krita

We are taking a trip in June, 2016 to England, Ireland and Scotland. Our two children (age 18 and 20) will be joining us. How long should we plan on? I would like to put a small castle stay in either England or Ireland. We all love the history there and want to see as many castles as possible. Would love to do some horseback riding as well. Im getting overwhelmed with guidebooks. Need some suggestions.

nytraveler

Well it could take months to see a lot but I would say that for those 3 countries you will need at least 3 weeks:

London - 5 days minimum (arrival day is 1/2 and jet lagged)
3 other places in England - 6 days
Edinburgh - 2 days
Brief tour of southern highlands - 3 days
Dublin - 2 days
Ireland countryside (limited) - 5 days

This is a total of 23 days - which is 3 full weeks plus a holiday (memorial day) and an extra day - and assumes you leave on a Friday evening and flying back on a Monday.

This will give you a brief taste of each area and you will need to select very carefully. It assumes you will have one rental car in Eng and Scotland, fly to Ireland and pick up another car when you leave Dublin.

As for castles there are hundreds of them everywhere and you will have to pick which you really want to see. Do not miss:

Tower of London
Windsor Castle
Hampton Court Palace (not really a castle but has wonderful recreations of life in Tudor Times)
Edinburgh Castle
Dublin Castle (with Viking remains)

For a castle to stay in you need to decide on how much you are willing to spend - the best are very expensive.

Suggest you look at some quality guide books (Michelin green guides are wonderful for in-depth info and even telling you how long it takes to see a sight).

IMHO if you have considerably less time than this you will need to drop at least one country.

janisj

The issue is all three countries could fill several trips. Travel (especially in Ireland and parts of Scotland) is rural and slow. So instead of asking how long you'd need . . . how long do you have best case?

If less than say a month -- I'd maybe just pick two. Say 10 days in Ireland and 10 in Scotland (still quite rushed) or a few days in London, a week or so in some part(s) of England, and 10 days in Scotland. Something like that.

OR -- tell us your wish list of sites you want to see/do from your research so far and we can help you work it out.

PalenQ

We all love the history there and want to see as many castles as possible.>

You could spend all your time visiting castles in the British Isles - in Scotland one of the most historical ones is Stirling Castle near Edinburgh - where William Wallace fought the hated English - battlefield can be visited with huge monument to Wallace on it:

https://www.google.com/search?q=will...FUR1Hgods8YB0Q

Of course Windsor Castle is, perhaps along with the Tower of London, the most famous castle in Britain - an easy day trip from London by train - many people even enjoy Hampton Court Palace - the British Versailles and haunt of Henry the VIII and his wife's, once of whose ghosts is said to haunt the castle yet - but Hampton is so so delightful - don't miss it - kids will love the Maze - can take a boat to Hampton from London or train.

Down in southwest England Tintagel Castle was my favorite - legendary haunt of King Arthur and in a stark setting overlooking a rocky tumultuous shore:

https://www.google.com/search?q=tint...FYGnHgodVVQGXw

ESW

How long can you afford to give the holiday. Three weeks is an absolute minimum if you are wanting to do Ireland, Scotland and England. Better still an month, or even six weeks...

If you are wanting to see castles and yet more castles, have a look a the two itineraries here which just cover Scotland...
http://www.secret-scotland.com/Scott...our-7-Day.html
http://www.secret-scotland.com/view_...ur-10-day.html

sheila

And just WHAT is wrong with Scotland's castle hotels?!!! (just kidding).

What they said. Take as long as you can, then make the trip fit the timescale available.