RachelA

We have booked flights to London arriving June 5, 2004 and departing June 17, 2004. We are a family of 3 (12 yr old daughter). Our current plan is to spend a week in London and surrouding areas and then travel to Edinburgh where we will rent a car and travel to parts of Scotland. Besides our time in London, we are considering these two day trips: Hampton Court and The King Arthur Tour (Stonehenge Stone Circle, King Arthur's Avalon, Glastonbury Tor and Abbey, Avebury Village and Stone Circle, Chalice Well Gardens and Silbury Hill) - yes, it will be a very looonnnggg day. I am an Arthur fan. BTW - this tour will cost our family about $300 US. Does that sounds reasonable?

I would love to get some feedback about this plan. I know we will miss some wonderful places in England/Wales and am already feeling regretful about that. But, at the same time, we feel drawn to experience the terrain of Scotland. Do you think visiting Scotland is worth missing a good portion of England and Wales?

It will likely be some time before we could come back to the UK. My husband is already thinking about Germany/Switzerland for our next trip - provided we have any $ remaining.

Please forgive the long post.

janis

You will get LOTs of suggestions on Fodors. Most people will tell you what parts are "must see's". But to be honest - either decision will be "right". I lived in the UK for 5 years and travel there 1 to 3 times a year for up to 6 weeks - and I have not begun to see all of England, Wales or Scotland.

With only 2 weeks you are going to miss 1000 X what you will se.

So first of all don't even try to "see everything".

You could spend 2 weeks inLondon, a week in London and week in "Arthur country" or two week, in Scotland and only scratch the surface of any of them.

So some basics - in 2 weeks you don't really need to waste a lot of travel tiem criss crossing the whole country.

Since you are such an Authur fan, your one-day lightening tour will feel very inadequate and rushed. You would be better off spending 3 or 4 days in the SW visiting Arthur sites and other things instead of trying to squeeze them all into one day.

If Scotland is important to you (BTW, Scotland is my favorite place on earth), I would plan 6 or 7 days in London, 3 or 4 days for Stonehenge, Wells, Glastonbury, Bath, etc, and 3 days in Edinburgh. You could fly or take the train up to Edinburgh and back. Rent a car for the 3 or 4 days in the SW.

But with only 2 weeks you could just as easily skip Scotland on this trip . . . .

janis

Oops - sorry about all the typos - but you get the idea . . . . .

sheila

Alternatively, give up England and spend the whole two weeks north of the Border. That's the all time best time to be here.

We can't do Arthur, but Thomas the Rhymer is a good second best and we can beat anything else England has to offer

RachelA

Thanks, Janis. You've given us some ideas to think about. We are very excited about visiting the UK and we know (based on the dozens of posts we've read!) that wherever we travel it will be a wonderful experience.

AR

If you are an Arthur fan, then you just cannot miss Tintagel village and Castle in Cornwall. You could spend at least a night in Somerset near Glastonbury so that a detour to Tintagel is possible as it is not that far into North Cornwall, but you'd need a car. If time is valuable then don't actually bother getting to the Tor.
I'm also intrigued as to why Stonehenge and Avebury are included on an Arthur tour?

abram

Part of the decision depends on how you like to travel: some people prefer and enjopy a whirlwind skim the surface type trip, and others prefer and enjoy a get to know every nook and cranny of a place trip.

Neither is right or wrong, but be aware of what type of traveller you are and tailor the trip to your personality.

bigtyke

we did a week in scotland and a week in england 3 years ago. It was fine. Sure there are zillions of things you will miss, but so what. I think that since you are thinking about Scotland, then you should go there.

jheim

Hi Rachel,

My wife and I did Scotland on our tenth trip to Europe. Our greatest regret is that we did not do it sooner and more often.

Have a great trip.

Tammi

It seems like a good plan to me and I think you should definitely go to Scotland for a week. Scotland amazes me....

We did London in 4 days on one of my many trips to Scotland, and while it was extremely rushed and I know there's tons more to see...I did get to see a big chunk of it.

Have fun!

CindyJean

In summer of 2002, my family spent 3 nights in London (had a blast -- loved it!), and one night on the way to Scotland. Then we spent four weeks in Scotland, mostly in the Western Isles (Skye, Harris, Lewis, North Uist, Barra, Mull, Iona), and LOVED it! We didn't regret not seeing more of England for one minute, though I'd love to go back and see more sometime. Scotland is SIGH, just WONDERFUL.