anna74

How does this look? We have to go to Bath but other than that, we are open..
*flying into London on January 11 and driving to York and staying for one night.
*Then driving to Edinburgh and staying there for 3 nights.
*then Bath for three nights
*last night in London.

We have spent time in London and wanted to get to Scotland. Do people like these areas/ Is it reasonable? Any hotels?

janis

I wouldn't do it this way and I do a LOT of driving in the UK. Driving to York in the winter directly after an overnight flight would be pretty tough. Unless you land very early in the morning, you likely would not get to York until nearly dark.

Then your drive from Edinburgh to Bath will be almost 400 miles -- again not a great drive in (probably) nasty winter weather.

If your dates in Bath are firm I would skip York on the way north. Instead, I would fly directly to edinburgh from LHR and spend 3 nights there. Then take the train to York for one noght. And finally take the train to Bath and rent a car there for a couple of days if youi want to see some of the countryside.

You don't need a car IN Edinburgh, York or Bath.

janis

sorry about the typos . . . .

don76

anna74
I agree with janis.
Take a train. I just returned from driving 1500 miles in England, Scotland and Wales, In York and Edinburgh we would just park the car and walk. The train stations in the 3 cities you plan to visit are in the centers of the towns. The roads are all undergoing repair and there are many road construction delays.
In Britain they apparently perform major road repairs during the off season which makes sense.
You won't need ,or want, a car in York or Edinburgh and it is so convenient to train to Bath as the train station is but a short walk from the roman baths.

kswl

Agree absolutely with all advice! We took the train from London to Glasgow, which was very relaxing but took FOREVER, and was not really ALL THAT scenic. We had spent a week in London before going to Glasgow for the 2002 world championships for our irish dancing daughter to compete. Returned on Ryanair--- don't think that option is availble to you from Edinburgh, but perhaps Easyjet or some other carrier has service back to London. We ended up regretting the entire day it took to take the train to Scotland, and the drive would have been ENDLESS. Fly!

klondike

If you do the train, be sure to check into train times for Sundays. There are no early trains from Bath last time we used the train.

Everybody's idea of "reasonable" is different.We stayed at the Waterside Menzies which is a 4* and very close to the train station. However, we didn't feel it was worth the money and would try a B&B next time. We found England much more expensive than France and English food just wasn't our thing, especially the baked goods. We did, however, enjoy the international food. Hopefully others will have other options to offer.

Steve_James

Anna - You could save a day driving by flying Edinburgh-Bristol - which is less than an hour from Bath.

The budget airline Easyjet fly this route for £18.00 incl. tax - if you book early.
www.easyjet.com

Hope this helps ...

Steve

janis

I agree w/ Steve_James -- flying to Bristol makes sense IF you drop York. York is fabulous of course, and if it is a MUST on this trip, then flying London to Edinburgh, train to York and train to Bath is the best way to do it. If you put York aside for a future trip, then flying both ways would be your best bet.

But mainly, a quick driving tour the length and breadth of the UK in January is not a recipe for a fun vacation.

mohun

We were in York, Bath and London this summer, and we've always used trains, but I'm not so sure I'd like to comment on your itinerary; others have done that very well here.

It's too bad one night is all you have in York. I highly recommend the Four Seasons as a bed and Breakfast (no kidding, it really is a B&B and unconnected with the US hotel chain). The owners, Bernice and Steve, are delightful folks and the house is well-located. As with most B&Bs today, the rooms all come with bathing facilities (en suite, as they say).

As to Bath itself, Villa Magdala is well located and our room was quite good, with a large bathroom.

I've got the web sites if you want to follow up on these accomodations.

Have a great UK visit.

anna74

Thanks for all the replies. I guess I didn't realize the driving times. My husband doesn't love flying so I can't see him wanting to get on another plane after an 8 hour flight. If we have 8 days in the UK and are flying into London, where would you go instead (it sounds like Scotland isn't that good of an idea..). I have been to London/Stratford/Bath and really wanted to try new places with lots to do...

adamhornets

Just seen your other posting. I think you would like Edinburgh - what's wrong with going by train? I agree with others - don't drive too far on your first day. Maybe Stratford or somewhere a little different like Stamford in Lincolnshire. Good luck.