How long to drive London to Edinburgh and weather in Novemeber?
 

Just wondering if Scottland will be too dreary/cold in Novemeber, Thanksgiving time? Will most of the castles in Edinburgh surroundings be closed at that time (checked some sites say open only till October)? And how long would it take to drive from London to Edinburgh (as considering saving on the flights). Thanks!

Scotland will be cold but not dreary in November.<BR><BR>It is a long drive from London. It's 412 miles according to my routefinder software and would take 7 hours if you can drive at 70 MPH on the motorways all the way. It will probably take a lot longer than that as the software does not allow for traffic jams and road works. More like 10 hours +<BR><BR>It might even take you 2 or 3 hours just to get out of central London. You would be better to stop overnight along the way.

Edinburgh and Stirling Castles are open year round while some places are closed and others have reduced hours.<BR><BR>I drive in the UK frequently - but the drive to Edinburgh in Nov would not be my choice. Driving will take forever and the days being short a lot of it will be in the dark.<BR><BR>You can fly to Scotland in an hour and for not much more than the cost of the petrol for the drive. Or you can take the train (more expensive) which can actually be faster than flying when you figure in the time getting to and from the airports and advance check-in. <BR><BR>renting a car once you are in Scotland is fine - but don't attempt the drive up. If you plan on spending most/all of your time in Edinburgh you won't need a car at all.

thank you all :)

Not sure about the savings in money you will make. It will cost between &pound;45 and &pound;50 each way in fuel. If you are flexible enough and book a flight on the internet at www.go-fly.com you can easily get a return fare of &pound;38.<BR>All depends I suppose on how many of you there are and how much you need a car.<BR>Tony

Don't drive. Boring, stressful, not pleasant/v. safe with dark nights and likely bad weather. <BR><BR>Go to www.thetrainline.com or www.gner.co.uk and buy a ticket beforehand. Expect to pay about &pound;50-70 return, or less if you are flexible. Don't go early in the day or on a Friday if you can avoid it, as that will make it more expensive and less likely that you'll get an Apex-style ticket (which means sticking to the dates and times and not being able to stop off either way.) It takes about 4.5 hours, city-centre to city-centre. <BR> <BR>Or go to www.ba.com for full-frills airline service to E'burgh, travelling from Heathrow or Gatwick. Expect to pay about &pound;80 return. <BR>Or, go to www.go-fly.com or www.easyJet.com for a no-frills service from secondary airports that are further away from London. Prices can be cheap, but why go all the way to Luton or Stansted airports? <BR><BR>Best bet - train. You can even travel overnight on a train for about &pound;70 return. Go to www.scotrail.co.uk for sleeper tickets. <BR><BR>There are train bargains to be had, but not sure you can book them before 3 months ahead.