eeyann

My wife and I are just now planning a 10 day trip in January - flying from San Francisco to Edinburgh / train to London / flying home from London. I'd love to get your thoughts on a couple questions:

We won't be driving, but is traveling in the UK in January a bad idea because of the winter weather and short daylight hours? We love going to museums and the theatre and I was thinking a winter vacation would work OK. We've traveled to London many times before, but usually in the spring or fall.

Will there possibly be good rates at hotels and travel during this time?

Thanks, as always for your expert advice!
Eeyann's husband

janisj

Just a quick comment right now- more later (on my way into an nba game). Winter is wonderful for what you want. Museums and theatre are at their best. Train from Edinburgh to London (book early for the best fares). Maybe book Edinburgh to York, stay a night or two, then on to London.

Gardyloo

I agree with Janis, it's a fine time. If you're there in the second half of the month, you might want to partake in the new Burns and Beyond festival - all things Rabbie including a big Burns Supper. (If you're not familiar with Burns or Burns Night already, now's the time.) https://www.burnsandbeyond.com/

Fodorite018

We went to Edinburgh, the Grampians and London in early February one year and absolutely loved it! As we drove around in Scotland to various little towns, we did get the odd look from some that it was not the usual tourist season, but that made it all the better, IME.

eeyann

Thanks everyone, this information is very helpful (and encouraging!). We love the idea of visiting York - thanks Janisj and we may switch the order of our trip so that we can experience the Burns and Beyond Festival in Edinburgh - great idea Gardyloo!. I'm just getting organized on this trip and I really appreciate all your thoughts!

janisj

Sorry kate_schultz. . . . but >>While in London, make sure to purchase London Pass - will save you monies for entrances for sure.<< is really (really) bad advice.

A London Pass is very expensive and it is almost impossible to get value for money. It overwhelms one with all the sites it covers. The main problem is with a 1 day or 3 day LP it would be madness to fit in enough for pay sites to cover the cost. Plus so many of the museums are free.

eeyann: The trip can easily be done in either direction so rearranging it to be in Scotland for Burns 'stuff' would be just as easy.

PalenQ

Book your train tickets to/from Scotland early at National Rail Enquiries - Official source for UK train times and timetables for cheaper rates. Easy to book online.

marvelousmouse

I loved UK in the winter. I think Edinburgh and York especially are atmospheric. York and Barnard Castle (Bowes Museum) were my favorite stops.

I will say that the major downside would be the closures or short hours of things like ruins and national trust properties. I lucked out in Barnard because I hit it on the weekend when the ruins were open, but I missed a lot of other places I would’ve loved to see for this reason.

other negative is that I wanted to do a special bike tour but alas, apparently Londoners don’t believe tourists want to bike in January. Probably a sound strategy but still bummer.

And London is hands down better when the crowds are low. I’ve been at Christmas and in late Jan, and I would never do Christmas again. Yes, it’s a lot cheaper in terms as hotels. And it feels like it belongs more to the londoners than the tourists, which I really liked.

PalenQ

There is also the Caledonian Sleeper train that runs between London and Edinburgh and several other Scottish towns.

https://www.sleeper.scot/

janisj

I know you love/live to post all things trains - however, the sleeper would not be useful for the OP if they want to see York, etc in between . . .

PalenQ

Yes IF they want to see York sleeper train would be out but just presenting options janis - just presenting potentially useful options OP may not know about. Cheers!

walkinaround

Some may find January's dreariness a little depressing - often no sun at all, rotting leaves on the ground instead of snow, heavy air instead of fresh and crisp, etc. All the glittery Christmas decorations that got us through dreary Nov and Dec are now in the tip or hanging on for dear life covered in grime.

However, if you're prepared for this, it's a great time to do a lot of things. By contrast, December in the UK's cities can be full on. Lots of stress. Pubs and restaurants heaving and often with special 'Christmas Menus' (which usually mean poor quality frozen meals so that they can pack people in and get them out quickly before they know what hit them - drunk, ripped off and with only a Christmas cracker in their hands). Drunk and shouty people everywhere. Vomit on the streets. People passing out on the trains.

Then January appears. Ahhh. Most people hunker down at home with no money, bloated bellies, repenting with 'dry January' and being out doing things is like a whole different atmosphere. Restaurants beg you to enter with all kinds of deals. Shops are giving stuff away. And in later Jan, you feel the days getting longer again and the daffodils are not far off.

You can probably say something similar about many parts of the world but somehow I think that the extremes of December excess and January's calm are more extreme in the UK. You're not asking about December but I think December is important to understanding what it's like in January. So far Nov-Dec Christmas stuff has been like other years (speaking from London) but I think the hang-over in Jan will be even more extreme this year as the realities of our Brexit problems loom closer. Bad Christmas season news is expected from retailers. Summer holiday planning gets many through a gloomy Jan but this year what will people do with the £ only heading in one direction and other travel concerns occupying peoples' minds.

So come visit in Jan and bring big smiles and laughter. We need it!

thursdaysd

I am a big train fan, but I rode the Caledonian Sleeper this year and I do NOT recommend the experience. It was one of the roughest rides I have experienced and I got precious little sleep despite usually sleeping well on trains.

eeyann

Thanks for these really helpful suggestions and observations. Walkinaround, I especially appreciate your realistic impressions of January in the UK and the quieter feeling of London in January seems very appealing even if the sparkle of the holidays is gone. Thanks to to Marvelousmouse for the tip about early closure of some museums and castles. I'm hoping to put together a preliminary itinerary and do some research on January closures. We do hope to stop in York on our way to Edinburgh, so I'll hold off on the Caledonian Sleeper, but thank you PalenQ, for that great suggestion.

PalenQ

The Newcastle to Edinburgh railway portion is one of the most scenic in Britain (one mag said it was the most but IMO the two Highlands lines in Scotland by far take that title) so sit on the east side of the trains (when reserving tickets if possible pick that side) as the train on this sections trundles along the sea at many points and the towers of Durham Cathedral are also on the east side of the train and they are quite a sight (Durham would be another swell place to stop off it into a longer trip but York is by far the best choice IMO.) Bring any food and drink aboard the train you want and check prices for first class too as sometimes there is not much difference in prices and in first class seats are much more comfy than in Standard Class (2nd cl) and you get gratis snacks and drinks, including booze, the whole way. (Janis once posted that she had gotten first class tickets on this train and by the time Edinburgh came up was rather tipsy!)

eeyann

Thanks PalenQ for the excellent train advice, we'll be sure to reserve seats on the east side of the train to Edinburgh. We'll plan too to check the prices for 1st class -that sounds wonderful!

janisj

notes: The views from the east side of the train are 'good' really only between Newcastle and Edinburgh. Other than that you will get just a quick glimpse of Yorkminster, and a nice view of Durham. But in January don't expect much even in the scenic bits north of Newcastle. It most likely will be a totally gray sky over a totally gray North Sea -- or solid rain/mist or snow obscuring even that. And you do need to take a morning train to even get that since say a noon departure from London will have you in the dark by Edinburgh.

Just saying - don't expect WOW scenery. If the weather is nice though, yes there is a few miles of lovely stuff.

The rest of the ride will be pretty meh (but a LOT better than slogging to the airport and flying)

eeyann

I sketched out our rough itinerary on this calendar. We moved our visit to Edinburgh to the end of the trip to overlap with the Burns Festival. In London we're looking forward to seeing several plays and I'm researching the museum shows now.