Driving from London to Scotland.
 

Planning a 18 day trip in sept, I am looking for a 1way route from London to edinburg at a leisure pace, we plan on flying from glasgow to budapest Then driving the west coast of ireland ending in Dublin, we want to see as much as we can, though don't have a planned route, what should see or how long to stay in each location, please help us plan our journey.

On a side note I am 7 ft tall, are there cars available to us giants, or should I take the train and make stops.

Thanks for your time and help.

Larry Irwin
San Diego
[email protected]

What do you drive at home? Rent the same type of vehicle in Europe.

But I am really confused - is the 18 days just for London to Edinburgh/England & Scotland . . . or for the UK, Hungary and Ireland?

18 days is not really enough for four countries - especially ones w/ slow to very slow road travel (Ireland, much of England and Scotland). It certainly isn't a leisurely pace.

No one can help you w/ specific itineraries w/o more info re what sorts of things you want to see/do.

Oops, sorry spelling error, let me break it down, getting a rental car sept 5 in London, I am guessing about a 5 days though England to edinburg, then flying to belfast renting car their then next 10 in Ireland leaving sept 20 out of Dublin. Thanks for your help

I would rather see small towns or villages that are not all tourist, looking for more of a local flavor, yes we want to see bars, yes we want to see castles, yes we want to visit distilleries and brew houses such as guniness.

Again thanks

ok - so it sin't Budapest . . . Belfast . . (big difference ;) )

But your dates don't equal 18 days . . . it is 16 days. Have you been to any of these places before? Are you spending any time in London? Is that where the extra 2 days are?

5 days for England and Edinburgh - sure - but it will just be a couple of stops on the way up (assuming you want to actually see anything in Edinburgh). It certainly won't be 'seeing' England. And then - besides Edinburgh, are you interested is seeing anything else in Scotland (it is an AMAZING country)

There are literally hundreds of places you could visit in between London and Edinburgh but you have not given us anything to work with. W/ just 5 days I might skip the car altogether - train to York - 2 nights, train to Edinburgh - 2 or 3 nights, fly to Belfast. I have no idea if you'd like that - what sorts of things do you want see/do?

Also I think you are underestimating how much time things take in Ireland. Northern Ireland, the west coast of the Republic, the amazing southwest and then Dublin - that would be a VERY rushed 10 days.

Since you're driving the west coast of Ireland return home from Shannon. Dublin is on the east coast.

You can visit distilleries on the malt whiskey trail.

http://www.visitscotland.com/en-us/a...t-whisky-trail

oops -- for some reason your post about castles, distilleries and such didn't display when I posted my last entry ( the site was a bit 'twitchy' this evening). So you have given a bit of what you are looking for.

You are only giving yourself 5 days for England and Edinburgh - so not nearly enough tome to head up north to the Whisky trail. And if you actually want to see/do anything in Edinburgh you are really only talking 3 days - not much time to fit in >>small towns, non-tourist villages, local flavor, bars, and castles<<

(I never know what people mean by 'non-touristy' since every town/village w/ a castle or palace or stately home or famous garden or michelin starred restaurant, or beautiful waterfall or special museum or ruined abbey. or . . . is STILL a village w/ 'real residents' - people visit for a reason. Do you actually want to spend time in towns/village w/ nothing to recommend them?)

Yes I am spend a few days in London, I will be getting to London after 4weeks traveling, I have never been to the uk, I really am up to changing my schedule, this why I here before booking any thing, I value you're input, we do want to spend the majority of our time in Ireland, but if you think we need 6 or 7 nights, we can change it up. Yes of course we want to do tourist things but at the same time get down with just the locals a bit,

With these changes are you still suggesting the train, with 3 days in Edinburg?

Much thanks

I'm with Janis - the train up from London to Edinburgh (note spelling) is a good idea.
Many people stop off at York on the way (it's just less than 2 hours on the train from Kings Cross London to York).
Absolutely no need for a car in York itself unless you plan to do some exploring of the area. There are two National Parks within easy reach and plenty of castles and abbeys but a car would be best if you planned to tour these.
York itself is compact and easily walkable. It's not the 'small town' you mention, but it is a wonderful place and I'd suggest 2 days there.
It has a Brewery that does tours -
http://www.york-brewery.co.uk/
Loads of other things to see in York - the Minster and the free National Railway Museum being just a couple.
http://www.visityork.org/
September is a nice time to travel. It will be busy but the schoolchildren all return to school at the beginning of the month and that makes a big difference.
One thing I would mention about your height. I'm sure Hotels will be fine but some places, for instance more rural B&Bs, have beds that you might struggle with in that they have wooden boards at the end. My husband is also tall and hates not being able to stretch out, so it might be worth checking the beds out before you book anywhere.

We just drove from Glasgow to London (Luton).

You will not be able to rent a USA model except a Passat which is about as large as you can rent. Automatics are unusual but can be reserved.

One way rentals in UK are only airport to airport so must train to Luton or Stansted, cannot leave from London proper which is a good idea anyway.

Roads in Scotland highlands are extraordinarily narrow even some A level highways.

It's much cheaper for 1 or 2 to take the train.

Driving on the left is a big deal: it's very odd to drive while sitting on the other side of the car and to shift with left hand.

If you want to stop in a smaller city on your way from London to Edinburgh, I heartily recommend Durham, where we spent four days recently. We also stopped briefly in York, but, to be honest I preferred Durham. That could partly be because we spent more time there. It also was not nearly as full of tourists.

I have never heard of one way rentals being limited to airports - unless that is specific to who you rented from. There may be a charge but it shouldn't be a problem from non airport locations although finding an automatic might.

I'd look at Cambridge, Leeds, York, Durham, Newcastle as possible stops on a train route between London and Edinburgh. Each has some fantastic buildings, normally with added castle (but not all) and each are very easy to walk around. You might also look at Lincoln.

tom_mn, what's a USA model car? A Chevrolet or Ford? Lots of Fords in Europe. And we've done one-way car rentals in the UK many times, and not from airports. Last September it was from Chester to Manchester city.

I meant a car that exists in the USA. All Ford models in uk are different animals, not just different names for the same model. Passat and then luxury cars like BMW were the only uk cars one might find in the us.

If you can find a one way rental London to Scotland not from an airport post it I couldn't find any at least in a car that seats 5,

Now someone explain the train ticket pricing system to 7 footer, I never figured it out.

Gee, what about more time in Scotland where the best castles are still somewhat intact (far more well-known Irish castles are ruins).

Are you going by yourself? Former boss is 6-6 and drove a Mini Cooper - pushing the seat all the way to the back bench gave him good leg room and he had room for his (really flippin' large) head too.

>>One way rentals in UK are only airport to airport <<

>>If you can find a one way rental London to Scotland not from an airport post it I couldn't find any at least in a car that seats 5,<<

I have no idea where you looked -- but 90% of my car hires in the UK have been one-way and several have been for largish vehicles. No requirement that they be airport/airport rentals. Often my hires have started or ended at airports - but seldom both. Just in May I collected a car in central Newcastle and dropped it at LHR.

>>Now someone explain the train ticket pricing system to 7 footer, I never figured it out.<<

Basically (not 100% but most of the time) the earlier one books the cheaper the ticket. So you buy as soon as the booking period opens.

All the suggestions so far have been for larger towns or cities, which are all on the tourist route. Is this what you want?


My suggestions:

Drive the A1. Stop to have a look at Hatfield House where Elizabeth I spent her childhood and Peterborough Cathedral. Head to Stamford for the first night. This is a lovely town with stone built houses and is about two hours drive from London.

Next morning consider visiting Burghley House, one of the Great Treasure Houses of England. Then head up through Lincoln with its superb cathedral set on top of a hill and pick up the A15 across the Humber Bridge. Head for Beverely with its stunning Minster,m which is even better than York Minster and you may even have it to yourself. Then head to Helmsley for the next two nights. This is about three hours drive from Stamford.

Helmsley is a lovely small village in the heart of the North York Moors and there is plenty to do and see from there. The North York Moors are less touristy than the Yorkshire Dales but scenically just as good. There are ruined castles in Helmsley and Pickering. There is Castle Howard, another of the Great Treasure Houses fo England. Rievaulx Abbey is one of the great ruined Abbeys in Yorkshire. Cropton is a small village with a very good brew pub, the New Inn. This also does B&B so you might want to consider this rather than Helmsley. A bit further away is Whitby with its ruined Abbey and Dracula connections. Scarborough is a good old fashioned sea side town again with a ruined castle. There is also the North York Moors Steam Railway (with connections to Harry Potter which used Grosmont Station as Hogworts Station). There are lots of small villages to enjoy.

After Helmesly head north with stops at Mount Grace Priory on the edge of the North York Moors and head for Durham with its superb Norman cathedral and castle which is one of the halls of residence for Durham University. Crook Hall Gardens are also delightful. After Durham head for either Corbridge of Hexham for the next night. This is about a couple of hours drive from Helmsley.

This allows you to spend some time on Hadrian's Wall the next morning. There is a fort at Corbridge but the best is probabaly Housesteads to the west. It is also possible to go for a short walk along the wall here. This is superb countryside. Finally take the A68 to Edinburgh, your final destination. Again this is about two hours drive from Corbridge, so you have plenty of time. Good stops after Hadrians Wall are Jedburgh which has a superb ruined Abbey and is also a nice town to walk round or Melrose, again with a ruined abbey. The other alternative is to miss the abbeys and head for Rosslyn Chapel on the southern outskirts of Edinburgh.

How does this grab you?

Stamford is good, stay at the George in one of the rooms off the main road.

I was starting in Glasgow that may make a difference, I also insisted on an automatic. No UK or Europe based companies offered a single car for me at any price and I started looking 8 months in advance.

My one experience with long distance trains was York to London and the second class fare for 5 held steady at 400 pounds for months and months, then dipped to 28 pounds about 6 weeks before my intended date, then rose slightly.

>>the second class fare for 5 held steady at 400 pounds for months and months, <<

You can't buy train tix 'months and months' in advance so I'm not sure what you mean there.

>>I was starting in Glasgow that may make a difference, I also insisted on an automatic. No UK or Europe based companies offered a single car for me at any price and I started looking 8 months in advance.<<

I've rented one-way cars from Glasgow several times (at least 10X) and only once that I can recall was it an airport to airport booking. Did you try Autoeurope and/or Kemwel . . . They are brokers and are where most visitors start their search - they aren't always the cheapest but are probably 75% of the time and are a good place to start and one ways are no problem.

A few years ago we rented a car (an automatic) in Glasgow City and dropped it in York. Where are you getting your car rental information?

We recently rented a car from Arnold Clark in Glasgow, on the advice of someone on Fodor's forum, and we had no trouble getting an automatic. We dropped the car at Edinburgh airport. We were very satisfied with their service.

This was a last-minute rental, because we had originally not planned to drive.

That makes no sense - one way rentals are common and automatics are available but more limited and more expensive than manuals. Who were these rental agencies that said they were only through airports?

Concur with rental info in above comments. We picked a car up at Waverley Train Station in Edinburgh and dropped it at London Heathrow last May. Some rental companies or agencies won't let you do that, so shop around. I believe we booked through Kemwell.

Thanks for all the replies, we have decided on the train, many of you have suggested stopping in York, we will spend 2 nights there, should we make any other stops before Edinburgh?

Thanks again

>>should we make any other stops before Edinburgh?<<

Nope - no really. No place in between York and Edinburgh is worth losing time in either of them.

Durham Cathedral is wonderful but I wouldn't stop there if it took time from Edinburgh.

One exception might be to stop over in Newcastle to tour along Hadrian's wall. But the logistics are a tad complicated and not very efficient w/o a car. So it would be a lot of to-ing and fro-ing for little time actually along the Wall.

So I'd just stick to York and Edinburgh.

"Durham Cathedral is wonderful but I wouldn't stop there if it took time from Edinburgh."

That seems a trifle harsh on Durham Cathedral which is a World heritage site and the best Norman cathedral in Britain. There's nothing to compare with it in Edinburgh.... Surely it is worth considering a short stop on the way up to Edinburgh. (It's a darn site easier to get to Durham Cathedral than Hadrian's wall without a car which as you say would involve a lot of to-ing and fro-ing and take all day.)

jeeze -I did say it is <u>wonderful</u>. ( I think maybe you misinterpret my posts on purpose?? )

No there isn't a comparable cathedral in Edinburgh - who said there is? But the <u>city of Edinburgh</u> as a whole has much more to explore than Durham does and if one already has very limited time I stand by what I suggested.

However IF one wants to see Durham Cathedral . . . be sure to book three different train tix. London > York; York > Durham; and Durham > Edinburgh. (You can't get off in Durham and then board another train to Edinburgh unless you have separate tickets)

We have done several a road trips in the UK - including one from London to Edinburgh - but we had 9 days between them.

My DH is 6'3" - nothing like as tall as the OP - but I would only rent the largest car you can - making sure you can get an automatic. Even if you drive a standard at home it's easier to have one less thing to deal with in the UK - besides the driving on the wrong side there are a lot of roundabouts (traffic circles) which we are not used to in the US - they have basically eliminated them since they cause so many accidents.

We stopped in Oxford, toured the Cotswolds, spent 2 nights in York and then a full day exploring the Roman ruins of Hadrian's Wall on the way to Edinburgh. If you have any interest in ancient history this is an area it would be a crime to miss. And we had no drop off charge (Hertz).

But it does depend on how much time you have and what you want to see. We flew from Edinburgh to Scandinavia (partly business) and went back to see other parts of Scotland on another trip.

I found Hadrian's wall interesting and the landscape very pretty but a couple of hours is plenty for most people.

Be sure to check out easyJet and bus/coach networks for possibly cheaper fares than rail.

www.eastcoast.co.uk is the train line but note that fares for some trains can be discounted up to 90% in the weeks before departure. Discounted fares are only good for a specific train.

The driving is too complicated for a solo driver without a navigator. Rural roads can be very narrow and the ominous "oncoming traffic in the middle of the road" sign appears more often than you'd like. Driving anything over a couple hours is exhausting and the direction based signage always has gaps at some point so you will get lost. You will not have the luxury of following signs like "East US 50" all day like in North America. U-turns are not usually possible so corrections can be time consuming.

Addendum: renting a car (small) in York or Edinburgh for a tour of the countryside could really work out. It's the cross country driving that's extra challenging.

"I think maybe you misinterpret my posts on purpose??"

No I'm not, but I'm beginning to think you don't like it if someone offers a different prospective to you.

A lot depends on what the OP has lined up for Edinburgh. I agree that there is a lot more to see in Edinburgh than Durham, but that is only to be expected as it is a much larger city than Durham.

How far out is best to buy train tickets? I understand I could buy a Brit pass, is this cheaper than just buying individual tickets?

Right now a 3 day Brit pass non consecutive days is 870 American dollars per person, wow that's shocking or 550 pounds! Any discounts available or should I wait ??

As a Brit I know I buy a train ticket 2 months out non exchangable and get good prices, I'm told 89 days out is perfect but I never hit them. Flexibility costs. Look at seat61.com to understand the opps.

Sorry - I missed that the OP was traveling alone and didn;t have a navigator. Thought he said "we" at the top - and often driving is less expensive for trains for more people.

Not sure how difficult the driving is. We never found it especially tricky - except for roundabuots which are a PIA.

"except for roundabuots which are a PIA."

How come? I think it's a good system and much better than waiting at traffic lights.

If you have never driven through or even seen a roundabout (true of many americans since we have very few of them) one doesn;t know intrinsically what the rules are - how to enter, merge and exit. There was one (now turned into a multi-light intersection) that I had to take on the way to a client and the number of accidents there was amazing. Many people just entered and drove straight across the multiple lanes - ignoring the lane lines and all the cars already in the circle - and out the exit they wanted. Saw it once with a tractor trailer that had done that and taken our 2 SUVs and 3 cars.

If you have spent your whole life driving - or being driven through them - its easy. But we don't have them - just traffic lights and stop signs on roads that are not limited access.

The confusion about Budapest/Belfast reminds me of something I read recently. A traveler (British, I think) wanted to go to Granada, Spain, but the ticketing agent instead sent the traveler to Grenada, which is in the Caribbean.

The traveler and his companion were en route to the West Indies before they discovered the mistake.