Air

Winster is about an hour's drive from Nottingham East Midlands (EMA) airport, and a bit further from Manchester Airport (MAN). Birmingham Airport (BHX) is a viable option too - 90 minutes plus by car (depending on time of day).

The new Robin Hood Airport (DSA) near Doncaster is also within 90 minutes and has a good range of destinations from low-cost airlines. Watch out for outrageous car parking charges on short stays (£16 for 12-24 hours, which only drops to £14 even if you book ahead). Longer stays are more in line with other "secondary" airports. This airport replaces the old Sheffield Airport which was next to the M1.

If your budget is tight, and you like Portakabins, then Coventry Airport (CVT) is also a possibility. Until they build permanent facilities, this provides a very "third world" experience - OK if you can time yourself for a short wait before takeoff and the flight is on time - but not nice if you have to hang around for long. Watch out for high "taxes and charges" on flights from Coventry - Thomsonfly operate both the airport and the flights, and it seems that their often-cheap flights are to some extent offset by higher-than-normal airport charges. Parking can take a while - they use a plethora of car parks around the perimeter of the airfield and the process of dropping off and getting to the terminal can be slow.

Looking for very cheap flights?

The most powerful search is Skyscanner, which lets you search as widely ("Cheap flights from anywhere in UK to anywhere during August") or narrowly ("from Nottingham East Midlands to Prague on 31st July") as you wish.

The MoneysavingExpert website will help you find out where you can get to for up to £X on date Y flying from Airport Z.