We’ll be driving from Getwick airport to York. We will start at 10 in the morning and want to arrive in the evening to York. <BR>Is there enough time to visit places (castle, garden) along the way or should we drive directly to York?<BR>What is the best route to drive?<BR>Thank you<BR>

Ana: it is about 250 miles and Motorway all the way so the drive itself will take about 4-4.5 hours without stops. So you will have time to make stops along the way if you don't stray too far from the M1.<BR><BR>The route to take is the M23 from Gatwick (not Getwick) to the M25 to the M1 or A1 and finally the A64 into York. The M25 is a ring road that circles the entire of Greater London. You can take the M25 clockwise or anticlockwise since it goes in a circle and both directions will cross the M1 and A1. But the M25 can be very congested, so I would ask the car rental agency when you pick up the car if there are any special problems on the M25 and if there are then just go the best direction.<BR>

I meant to add that the biggest sites that are near the M1 on your way north are: <BR><BR>Woburn Abbey in Bedfordshire. A large stately home with marvelous artwork plus a wild animal park, etc<BR><BR>Hadrwick Hall near Chesterfield. probably the finest Elizabethan manor house in the country<BR><BR>or a little farther off the M Chatsworth - Huge Stately home with vast gardens and wonderful artwork.<BR><BR>You'd have time to visit at least one of these.

Janis,thank you for the information.<BR> We definitely will visit one of the places you mentioned. Where can I find more information - opening hours, admission price ?<BR> Is there a nice place to stop for breather and have something to eat on the route? <BR>Thanks again.<BR>

There are Motorway service areas every 20 or more miles. these have petrol stations, cafes, fast food and tourist information so you can stop to stretch your legs without leaving the motorway.<BR><BR>But better yet - both Woburn Abbey and Chatsworth have restaurants on site. the food is pretty good.<BR><BR>Opening hours (during the summer) for Woburn 10AM - 5:30PM and Chatsworth 11:00 - 5:30. Hardwick Hall is open Wed, Thurs, Sat and Sun only from noon to 5PM

My own experience of this is that it will take about 5 - 5 1/2 hours driving from Gatwick to York, assuming that there are no traffic problems (I did this drive recently from near Gatwick.) This comes with all the usual caveats and warnings if you're coming from the US (driving on the left with jet lag, etc.)<BR><BR>Motorway services are generally good for stopping if you're intent on getting to York as quickly as possible, but if you're taking a diversion to one of the places Janis mentioned then you should try and eat there. Services on the M25 are non-existant, and although on the M1 they are about every 20 - 30 miles they really aren't particularly good.

Everyone is correct with their info,I just hope you are not planning on doing this long drive immediately after getting off a long plane flight. Jet lag is a real thing and it can affect your driving ability, even if you have driven on the left before. If you are planning on driving after getting off the plane I'd reconsider and start out the next day.

Thank you for such good advice, we’ll be flying in late so we’ll spend the night in a hotel and start the trip in the morning. <BR>I have another query and hope you can assist again.<BR>After two days in York we want to drive to Edinburgh. Are two days too much for the trip? Are there interesting places on the route? Can you recommend a nice B&B or hotel in the area? We want to visit Durham and we don’t know any other places.<BR>Thank you again<BR><BR>

The actual drive from York to Edinburgh is less than 200 miles so it can easily be driven in 3 1/2 - 4 hours.<BR><BR>So taking 2 days is great - you will have plenty of time to visit Durham and Hadrians Wall plus Jedburgh Abbey (if you take the A68) or Holy Island and/or St Abbs Head (if you take the A1) <BR><BR>I would drive in the AM to Durham and after lunch drive on to near Hexham to visit one ot two Roman sites along the wall. Stay the night near Hexham/Haltwistle. Then the next day you only have about 125+ miles to Edinburgh so can choose which route to take the rest of the way.

My only concern would be that two days might not be enough - you'll probably want to spend more time in Edinburgh because it's such a beautiful city (I'm showing my bias now!)<BR><BR>In terms of driving there Janis' suggestions are good - the only decision is to do with the road. The A1 via St Abbs Head is of a better standard than the A68, although the A68 has better scenery (the A1 hugs the coastline from Newcastle to Edinburgh so one side is all sea.) The A68 has the advantage of passing through the Borders, part of Scotland which in my opinion is often overlooked by tourists in a rush to Edinburgh and the Highlands.