rachill_az

Hello! Have been planning a trip to England and Scotland for my husband I next June. Thank you to everyone who has helped us put our plans together so far. Flights have been booked and hotel reservations made. Over the last few weeks we have made some changes to our original itinerary. This is our new (hopefully final) itinerary. Would love to have other's look over it before we make the rental car reservation. Hopefully it is not too much driving (this will be our first time driving on the other side of the road!). Thanks again for the help! Always looking for recommendations if there is anything else we can add to our plans.

Day 1 - Tuesday: Flight - USA to London
Day 2 - Wednesday: Arrive in London 3pm. Maybe ride on London Eye? Overnight London.
Day 3 - Thursday: Full Day London - Walking tour of London, visit Westminster Abbey, attend a theater. Overnight London
Day 4 - Friday: Full Day London -Tower of London, Borough Market, St. Paul's Catherdral, Southbank Walk, ride the London Eye if we didn't on Day 2. Overnight London
Day 5 - Saturday: Train from London to Bath. Pick up rental car. Check-in at B&B and park car (free). Riverboat cruise. Overnight in Bath.
Day 6 - Sunday: Full day in Bath - Roman Baths, Mayor's Free Walking Tour, Bath Abbey, Sunday Roast. Overnight Bath
Day 7 - Monday: Day trip using rental car - Stonehenge and Jurassic Coast (Durdle Door). Overnight in Bath.
Day 8 - Tuesday: Drive to Ludlow stopping at Chepstow Castle and Tintern Abbey on the way. Reach Ludlow by 3pm in time to visit the Ludlow Castle. Overnight in Ludlow.
Day 9 - Wednesday: Leave Ludlow and stop at Stokesay Castle (opens at 10am). Leave Stokesay Castle by 11am and drive to Manchester. Arrive in Manchester (Debdale Park area) by 3pm. Overnight in Manchester
Day 10 - Thursday: Full day in Manchester visiting family. Overnight in Manchester.
Day 11 - Friday: Drive to Lake District - Grasmere. Overnight Lake District.
Day 12 - Saturday: Full Day Lake District. Overnight Lake District.
Day 13 - Sunday: Drive to York via the Yorkshire Dales. Stop for Sunday lunch at Wensleydale Heifer. Arrive to York by 4pm to return rental car (car rental closed on Sundays so will need to use key frop box). The Bloody Tour of York at night. Overnight York.
Day 14 - Monday: Mostly full day in York - York Minster, walking tour, Tea at Betty's, The Shambles. 8pm night train to Edinburgh. Overnight in Edinburgh.
Day 15 - Tuesday: 3 day/2 night Highlands Isle of Skye Tour with Rabbies. Overnight Isle of Skye.
Day 16 - Wednesday: 3 day/2 night Highlands Isle of Skye Tour with Rabbies. Overnight Isle of Skye.
Day 17 - Thursday: 3 day/2 night Highlands Isle of Skye Tour with Rabbies. Overnight Edinburgh.
Day 18 - Friday: Full day in Edinburgh - Walking tour, Castle, The Scotch Whiskey Experience, Arthur's Seat. Overnight Edinburgh.
Day 19 - Saturday: Morning flight home.

thursdaysd

Why are you picking the car up on Saturday when you don't need it until Monday? Then you can drop it off Monday in York.

rachill_az

Sorry forgot to include - We are likely doing the sunrise/morning inner circle at Stonehenge which is at 6:15am. We'd have to leave Bath at 5am - hence picking up the rental car when we arrive in Bath as the car rental would not be open that early on Monday.

janisj

Busy but totally doable. You have squeezed a LOT with only two 1-nighters.

Count on Day 13 to be a long day - travel through the Dales is slow - what day of the week is it? If on a weekend plan on lots of day trippers. Or - you can go through Hawes on to Aysgarth/West Witton and then skip most of the rest of Dales and go straight east to the A1 and south to York

Rubicund

For your day 9--I think I mentioned it on an earlier thread of yours, but do your family live in that area? If so, I understand the choice of hotel, otherwise you would be better off in the city centre as there's not much to do up there.

rachill_az

Day 13 is on a Sunday. Does that all seem doable on a Sunday? Should we skip the Sunday lunch stop?

Day 9 - yes that is where we will be visiting family.

Morgana

Sunday lunch at the Wensleydale Heifer is very good indeed (we go quite often) but it will take a good couple of hours out of a full day, especially if you have to be in York by 4pm.
You'll need to allow a good 90 minutes from the Heifer to York.
If you want to see a bit more of the Dales it might be better to pack a picnic, drive through Upper and Lower Wensleydale and stop at somewhere like Aysgarth Falls or Jervaulx Abbey (lots of benches) to eat.

LCBoniti

Sounds like heaven.

I realize that response is neither informative nor constructive, but still . . .

Sounds like an amazing trip.

janisj

On a Sunday I would not try for the Heifer -- as Morgana says, especially it being a Sunday, ask your B&B in the Lakes to pack you picnic lunches and eat at Jervaulx or the Falls (expect crowds at both if it is a nice day).

rachill_az

Thanks for the input. We've decided to take the advice and skip Wensleydale Heifer and instead have a Sunday roast lunch experience on Day 6 in Bath. Also, I believe our hotel (Guy Fawkes Inn) serves Sunday lunch until 8pm or 9pm - so we can always have that once we arrive to York. No need to make a special stop it seems.

How long will drive be from Grasmere to York on a Sunday (assuming we drive through the Yorkshire Dakes to take in the scenery)?

Thanks LCBoniti!! We are very excited for the trip! Just hope it is not too fast paced!

annhig

IMO your days 7, 8 and 9 are very full and personally I feel that they are a little over-ambitious - you have at least 4 hours driving on day 7, followed by 2 days on the move which is quite a lot. I see that you haven't driven in the UK before and you need to be prepared for traffic and road conditions to be quite slow and frustrating, so don't be surprised if you find yourselves getting quite tired - I know that we do and we're used to it!

annhig

IMO your days 7, 8 and 9 are very full and personally I feel that they are a little over-ambitious - you have at least 4 hours driving on day 7, followed by 2 days on the move which is quite a lot. I see that you haven't driven in the UK before and you need to be prepared for traffic and road conditions to be quite slow and frustrating, so don't be surprised if you find yourselves getting quite tired - I know that we do and we're used to it!

rachill_az

Hi annhig, thanks for your input. I was under the impression that we were keeping the driving to a minimum each day - I didn't think we had any days of excessive driving. No more than 100 miles in 1 day. Do you think that is too much?

janisj

Those days ARE full - and we've had a lot of discussion re your Stonehenge/south coast day -- long but doable.

>>No more than 100 miles in 1 day<<

100 miles in the places you will be will take around 3 hours -- not 90 minutes like you may be used to at home.

Day 7 for example Bath to Bath via Stonehenge and Durdle Door is more than 150 miles and easily 5 hours 'car time'.

Day 8 is a little over 90 miles and about 3 hours plus stops so about a 6 hour drive.

and so on.

annhig

<<I was under the impression that we were keeping the driving to a minimum each day - I didn't think we had any days of excessive driving. No more than 100 miles in 1 day. Do you think that is too much?>>

rachill - I just know that when I've tried trips like that, I've ended up very tired and not really enjoying what I've gone to see.

I think that on Day 7, I might concentrate on Stonehenge and Salisbury - no more than an hour or so each way, so plenty of time to look around. then you won't be too knackered to enjoy Day 8 which is fine, but it's a shame you can't have another night in that area before pushing on to Manchester.

rachill_az

After doing some research, we kept the driving to about 100 miles a day because we know the drive time will be much longer in England than we are used to (hence not planning to drive 800+ miles in one day which we've done in the US!) We also want the drives to be enjoyable! 3-5 hours in a car in one day seems completely reasonable to us. Since we are aware that the driving will be different and possibly more stressful, we've built in many stops along the way, so it is never a long non-stop drive.

When you say the days are "full" - does this mean they are doable but not enjoyable? Is it a bad idea to drive to Ludlow the day after our planned Stonehenge/Durdle Door visit?

We are relying on the advice/opions of others as we've never been to England. Thanks for all your help!

annhig

When you say the days are "full" - does this mean they are doable but not enjoyable? Is it a bad idea to drive to Ludlow the day after our planned Stonehenge/Durdle Door visit?>>

rachill - I think that our posts probably overlapped, and yes I am saying just that. I would not go from Bath to Durndle Door and back one day, and then go to on to Ludlow the next. I might go to Bradford upon Avon, and then visit the nearby National Trust Court's Garden, or Iford Manor, or I might do a day trip on the train to Bristol to see the SS Great Britain or visit the Zoo. I don't even thing that I would go as far as Stonehenge but I can see why others might. But Durndle Door? - definitely not.

janisj

>>3-5 hours in a car in one day seems completely reasonable to us<<

3 (90-100-ish miles) maybe but 5 is a LOT. You will be stopping frequently for photo ops and longer stops for meals and visiting sites. So a '5 hour drive' can work out to 8-10 hours on the road. On narrow roads where you must be constantly vigilant -- not on interstates w/ the car in cruise control.

>>Is it a bad idea to drive to Ludlow the day after our planned Stonehenge/Durdle Door visit? <<

Not a 'bad' idea but the detour into Chepstow/Tintern (totally 'worth' it) will add 2 to 3 hours to your drive.

So just plan on taking your time and don't try to keep to any sort of schedule. That is why the drive to Ludlow might be problematic since you say you need to get there before 3PM.

rachill_az

>>I don't even think that I would go as far as Stonehenge<< Can I take a guess and say you just don't like driving? For us, an hour is nothing to drive for a day trip. And even the 64 miles from Bath to Durdle Door, about 3 hours each way, seems perfectly doable as a daytrip. Am I missing something? We really don't mind driving.

Unfortunately we're not interested in seeing a zoo, garden, or manor house. We are nature enthusiasts and the Jurassic Coast looks amazing.

janisj

>>Am I missing something? We really don't mind driving. <<

I'll repeat -- it is nothing like the driving you are used to back home. >>On narrow roads where you must be <u>constantly</u> vigilant -- not on interstates w/ the car in cruise control.<<

Don't get me wrong -- I love LOVE driving through the British countryside. But but it is entirely different than the driving I do at home in California.

>>And even the 64 miles from Bath to Durdle Door, about 3 hours each way<<

You are not going from Bath to Durdle Door to Bath. You are also going to Stonehenge and (hopefully) some coast side exploration/walks. So that 5-ish hour drive will be a 10+ hour day