UK Trip

My husband and I wish to travel to the UK in April or May, 2001. We will have 13-14 days, not including flying days. Our "dream itinerary" includes: London, Bath, Cotswolds, North Wales, York, Durham and Edinburgh. Is this possible or is it too much? We are in the preliminary stages of planning. I would appreciate feedback as to what place(s) you would delete if necessary and what places are not to be missed. We are interested in history, castles and cathedrals. I would also appreciate suggested itineraries that would maximize our time. We are thinking of a Rail/Drive combination. What parts of the trip would be best accessed by train and which parts by car?

djk

You should be able to do most of this. A few years ago I spent 10 days there - 3 in Edinburgh, 2 in Bath & 5 in London. <BR> <BR>We took the bullet train from London straight to Edinburgh ( gave us a chance to catch a nap , get over jet lag) <BR>Then took a train to Bath - took most of the day, but was very scenic. Stayed at the VILLA MAGDALA in Bath - WONDERFUL. Whatever you do , don't miss Bath. <BR> <BR>We spent 5 days in London, but 1 whole day was a trip to Cardiff by train. Very unusual castle. <BR>5 days was actually a little too much for me. I would have been better off with one more day trip. <BR> <BR>Good luck

111

*

Gordon R

Sounds like a well thought-through itinerary. I'd add Salisbury en route to Bath for a really impressive cathedral - IMO the best in England. I would certainly avoid driving around London if I were you - very stressful. Why not travel by train from London to your first stop outside London (i.e. Salisbury or Bath) and pick up a pre-booked hire car there?

david

You must see York you can stop off there on your way to Edinbourgh as it is on the same line. There is so much history in York.a beautiful minster. Also april is a good time to visit, not to crowded

Schuvy

All sounds fine, but I would squeeze in some time in the Lakes District on your way to or back from Scotland. The area around Windermere is especially nice; we stay in a tiny village called Grasmere. You can get to Windermere and other places by train. <BR> <BR>Also, consider seeing more of Scotland than just Edinburgh. See Glencoe in western Scotland if you have the time. <BR> <BR>York is great, so is Bath. Two must sees. Have at least two days in both. <BR> <BR>We spent ten days in UK recently and did all travel by train. Never missed not having a car.

Kathy

Unless there are some places you want to go that are out of the way, I second the idea of forgetting the car and just taking the train (or bus - whichever works best). It is nice letting someone else drive, and the trains are very convenient.

Mark

We just returned from UK in August and had a wonderful time. Wish we had had as much time as you are able to take but maybe later. I can only suggest things pertaining to London and Oxford, as those two cities were our focus. In London, there is a wealth of places to see, such as Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's Cathedral, that would suit your tastes. If you do visit Westminster Abbey, take the vergers tour. Well worth the extra few dollars (pounds). From London, we took an organized tour bus day trip to Leeds Castle, Canterbury Cathedral, and Dover. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, but wished we could spend more time at each stop. Oxford is near the Cotswolds, and I would suggest a stop at Stratford-upon-Avon, where you can visit Holy Trinity Church, where Shakespeare is buried. Lots of "Shakespeare" stuff in Stratford. Also Blenheim Palace is quite beautiful. We also visited Warwick Castle, which was perhaps the highlight of our Oxford leg. Take the Tower walk, but be prepared to climb and descend steps, 530 as I recall. Hopefully, they will have the same displays in place when you travel as they featured this year. The displays to which I refer depicted life in the 16th and late 19th centuries, and the scenes were constructed in cooperation with Madame Tussaud's of London. The displays were absolutely stunning and we enjoyed them immensely. I enjoyed visiting the various colleges in Oxford, which may not be your cup of tea, but wonderful history and architecture nevertheless. <BR> <BR>Others are certainly more qualified to respond to you regarding the other areas of UK, but hopefully this small contribution will be of some help. Have a wonderful time. We hope to go back in a few years ourselves! Safe journeys. <BR>

John

Dear UKT, <BR>Your itinerary is fine, but of course you came here for feedback and suggestions, so... <BR> <BR>I'd recommend picking up a car in Bath (train from London) and driving a big loop, up the west side of England and through N. Wales, (can be time consuming), then back to England for Chester and Liverpool, the Lake District (consider bypassing if you can make the Highlands instead), then western Scotland as far as Ft. William (see Glenfinnan if time allows), then east to Edinburgh. Return south through Durham (best cathederal IMO, sorry Gordon) and York, via the Dales or Moors, then further south to Cambridge and East Anglia, which are really wonderful areas in the spring (We much prefer them over the Bath/Cotswolds areas, in fact,) then car dropped, London or a handy airport, zoom. <BR> <BR>In order to make this work with your schedule you'd be driving a fair bit, for which judicious use of motorways is needed, and you may need to limit time in London a little, which again IMO is not the end of the world when you consider what you'll see instead.

The First Timer

Thanks for your help. After reading your suggestions, this is what I put together. I'd really appreciate feedback. Day 1-Arrive London. Take train to York. Night in York. Day 2-See York. Night in York. Day 3-Pick up car in York. Drive to and see Durham. Continue on. Overnight near Hadrian's Wall. Day 4-Visit the wall and nearby sites. Continue on to Edinburgh. Drop off car. Night in Edinburgh. Day 5-Day and night in Edinburgh. Day 6-Leave Edinburgh via train to the nearest place near North Wales area where we could pick up a car (any suggestions?) Day 7 & 8-Pick up car see sights and spend both nights in North Wales. Day 9-leave Wales for Cotwolds. Night in Cotswolds. Day 10-drive to Bath. Turn in car. See Bath and overnight there. Day 11- train to London. Remain there Days 11, 12, and 13. Day 14 Fly home. Are we too ambitious? In your opinions are the days alloted to each destination on target? We would like to have a car for the more rural areas and use the train for travel between major cities. We used this method last year in Germany and were very happy with the results. Again, I appreciate the help!

topper

.

topper

.

Sheila

Greg, lest I get the tone wrong, this response should not be taken wholly seriously. <BR> <BR>In Glasgow, they say that Edinburghers (and that's not a real word either) are all "Fur cCoat and nae knickers". There's ajoke about pronunciation with a posh Edinburgh voice which goes "Whit's sex?" Answer- what they get their coal in in Morningside (posh suburb of Edinburgh) <BR> <BR>And lastly, there is the famous Edinburgh greeting when a visir arrives at the door "Ye'll have had yer tea?" <BR> <BR>Does that one need translation?