Dealdude750

Hi. My wife and I are taking a much needed vacation to England and Scotland in October.

We are staying with friends in London for a couple of days and may do almost all touristy things in London, Stonehenge, and Bath.

But any bright ideas for daytrips from London, which can be once-in-a-lifetime trips? Away from regular touristy stuff?

Also, we wish to spend about 4 nights in Scotland. Any suggestions on places and how to get there by public transport or would renting a car be better?

Any suggestions on which sites to book car / train / bus tickets from London to Scotland?

Ditto about B&B in Scotland?

Many thanks.

Cheers.

janisj

Scotland is a country - it is very large. Asking about seeing Scotland in 4 days would be like asking "we have 4 days to see California - which hotels do you recommend?" You could spend the full 4 days in Edinburgh w/ a day trip somewhere like Stirling or St Andrews. In that case you won't need a car.

Or you could spend 1 day in Edinburgh and then collect a rental car and tour around for a couple of days.

Scotland is a long ways from London so on such a short visit, driving up doesn't make sense time-wise. There are TONS of things to see enroute but you just don't have the time.

You can take a daytime train up in about 4.5 hours. Or you can fly - it will take about the same amount of time since you have to check in in advance and get to/from the airports. Or you can take an overnight sleeper train. Where do your friends live - it could make a difference whether flying or taking a train would be best. For instance if they live out on the west side of town you might be closer to Heathrow than to Kings Cross train station.

Give us a hint what sorts of things you want to see/do then we can help you w/ Scotland.

You say you will be in London a couple of days and then 4 days in Scotland - but the whole trip is 11 nights. Where are you staying the rest of the (A couple of days is not long enough to do any touristy things in London plus Bath plus Stonehenge)

&quot;<i>any bright ideas for daytrips from London, which can be once-in-a-lifetime trips? Away from regular touristy stuff? </i>&quot;

Lots and LOTS of ideas - but we need to know a bit more about what sorts of things you enjoy/want to see and do. BTW - many of the regular touristy things are popular because they are once-in-a-lifetime.

so - give us a little more info and we can give you all sorts of help.

Maybe click on DESTINATIONS above and get some ideas to get you started.

Dealdude750

Thank you Janisj for your response.

I like history and experiencing authentic local culture. I enjoy ruins / castles / stonehenge / Roslyn.

Both of us would like some quiet time together and not spend a whole lot of time traveling. So fewer but beautiful places would be fine.

London to be a party zone since my friends will be there but I would like for our Scotland trip to be very picturesque &amp; romantic.

I would like to stay at local Scottish B&amp;B to experience their lifestyle.

Thanks for your interest. Eager to ready your suggestions.

AR

I don't know when in October you're in the UK but as an example, Easyjet are offering Gatwick to Edinburgh out on Monday October 13th (arrive 11:15) and back on Friday the 17th (departing at 16:05) for &pound;82.98 plus &pound;6 each way per hold baggage. There are a myriad of alternative flights slightly cheaper from Stansted and Luton.

The train on the same dates have a Supersaver return for &pound;102.40 per adult (journey time about 4.5 hours).

Flights get a little dearer later on in the month as it is the school holidays.

From Edinburgh you'd be able to visit the city itself as well as Roslyn and Stirling.

Alternatively, you could fly to Glasgow, hire a car and find a small hotel on Loch Lomond (the drive further north to Glencoe has some breathtaking scenery).

Daytrips from London are the obvious Windsor Castle, Leeds castle and Canterbury cathedral.

AR

Oh, I could add that the border abbeys (Melrose, Jedburgh etc) make a wonderful trip if you're into ruins and aren't too far from Edinburgh by car.

One thing - don't consider hiring a car and drive from London! I met someone in a layby just north of Loch Lomond recently and it had taken them 10 hours to drive overnight from London. My own drive from Fort William home to South Wales would have taken around the same time had we not broken it up with a week in the Lake District.

sheila

Given what you like, I think, if it were me, I'd aim to stay somewhere like North Berwick, and use that as a base for castles and abbeys, and a day trip into Edinburgh on the train. It's a nice town with great views over the rivermouth, and lovely restaurants and interesting wee shops.