Ok - I scrapped the Shannon/Liverpool Trip and instead will just stay on one island. The plan now for my wife and two older daughters (20 and 17)...

Day 1 - Arrive in EDI. (we depart from ORD the day before). Pick up rental vehicle.
Day 2 - 3 Explore Edinburgh area - Looking for suggestions.
Day 4 - Need to head to (or arrive in) Liverpool. We are considering keeping the rental and driving from Edinburgh to Liverpool. We could stop for the night somewhere along the way. Looking for suggestions.
Day 5 - Need to arrive in Liverpool and maybe explore Liverpool (something Beatles related) and then drop spouse off for conference around 2:00 pm. Probably use Liverpool as base for the next few days.Looking for suggestions.
Day 6 - 8 - Explore Liverpool / Wales area Looking for suggestions.
Day 9 - Depart Manchester to ORD

As always - I appreciate any insights and suggestions!

Hadrian's Wall might be nice to visit en route.

I am also considering Glasgow for our initial base versus Edinburgh - any thought about that?

Why? I would stay in Edinburgh itself first two days and then pick up car - Edinburgh has so much to see and do - fantastic castle and just a really beautiful city. Glasgow is not a dump but in no way IMO rivals Edinburgh in looks and things to do. With limited time do not neglec Edinburgh and you really only have one day there after landing andnjet-lagged day. Save two days on car rental and enjoy one of Europe's prettiest cities.

Is there a place to stay you would recommend? We are thinking of AirBnB

You do not want to have a car in Edinburgh - and not just because of the traffic - but it would seriously limit where you can stay. Plus you don't want to drive right after an over night flight. Since Liverpool and Wales seems to be your main focus, it might have been better to fly into MAN instead.

But if you are flying into EDI and only have 2.5 or 3.5 days free I probably wouldn't get a car at all. If you want to see a bit of countryside, take a Rabbies small group day trip. https://www.rabbies.com/en Take the train to Liverpool after visiting Edinburgh. It is about a 3.5 hur journey with a change in Wigan. You only need a car for the couple of days you might want to explore north Wales.

>>Is there a place to stay you would recommend? We are thinking of AirBnB<<

Where - in Edinburgh? What is your budget?

I do not really know where in Edinburgh to stay. As far as budget... if we do a hotel, we will need two rooms. We usually pay $250 to $300 usd per room.

You don't need or want a car in Liverpool, either. You could do a day trip to Chester by train, or even to Conwy (changing in Chester). See National Rail Enquiries - Official source for UK train times and timetables

Tere are lots of apartments and reasonable priced hotels in Edinburgh. June is not high season so rates won't be sky high except for 3 or 4 of the very top hotels.

I'd look in Old Town - anywhere along or just off the Royal Mile or Grassmarket. Or in New Town along or just north of Princes street. There are also some decent budget chain hotels scattered in both areas -- Travelodge and Premier Inn -- where you can get two rooms for less than your budget for one. But they are basic.

Start with Booking.com -- you can search for hotels, B&Bs, and flats, by price, location, review scores, etc.

I'd stick to trains and do short trips - Chester is a really nice city to spend a day. For lots on trains and where to go by them check www.seat61.com; BETS-European Rail Experts and www.ricksteves.com. This is a pretty dense urban area wth trains going everywhere - Manchester itself could be a wonderful day out - anyway consider trains as well as cars, which as folks say above, are a nuisance in Liverpuddle itself.

A day excursion to Conwy could be sweet -first of all you experience Wales where locals often speak Welsh (surprise! and of course all speak English too) - an ancient ramparted town with awesome castle. Then take a train or bus from Conwy to neaby Llandudno, and ride the antique trolley up the famous Great Orme for views zillions of miles around - as thursdayds says take train via Chester and if time left over knock around that lovely old city too. Llandudno is a once thriving seaside.

This is one easy way to visit North Wales from Liverpool by train - car too but easier by train -just relax and watch the scenes go by.

Conwy:

Conwy Visitor Information | Welcome - Conwy.com

https://www.google.com/search?q=conwy+images&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&s a=X&ved=0ahUKEwiWsZmyyJzaAhUc24MKHaelA8oQsAQIKA&bi w=1879&bih=922

Great Orme:
The Great Orme - VisitLlandudno.org.uk

https://www.google.com/search?q=great+orme+images&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=u niv&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi-pvCQyZzaAhUPR6wKHeWMAvQQsAQIKA&biw=1920&bih=949

There is no such language as Welch. Presumably you mean Welsh. It would be helpful if you would fact check your posts, not to mention spell check.

thanks! (I know it's Welsh but am a sloppy reader of my posts - will try to do better).

Cheers!

We've been to Liverpool twice and I wouldn't really be adverse to going back. Art was the big draw for us and the best excursions we went on were to Chester and to Port Sunlight and the Lady Lever Art Gallery. The waterfront is fun and we enjoyed Liverpool itself. Both times we stayed at the Nadler Liverpool, and I'm pretty sure you might be able to get two rooms or adjoining rooms in your budget. I'm a fan of Nadler hotels.

Don't hesitate to read a bit about Liverpool and the surrounding area in a good guide book. There's a lot to do.

I really enjoyed Port Sunlight, but I think Conwy is a more mainstream destination.

https://mytimetotravel.wordpress.com...-a-great-idea/

I too enjoyed Port Sunlight and its unique buildings and history and believe if you want to stay in Liverpool area hop the tube over there and explore -

https://www.visitliverpool.com/thing...illage-p242671

But, as thursdayds says Conwy and Chester may be more interest to first-time travelers to the U.K.

History, no, there are other places in the UK built for their workers by enlightened industrialists (see, e.g. Bournville (Cadbury), and Saltaire near Bradford), and the buildings are certainly not unique.

But the Lady Lever gallery is certainly unique and amazing, IF your interests would include that.

Actually Port Sunlight has a ton of listed historic buildings - an inordinate number for a place its size:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Listed..._Port_Sunlight

Again this is a neat area to poke around but only if you know the history of the place.