14 days in the UK, what should I do?
 

I plan to travel to UK next year around end of January. And this is how my itinerary sounds like:

3 days in London (taking a half-day to visit the stonehenge)
1 day stopping by Manchester
1 day in Leeds
2 days in Newcastle
2 days in Edinburgh
2 days in Glasgow
(2 days gap- undecided)
then return to London to spend the rest of the holiday there.

That's just a rough plan on what I will do. What I have in mind is to include some little villages, instead of just cities. Fields with comfy cottages, cobblestone roads, that kind of stuffs. Is it possible to substitute any of the cities with other more interesting ones?

Also do you think I should fly to Dublin for the 2 days of gap I have? Or just perhaps spend them all in Britain?

Any desire to take the train to Paris for the day?

Oh, I was just in Paris 2 years ago. Spent 3 days there, and had the time of my life. Like everyone else, I fell in love with her (the city, not the person...).

But I think it would be a little soon for me to return to Paris once more, seeing that I am trying to visit more countries while I still can.

Are you doing this by train? Seems you should if cities are your goal. And northern U.K. could have dicey icy roads at times.

If going by train to all those towns investigate the BritRail pass, especially since if you travel before end of Feb you get 25% discount of pass prices.

Well i guess you're a British resident so not eligible for the pass.

What's with Leeds and Manchester? I would think of them as major cities, not a place to spend time on vacation. However, each to their own choices. Me, I would opt for more time in London with day trips to places like Bath, Oxford, Cambridge Canterbury. Also, I would spend "gap" time in either Durham or York.

Are there reasons you chose Manchester, Leeds and Newcastle? Nothing wrong w/ them as cities - but not real tourist destinations for someone who hasn't spent much time in the UK.

If they are "musts" because you are visiting friends or something - that's great. Otherwise, I'd skip all three.

Also, you say you are returning to London for the rest of your holiday. How many more days are you planning for London at the end of the trip?

It appears you really want to go north - so consider York for 2 days instead of Manchester/Leeds, Durham for a day, Newcastle for a day/night as a base to explore Hadrians Wall, 2 or 3 days in Edinburgh, a couple of days exploring the Perth/Stirling area, and finishing up w/ a day+ in Glasgow before traveling back to London.

This entire itinerary could be done by train - or you could take the train to York, pick up a car there and drop the car off in Glasgow and either take the train or fly down to London.

But in January the days are short and the weather often bad so trains might be better.

Thanks for all your replies. Actually I haven't a clue about the places in Uk which are a must for a tourists, I'm a football fan, that's why I included Manchester and Leeds into my itinerary. But seeing as you guys said there aren't a lot of attractions anyway so I may just skip them. Now that you've mentioned, I may pay either Cambridge or Oxford a visit, perhaps as a day trip from my stay in London.

What about Dublin, Ireland? Is it worth a visit? Friends have told me that they were blown away by how enchanting Ireland was.

Try not to do three countries in one visit (England, Scotland, Ireland) - one is more than enough for a full two weeks.

I have been to all of the places you've mentioned. I even spent a week in Leeds in 2005 - but just used it as a base camp to do day trips to York, Whitby, Fountains Abbey, Nottingham, etc.

I would recommend staying in 2 or three places, and exploring the area. If you like small villages, Yorkshire or the Lake District would be great.

Alternatively, if you must keep moving, try this:

3 days in London
2 days in Oxford
2 days in York
3 days in Edinburgh
3 days in Glasgow

I have long gotten over the need to pack/unpack/find lodging/travel each day. I would much rather spend 3 days minimum in each area to explore a little. Otherwise your vacation becomes a blur seen out a train or car window.

just a quick add'l comment - Finding Ireland enchanting is not the same as finding Dublin enchanting. I find Dublin far short of enchanting. The best parts of Ireland are the rural areas/towns/scenery - none of which are all that great in January.

You do not have time for 3 countries - and in Jan. you will have a lot less daylight and likely weather delays so IMHO you should cut back on destinations, not add more.

Ya, thanks for your input. I was actually thinking somewhere along that line. So my itinerary sounds something like this now

28th-30th- London
31st Avesbury, Stonehenge
1st bus to York
3rd bus to Newcastle
4th take a daytrip to the Hadrian's Pass and Alnwick Castle (where they filmed the movie Harry Potter)
6th return to London
7th Either Oxford or Cambridge
8th Return to Moscow

I was actually thinking of going all the way to Glasgow or Edinburgh for 2 nights. Do you think it is wise to extend my holiday another 2 days for Glasgow?