Conrado_Ducommun

Hello All,

My name is Conrado, I am 32 years old and I am from Brazil. I am planning a 22 day trip to the UK for my honeymoon. I have done an extensive research on itineraries (mainly in this forum) and have come to the one below.
My wife and I like museums, parks/outside activities, churches, bars...
Hope you can help us!

From May 4 to May 26

May 4,5,6,7,8,9 (sleeping in London) - London
May 10: early morning driving to Windsor Castle and than Stonehenge - sleeping in Bath
May 11 (sleeping in Bath) - Bath
May 12 (sleeping in Bath) - Oxford
May 13 (sleeping in Bath) - Cotswold (Bibury, Bourton-on-the-Water and Stow-on-the-Wold)
May 14 - Cotswold (Broadway, Chipping Campden) - driving to Liverpool (sleeping in Liverpool)
May 15 (sleeping in Liverpool) - Liverpool
May 16 (sleeping in Liverpool) - Liverpool
May 17 - Peak District National Park OR Lake District Park - driving to York (sleeping in York)
May 18 (sleeping in York) - York (city center)
May 19 (sleeping in York) - York (Castle Howard, Rievaulx Abbey and North Yorkshire Moors Railway)
May 20 (sleeping in York) - York (Fountains Abbey, Yorkshire Dales National Park)
May 21 - early morning driving to Edinburgh – sleeping in Edinburgh
May 22 (sleeping in Edinburgh) - Edinburgh
May 23 (sleeping in Edinburgh) - Edinburgh
May 24 (sleeping in Edinburgh) - Edinburgh
May 25 - Flight from Edinburgh to London – Flight from London to Rio de Janeiro

Ps: I am thinking of renting a car on my last day in London (May 10) and returning on the first day in Edinburgh (May 21)

Ps2: Peak District National Park or Lake District Park? Which one should I go?

Thanks in advance!

Conrado Ducommun

PalenQ

Is not Bath a good - longish drive from the Cotswolds and Oxford - cheltenham Spa I found as a nice old town on the edge of the Cotswolds, not far Oxford and Bath is reasonable from there too.

Bath is a great city but you have a lot more time on the road - many folks find staying in a Cotswolds town to be much more romantic - the proverbial old thatched house in a small village.

Overall I think your plan is very well thought out and excellent.

The Lake District would be I think quite a detour off the Liverpool to York route and the Lake District is not a drive thru experience but staying again in a romantic old house B&B or hotel - doing some of the famous walks, etc. For a half day look I'd forget it and go thru the Yorkshire Dales to York. Harrogate there makes a nice stop - visit the ultra famous Betty's Tea Cafe here or the legendary one in York!

http://www.bettys.co.uk/bettys_harrogate.aspx

annhig

hi conrado - first of all, congrats in your wedding! Your itinerary is very interesting and shows that you've put a lot of thought into it already - well done. but I've got a few comments and questions

1. Why so long in Liverpool? It's a city with many merits but it's not an obvious choice for a first trip to the UK.

2. Would you consider putting your London days at the end of the trip? - then you are in the right place for flying home, adn not reliant on your Edinburgh flight being on time etc.

3. I would do Windsor castle as a day trip from London - your day is pretty full with driving to Stonehenge and then Bath.

4. It is not an efficient use of your time to do Oxford and Bourton on the water etc as day trips from Bath. It would make more sense to stay in Oxford or even to go there en route to somewhere like Stow or Chipping Campden.

5. Neither the Peak district nor the lake district are en route from Liverpool to York, and you don't really have time to see either of them though you might fit in Chatsworth on your way to York. You certainly don't have time to go to the Lake District and see any of it in the space of one day - it is a destination in itself. I might spend another night in Bath!

overall I think you have a reasonable and well-paced trip. However I would return the car in york and get the train to Edinburgh. And remember that you need to allow time to negotiate the traffic in cities, especially if you are arriving at rush-hour, and the motorways at the same time.

BigRuss

(1) Don't drive in Edinburgh.
(2) Don't drive in London.
(3) Go to www.daysoutguide.co.uk and print out every voucher for every site that interests you. Bring extra passport-size photos for you and your fiancee with you to London. Purchase seven-day paper Travelcards at a national rail (Waterloo, Euston, Victoria, etc.) station. When you go to a site covered by the vouchers (the Tower, Hampton Court Palace, HMS Belfast, Churchill War Rooms, etc), present your travelcard and voucher and receive TWO admissions for the price of ONE. This saves about $33 (US) on admission to the Tower, $26 on admission to Hampton Court Palace, etc.
(4) Do NOT get a London Pass.
(5) Take a night away from Liverpool or York (or both) and add to Edinburgh - good day trips to Stirling, Perth, Glasgow, more from the Scottish capital.

janisj

Congratulations Most of the trip looks fine (I agree that maybe a night or two less in Liverpool would be good.

But - I'd definitely change May 10 -14

>>May 10: early morning driving to Windsor Castle and than Stonehenge - sleeping in Bath
May 11 (sleeping in Bath) - Bath
May 12 (sleeping in Bath) - Oxford
May 13 (sleeping in Bath) - Cotswold (Bibury, Bourton-on-the-Water and Stow-on-the-Wold)
May 14 - Cotswold (Broadway, Chipping Campden) - driving to Liverpool (sleeping in Liverpool)<<

I would change this bit for a few reasons. Look at a map - Stow on the Wold. Bourton on the Water, Chipping Campden, and Broadway are all relatively near each other and all are a long drive from Bath. Oxford is very convenient to Stow on the Wold etc. but a long way from Bath. Plus Bath is generally a more expensive place to stay than most anyplace other than London. IMO it doesn't make sense to pay a premium to stay in Bah, but to spend most of your time driving great distances. So thus is how I would do it:

May 10:early morning drive to Windsor Castle and Stonehenge - stay in Bath
May 11 explore Bath - stay in Bath
May 12 Leave Bath and head up to the Cotswolds - you can stay anywhere in the Cotswolds from Burford to Chipping Campden.
May 13 Explore Oxford and maybe Blenheim Palace. (Sleep in the Cotswolds )
May 14 Explore more of the Cotswolds (Sleep in the Cotswolds )
May 15 Drive to Liverpool and stay 2 nights . . .

Toucan

Excellent suggestions from all. Bookmarking

Conrado_Ducommun

Wow! Thanks a lot for the responses. I will add my comments here based on each person’s response:

PalenQ: I’ve calculated 1h30min average trip to each place from Bath, but I will surely consider changing the sleeping place from Bath to a place in Cotswold (maybe Bibury or Burford?). Regarding the Peak District National Park, I’m thinking of removing a day from Liverpool and sleeping one day at the Peak District National Park. I’ve already pinned Betty's Tea Café on my map Thanks!!

Annhig: Thanks! 1) I am a huge Beatles fan, so I thought 2 days were a good amount of time. But I’m thinking of removing a day from Liverpool and sleeping one day at the Peak District National Park. 2) I’ve visited London when I was 12 and it was the greatest city I have ever visited. So, I don’t think I could wait the whole trip to get there. Besides, I want to do it while I am rested, so I can do everything I’ve planned. 3) Duly noted! I will adjust this part of the itinerary. 4) Do you think it would be better sleeping in Bibury or Burford instead of Bath? 5) same reply as #1. Do you think this would be better? I will consider returning the car in York Thanks!!

BigRuss: (1) and (2)In my itinerary, I would only drive when I left London and would return the car before checking in the hotel in Edinburgh (so no driving in these cities). (3)Thank you so much for the link, I will definitely print them out. (4) ok! (5) I will research these places and adjust the itinerary accordingly. Do you think it is easy to visit these places without a car? Thanks!!

Janisj: I will split my staying/sleeping between Bath and Cotswolds (Bibury or Burford) and remove one day from Liverpool. Thanks!

I cannot thank you enough for the comments. It really helped me with my itinerary! I will adjust it and post the “final” result!

Best regards,
Conrado Ducommun

janisj

Definitely Burford over Bibury. Bibury is a pretty village (or at least the bits along the river/Swan Hotel/Arlington Row) - but that is it really.

Burford is a large village w/ an amazing "Wool Church", several pubs, restaurants, shops and more places to stay - plus it is a better base to get to other parts of the Cotswolds. Burford would be my fist choice -- followed by Stow-on-the-Wold or Chipping Campden. Each are small enough to be comfortable/cozy but large enough to have a variety of places to stay/eat. And each is convenient as a touring base.

BigRuss

Stirling and Glasgow are easy train rides from Edinburgh. Perth is slightly more difficult because its main attraction, Scone Palace, is outside the city center. But it's not that far from the train by taxi (3 miles).

Morgana

May 19th - Castle Howard, Rievaulx and the Steam Railway is too much in my view.
There's so much to see at Castle Howard - you could spend the best part of a day there especially if you explore the estate as well as the house and outbuildings (where they usually have exhibitions).
Rievaulx could be explored in an hour.
You can hop on and off the Steam Railway and visit 'Heartbeat Country'.
I think you should do either Castle Howard and Rievaulx (and maybe a drive onto the Moors as you'll have long hours of daylight in May), or Rievaulx and the North Yorks Moors railway and skip Castle Howard.
May 20th - Fountains is a huge estate but opens quite early. Studley Royal Watergardens are part of the estate and visiting them is part of the entry fee.
Then you could do a tour of the Dales (Fountains isn't in the Dales but close by).
However, the Yorkshire Dales covers a huge area so I'd have a route planned out in advance to make the most of your visit.

annhig

Conrado - well done for accepting our advice in the spirit it's offered - we just want you to have the best trip possible!

I've not stayed in the Cotswolds as i used to live near there, but we used to visit and drive through it a lot to see relatives etc.

I agree with jj that Burford would make a good base. another place I like a lot towards the south of the area is Tetbury, but it's probably too far south for you. Definitely split you time in the cotswolds between Bath and somewhere like Burford.

on your way from Bath make sure that you spend some time driving along the old roman road the Fosse Way - it goes all the way from Bath up to Moreton in Marsh and will take you through many of the places you would like to see.

Just south of Tetbury is the wonderful Westonbirt Arboretum which is well worth an hour or two of your time before you move further north.

it looks as if you're on the way to a great trip!

Conrado_Ducommun

Thank you all for the feedbacks!

janisj: I’ve just changed to Burford based on your comments! Thanks.

Big Russ: I will try to inset these cities in my Edinburgh staying. Thanks!

Morgana: Thanks for the tips! As I am rearranging the days, I may have one more day at York. So I could do the Castle Howard and Rievaulx Abbey and in the other day, the North YorkshireMoors Railway. I will plan the next day so I can fit fountains Abbey and Yorkshire Dales National Park. Is this the best division for 3 days? (not considering the 1st day, I would spend in York city center.

Annhig: Great Tip, Thanks! I was not considering alternative driving ways to get to the cities (just using the shorter ones provided by Google Maps). I’ve just pinned the these places in my map.

Lots of great inputs!! Very excited with this trips!

Once again.. Thank you all!!

Best regards,

Conrado Ducommun

PalenQ

I've been to Stirling and Glasgow and both are great cities but I enjoyed most of all the easy day trip to St Andrews, an old seaside university town - Prince William I think matriculated from here - and of course home of golf and the Old Course - but whether you like golf or not it's a great nice town - and you get to go over the famous cantalivered Firth of Forth Bridge to get there (train to Leuchars, bus then waiting to whisk you into St Andrews - buses go direct I think.

going over the unique bridge is a great component of this trip (as it would be to Perth):

https://www.google.com/search?q=firt...=1600&bih=1075

Morgana

Yes, much better for North Yorkshire.
On your North Yorks Moors Railway day you'd have time to go to the coast and maybe see Whitby (well worth exploring), and possibly Pickering (castle)where you'll likely catch the train.
Whitby is worth visiting for many reasons. Fascinating maritime and fishing history, Dracula and an Abbey to explore.
http://www.discoveryorkshirecoast.com/whitby.aspx
It's also famous for fabulous fish and chips, always best eaten at the seaside of course!
http://www.magpiecafe.co.uk/

bilboburgler

Your day visits to Oxford and York needs a little detailed planning to ensure you get into the centre easily. In Oxford I would recomend using the Park and Ride system (you park and catch a bus into town). In York try and find a Hotel or B&B with car parking included.

Neither city is car friendly (just built too early)

PalenQ

I loved the North Yorks Moors Railway and Whitby to boot - especially the half-ruined abbey right on the coast.

Conrado_Ducommun

Hi All,

Thanks again for the tips. I think I was able to come up with an itinerary (below) that takes advantages of most of the cities here mentioned.

PalenQ: I've separated a day from Edinburgh to go to St Andrews. Thanks for the tip and the link!

Morgana: I've reorganized my days in York, including North Yorkshire Moors Railway and Whitby. Great links.. Thanks!

bilboburgler: Thanks for parking tips. I will plan every day carefully.

Revised Itinerary:

May 4,5,6,7,8,9 (sleeping in London) - London / Windsor Castle
May 10 - early morning driving to Stonehenge - sleeping in Bath
May 11 (sleeping in Bath) - Bath
May 12 - early morning driving to Birbury, Bourton-on-the-Water and Stow-on-the-Wold (Sleep in Burford)
May 13 (sleeping in Burford) - Oxford
May 14 (sleeping in Burford) - Cotswold (Broadway, Chipping Campden)
May 15 - early morning driving to Liverpool (sleeping in Liverpool)
May 16 - (sleeping in Liverpool) - Liverpool
May 17 - Early trip to York - York (city center) - sleeping in York
May 18 (sleeping in York) - York (Castle Howard, Rievaulx Abbey)
May 19 (sleeping in York) - York (North Yorkshire Moors Railway and Whitby)
May 20 (sleeping in York) - York (Fountains Abbey, Yorkshire Dales National Park)
May 21 - early morning driving to Edinburgh – sleeping in Edinburgh
May 22 (sleeping in Edinburgh) - Edinburgh
May 23 (sleeping in Edinburgh) - St Andrews
May 24 (sleeping in Edinburgh) - Glasgow or Stirling
May 25 - Flight from Edinburgh to London – Flight from London to Rio de Janeiro

Thanks!

Conrado Ducommun

Morgana

I'm happy with your Yorkshire section! If you have any more specific questions about North Yorkshire then just give me a yell. I'm very familiar with everywhere you are going (and I live in the Dales).
I'd get your York accommodation booked asap and as Bilbo wisely says, a car park space at your Hotel or B&B will be invaluable.

texasbookworm

Looks like a good plan; can I add an idea (that I didn't see mentioned above, so if I missed it, never mind)--
I've been to most of the places you're planning to go, some more than once; you will have a blast. But my favorite place in the UK outside of London is Hadrian's Wall. It seems a shame to be so close, on that day from York to Edinburgh, to not take at least a little side trip to see it? Or maybe you have no interest, so never mind. But you might look into that. If you planned on it being a long day and it's really about a 5ish hour drive (we have found it best to add at least 50% to what Google says it will take!), then you would have several hours to take a side trip from around Newcastle. Of course, York itself needs at least a day and I don't see that in your plan, unless it's the day you arrive, so maybe there's no time for the Wall. Just a thought. Enjoy and congrats!

annhig

conrado - it looks like a great plan.

just a word of caution - was your flight from Edinburgh to London arranged through the airline which is taking you home?

if not, what will you do if it's delayed or cancelled?