liquidsodium

We are in the UK in the week from Jul 4th to Jul 10th (the entire duration)
We are spending the entire day of the 10th in Edinburgh...and taking the sleeper train to London and then heading out to Heathrow to catch a plane on the 11th afternoon
My specific question is about the couple of days before we get to Edinburgh.

Jul 8th:
---------
Take a train to Oxford (walk around there); rent a car;
Drive to Stratford-upon-Avon
Go to Warwick Castle
Drive to Lakes District and spend the night: ADVICE needed here...about where to stay?

Jul 9th:
--------
Spend the day in Lakes district hiking, motoring
Leave for Edinburgh (will this take 4 hours due to the hilly terrain...?) So Leave around 4PM?
Reach Edinburgh

Jul 10th :
---------
Edinburgh all day
Leave for London

Any other advice on the itenerary is welcome.

Toucan

July 8th you travel over 300 miles (assuming you go to Windermere in the Lakes District.) That by itself would wear anyone out. Add in time for transfer to and boarding the train (I assume from somewhere in London), renting the car, eating, sight seeing, bathroom breaks, photos, traffic snarls etc and you have a dreadful and frankly inrealistic day planned. Do yourself a favor and change the itinerary to be more realistic about what you can see and do in one day.

sofarsogood

Stay in Keswick.

Take a trip on a boat on Derwentwater, walk up Cat Bells, then return to catch the boat back to Keswick.

http://www.keswick.org/content/doc/l...0Lakeshore.pdf

janisj

Keswick to Edinburgh is a shorter drive than from Windermere. But that raises the HUGE issue that Oxford to Keswick via Stratford and Warwick means 6+ hours <u>behind the wheel</u> time. That is w/ no stops at all. Absolutely no time for a walk around Oxford, exploring Stratford, or visiting Warwick Castle.

The Castle alone takes a minimum 2 hours. Stratford - by the time one parks and say just goes to the Birthplace and Holy Trinity w/o even peeking at Anne Hathaway's Cottage or any of the other sites is another 2+ hours stop. Wandering Oxford and getting to whichever rental agency - another 2 or 3 hours. Just not doable - especially starting out from London.

And then you only want to spend half a day in the Lakes. None of this makes any sense.

sofarsogood

Actually, just skip Oxford, Stratford and Warwick Castle, because you won't have time to appreciate anything, and go straight to the Lakes.

Rastaguytoday

I was in the Lakes District a few years ago and stayed very near
Bassenthwaite Lake at the Link House.

I would highly recommend this place.

http://www.link-house.co.uk/

It's at the North end of the Lakes District and very accessible to the whole area.

janisj

>>It's at the North end of the Lakes District and very accessible to the whole area<<

But also even farther/longer from Oxford . . .

bilboburgler

"Lake District"
http://www.lakedistrict.gov.uk/

or some times "the lakes"

anicecupoftea

Me, I'd drop the Lakes. It rains. A lot. I don't get why it would be a "must see" on a short trip to the UK. If the sun shines there are pretty views of hills and lakes, but no more so than Scotland or Yorkshire, and absolutely paltry compared with somewhere like Canada or Switzerland.

Spend the whole of the 8th in Oxford then go on to either Stratford or Warwick late afternoon. Spend the morning of the 9th there before going on to Edinburgh.

liquidsodium

Great timely feedback by all. Thanks very much

Thanks @sofarsogood and @Rastaguytoday for the specific place recommendations and ideas

OK based on all your feedback I guess this is not doable...esp on the 8th. We definitely want to do the castle....(I have been to Oxford before but wanted to show the boys)...however what can I drop to make it more realistic? as below...

(a) drop Oxford or drop Stratford-upon Avon (my boys have read Shakespeare (so is the latter a must-do?)

(b) if I dropped one of the above and also considered a train from Oxford to Keswick (or thereabouts) does it become more doable....we could snooze a bit on the train...and not be completely dead when we reach Keswiick.

Will the above changes make a bot more sense?

Currently I have allocated 4 days in London...maybe if Oxford is a must-do I guess I could take a train to Oxford on one of my days in London. BTW if I am doing this....any opinions on whether to do Oxford or Cambridge? Personally I prefer the latter as I have been to the former...but I am considering the family's wants as well.

Thanks again for your solid suggestions

liquidsodium

@anicecupoftea thanks for the thought...I have been to Canada (BC, Alberta etc) and Switzerland....and might considering even dropping the Lakes based on your comment...I am from Arizona so I am used to vast sceneries and Canyons but I have to admit I am a big sucker for green rolling hills. All we have is olive drab and brown mountains in the lower altitudes of this state.

liquidsodium

Third option....keep my overall itenerary...but take the last train to Oxford on the 7th.....that way I can already start the day in Oxford...and not waste part of the day getting there. Still a long day, I agree

Toucan

Trains don't go to Keswick, only Penrith which adds another 3/4 hour (car, bus or taxi). With the 4+ hour train ride Oxford-Birmingham-Penrith you would have to depart Oxford no later than 16:00 ish to arrive in Keswick by 22:00 or so. You'd have to make sure the car hire counter (or bus or taxi) in Penrith is still open at 8:30pm? Add in the train cost and it may be better just to hire the car in Oxford and make the 5 hour drive on the M6. If you start the day in Oxford it may work. Still, its a pushed day and you should expect to have to drop something from the itinerary at the last minute.

I'm planning a Lake District trip a bit beyond Keswick to Buttermere at the Bridge Hotel BnB for a few days. Would have suggested it but it's too far to go for the one late night and half day that you have budgeted.

janisj

I read it to mean you still want to include Warwick Castle, right? Just not doable to do Oxford, Warwick and the Lakes in essentially one day (actually two slightly more than half days)

You want to see/do a LOT but haven't given yourselves enough time to do it. I'd just concentrate on London and Edinburgh unless you can add more days. And take the train between the two cities.

OR - forget about Edinburgh and he Lakes and just do London/Oxford/Stratford/Warwick . . .

Toucan

Consider this itinerary:
July 7, evening travel to Oxford, overnight.
July 8, see sights in Oxford during the morning.
Drive to Stratford upon Avon OR Warwick Castle (no time for both) in the afternoon.
Depart for the Lake District by about 4-5pm.
Drive about 3 hours to Kendal stay the night.
July 9, motor through Windermere, Ambleside, Rydal, Grasmere on up to Keswick and see Derwent Water then depart for Edinburgh at your original 4pm time frame.

liquidsodium

@janis: Yes want to include Warwick castle. If you read my original post carefully I am not doing all the three things you mention in one day. I had Oxford, S-u-A, Warwick in one day and then travel to Lakes. The next day was Lakes followed by travel to Edinburgh

@Toucan: I think you nailed it. Thanks. That's exactly what I will do. On the 9th....motoring through the Lakes area through all you mention, you think there will be atleast 2-3 hours where we can spare to walk/hike?

I will look for some acco in Kendal. Any recos for special places to stay in Oxford (my budget is upto $300/nite)....maybe I will look up the zillion sites that talk about that place and find one...just asking in order to save some time ...now that you planned my trip ;-)

Thanks All. Great suggestions and opinions.

Mimar

Definitely skip Stratford-on-Avon. It's very tourist-trappy. Your boys will like Warwick Castle. You'll probably have to drag them out of there.

I wouldn't stay in Kendal, which is not really in the Lake District to my mind. I'd stay in a town on a lake. Probably Windermere/Bowness because it would be at the start of your drive the next day.

Cimbrone

The Lakes are bucolic and lovely. I spent a day around Grasmere and Rydal Lake, and always thought it would be nice to go back and stay here: http://www.whitemoss.com/location.htm Be sure to visit Wordsworth's home, Rydal Mount. Charming house and grounds. And there's always the Beatrix Potter home, Hilltop Cottage, if that interests you.

liquidsodium

@Mimar and @Cimbrone : great suggestions to help me close on this. (Boys are 15,18 ... Warwick will still hold their interest I am guessing)
I will post my final decision just to complete this post. Stay tuned if interested.

lovs2travel

> Stratford-upon Avon (my boys have read Shakespeare (so is the latter a must-do?) <

If you decide to drop Stratford-Upon-Avon, you could go to the Globe Theater while you are in London.