England, Scotland , Belguim
 

I am planning my trip for next summer.
Each summer I got with my kids on
A 6 week European adventure.
We stay in gites or bed and breakfasts-
Usually rent a car and see as much as possible.

My travel style is to spend our time in one or two
Locations and really see everything we can instead of
Justing see the highlights. Last summer we went to France
And spend three weeks in the Dordogne and 4 weeks
In Provence.

Having said that I am thinking of breaking my own rule.
I am considering a trip to England Scotland and Belgium.
The way I am imagining it would be to fly into London and immediately
Take the train to belgium. If the prices are ok I would fly into Brussels and out of London
But I've started to look into that and it's costly. So I am going with the worst case scenario here. Spend approx 8 days seeing brussels, bruge, Ghent , then take the train back to London Pick up a car leaving London . My idea would be to see as many quaint villages in England and then head up to Scotland as far up as isle of Skye. So I am lacking am itinerary. What are the must see villages in England ... Oxford.. Etc and what are the must see areas in Scotland ..Edinburgh. I can spend approx 4 weeks on this portion of my trip- Then return the car and spend my last 4 days in London before flying home.
I would be grateful for any input -

<i>The way I am imagining it would be to fly into London and immediately Take the train to belgium.</i>

Or just fly to Belgium - or Scotland. When you say "it's costly" is that for direct flights from wherever home is or does it include connecting routes?

Whatever you do, don't just return to London to pick up a car - it's so easy to create Belgium-Scotland-England or any other combination of those countries using flights between UK & Belgium

Yes I suppose I could fly to Edinburgh from belguim I suppose I can decide that once
I figure out the town and villages throughout England and Scotland people will reccomend I see .
I had said taking the train to London figuring I would make a loop around thr island but of course that is changeable once I here what places are a must see - thank you for your input

8 days in Belgium might be a bit too long. We did Brussels, Bruges and Antwerp in a long weekend and saw everything we wanted to see. "Immediately" taking the Eurostar is not that immediate. You have to get to St Pancras from LHR which can take quite a time, plus dragging bags about whilst jetlagged? Not a good idea.

From what you say, you have around 40 days on the ground and unless you've already been to Paris, I'd include a 5 day or so segment. So Brussels/Bruges/Ghent 5 days, Paris 5 days, 30 days UK.

From London:

Oxford
Cotswolds
Manchester/Liverpool
Lake District
Oban for Mull
Skye
Glencoe
Callender
Edinburgh
York
London

Rubicund thank you that is very helpful
Good news about the 5 days very helpful.
Did you enjoy Belgium ?

We have already done paris but yoiu never have enough Paris so it is always
an option. I was wondering if you suggest
I locate myself in Brussels and take trains to those places?
thanks again for the help

Belgium is OK and worth seeing if you only want to visit those three towns. We spent Thursday till Sunday there and day tripped to Bruges and Antwerp by train, easily done. we got a better accommodation deal basing in Brussels and didn't have the hassle of moving hotels.

If you've done Paris, then maybe Amsterdam?

Rubicund yes i was considering Amsteram -- thakn you
what are your feelings on scotland ???
I've had this image in my headfor a longtime and I am wondering
if it matches up ... also have you been to Ireland -- I had considered adding that instead of
Belgium ??/ any thoughts thank you

FWIW, my husband and I really enjoyed what we saw of Belgium, Yes, we found Bruges to be a little too touristy for our own tastes, but it was a lovely town nevertheless and we happily spent the afternoon riding bikes along the canal to another nearby town and back. We really liked Ghent, but unfortunately didn't get to Antwerp and the day we spent in Brussles was cold and rainy and I'm afraid we didn't see the city at it's best. In any event, we'd really like to go back.

But don't go someplace or forego going someplace because a poster on Fodor's liked it or didn't like it--at least not without first identifying what they did or didn't like about it. We each have our own tastes and preferences after all. If you need help figuring out where to go, you might get more reliable responses if you shared what you like to do or experience when you travel.

Thank you indyhiker for your feedback .. Yes I get opinions but make my own choices for sure -
I just think me and my boys would enjoy that city - have you been to Amsterdam?

How old are your boys, and what are their interests?

Lee Ann