Julie

Hi,<BR><BR>Does anyone have any advice about my 7-day itinerary for the UK? I'm not an experienced traveller and trying to figure this all out is difficult. My husband has his heart set on seeing both the Lake District and Edinburgh (I want to see some of London), so this is what I've figured out with our limited time. My main question is whether we should rent a car or rely on the train/bus system. <BR><BR>Sat. - arrive Gatwick London Airport; travel by train and bus to Keswick (Lake District)<BR>Sun. - Keswick {day and night}<BR>Mon. - check out hotel and take bus to train station and train to Edinburgh {night in Edinburgh}<BR>Tue. - Edinburgh {day and night}<BR>Wed. - Edinburgh all day, then 11pm sleeper train to London {night on sleeper train}<BR>Thu. - London {day and night}<BR>Fri. - depart Gatwick<BR>

ron

While many here would say that this is a too rushed, too much travelling itinerary, it’s what you want to do and it is doable. I would do it by train. Train from Gatwick to Kings Cross Thameslink, walk to Kings Cross mainline station, train to Penrith, bus to Keswick is your arrival day. To get to Edinburgh, bus back to Penrith and train to Edinburgh - you should be able to arrive early afternoon, so you will have 2 and a half days in Edinburgh, which is perfect.

irene

You can find cheap flights from Edinburgh to London, check out Ryan Air and Easy Jet. IMO, while Edinburgh is a beautiful/nice city I would spend more time in London rather than Edinburgh.

Tony Hughes

I would have thought with that itinerary, youmay well end up doing a half-assed job of seeing the Lakes, Edinburgh AND London. Ditch Edinburgh for this trip. <BR><BR>Dont waste your seven days by spending a large chunk of them travelling.

xxx

Just my 2 cents worth...focus on places nearer to London on this trip. Leave Scotland and places north for another time.

meg

Correct me if I'm wrong but won't you be just too tired after flying from USA to UK to then have an 5 hour train journey and then slow bus trip to finally arrive in Keswick. Why not spend more time in London and then take a cheap flight to Edinburgh. Skip the Lakes- it's very pretty but you'll not enjoy it if you're jet lagged and it's raining!

xxx

Just my 2 cents worth...7 days is not long enough for what you have planned. You will spend more time getting there than being there.<BR> If you are dead set on doing this trip, fly open jaw into Edinburgh and out of London (or vice versa). Flying into Manchester would also ease the travel time.<BR> While Ron provided the logistics in going from Gatwick to Keswick, I highly doubt that there will be anything enjoyable about getting off a long flight only to have to go from train to train to bus before you get where you want to be. <BR> I suppose the answer is yes, it CAN be done. But do you really WANT to.

ron

I have to step in here again because I made a mistake in the first day itinerary. The train to Penrith leaves from Euston Station, not Kings Cross, so it would be Heathrow Express to Victoria and taxi to Euston.<BR><BR> I agree with the others that this is not the way I would spend the 7 days but, to me, the first day is not the problem. It’s quite similar to many of my first days. Since that is a largely lost day anyway because of tiredness, I would rather use it travelling in a semi-comatose state than waste an awake/alert day for travelling.

kam

I would never attempt doing this and I have been all over England, driving and on trains. I would stay in London and do a couple day trips by train such as Canterbury or Bath, whatever most interets you. Or choose either the Lake District or Edinburgh. The wonderful part of the Lake District is having a car to wander around and look at the beautiful scenery. You could easily spend a full week there. Keswick is not what the Lake District is all about. I suggest another week or sit down and have a serious "heart to heart" with husband. Good luck.

janis

As everyone has said - this is just TOO MUCH for 7 days. Six actually since the final day is used up packing and getting to the airport and flying home. Oh, FIVE really since the first day is spent just traveling - to London, to Penrith, to Keswick.<BR><BR>So your husband may have his heart set on seeing the Lakes - but he will be heart broken afterwards when he finds he was in a jet lagged stupor and doesn't remember any of it.<BR><BR>My recommendations are to:: <BR><BR>Open jaw into Manchester and out of Edinburgh and skip London. First 3 days to and in the Lake District, Last 4 days to, in, and out of Edinburgh.<BR><BR>OR Open Jaw Into Edinburgh and out of london - Skip the Lakes.<BR><BR>OR - Into and out of London and Skip Edinburgh and the Lakes. This is actually my #1 rec for just 7 days - remember 7 days is really just 5.5 days since the last day is just a travel day.

Leslie

Julie-<BR><BR>I'm sure Ron meant to say "Gatwick Express to Victoria" rather than "Heathrow Express"...but, I'm guessing from your original post that the roundtrip flight to/from Gatwick is already locked in stone. If that's the case, then I think you and your husband should really have a heart-to-heart about your goals for this trip and your prospects for returning to the UK someday.<BR><BR>I think this itinerary would be exhausting and that only one day in London is a shame. There is plenty of beautiful country-side and small villages closer to London that could be seen either before or after spending 3 to 4 days in London. The Lakes District really requires a car and some greater leisure to be enjoyed.<BR><BR>Why not consider the Oxford/Cotswolds/Bath Circuit? Or a visit to Kent/Sussex? These two would be best done renting a car. Or the easy train connect to Cambridge (1 hour from Kings Cross Station) and York (2 hours). You don't need a car in either of these places and in York, at least, you do get to hear those delicious "almost" Scottish accents spoken. These could be done comfortably in 3-4 days. Also, having seen York, you could rent a car from there to visit the Yorkshire Dales, Castle Howard and Rievaulx Abbey.<BR><BR>Just some thoughts on practical aternatives. I know sometimes we hear about a place and get our hearts set on seeing it but I've found that when the distances really tax you and time is limited, the trip experience is greatly lessened. I just happen to think that there are SO many beautiful places to see in southern England, you'll feel more than satisfied if you don't overdo.

Keith

I'd make the opposite suggestion from the others - ditch London and head for Edinburgh. IMO, you really need a week to "do" London in itself, and in any case you would probably enjoy Edinburgh more if you don't have to rush it. Save London for another time.<BR><BR>I would look at Easyjet from Gatwick to Edinburgh, then build your itinerary around that. You could spend three days or so in Edinburgh, and then head out into the Trossachs or north to the Highlands - this will make up for missing the Lakes and is much more scenic than London!

ron

Thanks, Leslie, for the correction. Clearly, if I can't even correctly advise these folks on how to get into London, I shouldn't be allowed to participate in this discussion. My last comment is that I think too many of us (including me) have forgotten what its like to be young, energetic and inexperienced. At 25, I would have probably planned a trip like Julie's, done it because there were no Internet nay-sayers to discourage me, and would have had a wonderful time.

Nigel Doran

I wouldn't want you to ruin your holiday by trying to cram too much in, so my advice is that you should really cut back on your plans. <BR><BR>If you have to travel to London, then choose only Edinburgh or the Lakes for your trip. Of those two, go to Edinburgh by taking the sleeper there and back to save on hotel fares. (www.scotrail.co.uk does Apex fares for about $110 return, all in.) You really should have a car for the Lakes. <BR><BR>Time will whizz by. Traffic is very busy and you might well find yourself very frustrated if you are caught up in a jam.

Julie

Thanks for all your input. It really does help. Though it sounded reasonable a month ago, I'd realized this was too ambitious once I started to map out a day-by-day itinerary. I tried unsuccessfully to convince husband to ditch either the Lakes or Edinburgh. Unfortunately, the plane tickets are locked in stone, otherwise it'd make much more sense to fly straight to Edinburgh.<BR><BR>At this point, I've booked centrally located hotels in Keswick, Edinburgh, and London that I hope will be easy to find, near the main sights, and shave off some travel time (as opposed to some of the more scenic outlying B&Bs I would have chosen otherwise).<BR><BR>Would renting a car in Penrith and using for the short time we'll be in Keswick make sense? Or perhaps renting a car in Penrith and driving it to Edinburgh as well? We're a bit nervous about driving in England but might give it a try if it would save a lot of time and hassle.<BR><BR>I guess I'll take a lot of vitamins and prepare for an exhausting trip.<BR><BR>Thanks to all!

janis

Julie: Please listen to everyone - most of the folks who have responded have either lived in the UK or been there many times. This is just NOT a doable itinerary. As your plans are now you are spending 3 full days just traveling - not seeing anything. Not a very efficient use of your limited time. The plane reservations may be locked in Stone - but the hotels probably aren't. Most have reasonable cancellation policies. <BR><BR>So you can rectify things - if you are flying in/out of London, spend the entire time in London with one or at most two day trips - say one to York and/or one to Bath. <BR><BR><BR><BR>

ron

Re the car rental idea, if you have a list of must see things in the Lake District, the car would make sense. If you are just trying to get a flavour of the area, probably not. In the one day you could do things like walk along Derwentwater and up to the stone circle whose name I have forgotten, take a boat ride on Derwentwater or take the open top bus down towards Ambleside, visit Dove Cottage or Rydal Mount or walk the coffin trail between Rydal and Grasmere or probably any other number of things using public transport. <BR><BR>I don’t think you would save any time driving to Edinburgh vs taking the train, but it would be an easy, light traffic drive (until you get to Edinburgh) if you wanted to practice UK driving.

xxx

Again, my 2 cents worth...if sticking to your original plans, don't further complicate it by worrying about driving. Pull up the old threads here about driving in the UK. You will find every opinion possible. My opinion is that if I could manage, anyone can. BUT, it did require concentration and effort. I'm not sure you will want to add possible stress to your very full schedule. You will also find that even short distances can take longer than we are used to here in the states. This can be due to narrow, winding (although scenic) roads or heavy traffic.

Nigel Doran

I wouldn't want you to ruin your holiday by trying to cram too much in, so my advice is that you should really cut back on your plans. <BR><BR>If you have to travel to London, then choose only Edinburgh or the Lakes for your trip. Of those two, go to Edinburgh by taking the sleeper there and back to save on hotel fares. (www.scotrail.co.uk does Apex fares for about $110 return, all in.) You really should have a car for the Lakes. <BR><BR>Time will whizz by. Traffic is very busy and you might well find yourself very frustrated if you are caught up in a jam.

Confused gal

"I tried unsuccessfully to convince husband to ditch either the Lakes or Edinburgh."<BR><BR>I suggest you ditch the unreasonable and know-it-all husband. Why are you doing all the work and he gets veto power over the vacation plans???