If you want a mix of urban and countryside, somewhere along the North Wales coast, as I found visiting Prestatyn last month you don’t need to go very far south to get a very rural feel. But it’s heck of a lot colder due to elevation and exposure up the likes of Brenig/Alwen Reservoirs at ~1450 feet right now compared to sub 200 feet near the coast!
I’m very out of touch with how it is now given I lived there for a few years in the early 1980s, but Dolgellau/Fairbourne/Barmouth area were popular tourist towns back then, not so much in winter though.
Machenllyth is on my list of places to visit in summer, some great hill riding from close to the train station IIRC.