngorms
Price for two people: £100

Like Simon, I’m pitching Scotland, but why stay in the city when you’ve got the wildly beautiful Highlands to gad about in? Probably my favourite ever weekend away in the UK was in Aviemore, a fantastic little town in the Cairngorms, surrounded by plenty of snowy peaks, sprawling pine forests and mirror-still lochs. Double rooms at the self-catering Aviemore Bunkhouse are a steal at £50 a night (arriving Saturday 27 August), and it’s right by the Old Bridge Inn, a brilliant boozer that had a brass-funk band gigging there when I was last in town (reserve ahead for food). Seeing as it’s the UK’s largest national park, there are loads of adventures to be had in the Cairngorms (and they’re free if you’re walking), but I have to recommend packrafting with Back Country Biking, which involves mountain biking with an inflatable raft and collapsible oars stuffed into a backpack – when you get to a loch, just inflate your raft, strap your bike to it and paddle onwards. A packraft costs £30 to hire for a day. And don’t miss The Potting Shed, an outstanding tea room a 10-minute drive outside Aviemore, once named one of Britain’s best cake shops. You’ll pay a few quid for tea and a slice. Bags of bang for your buck, right on your doorstep.

Laura Chubb, deputy head of travel

Just blow up your rafts, and off you go (Laura Chubb)