Fosco71

OK everybody, I need some advice on an itinerary.

I'm going to England in early October with my cousin and his wife (who happens to be deaf). I've been overseas several times and feel totally comfortable logistically speaking and this will be the first trip for them. They've expressed that they don't want to spend too much time in London, which is fine with me because I'd like to see parts of England I've never seen. They really want to see Stonehenge and we've also decided that we would like to go to Scotland, if possible. We've got at least 8 and maybe 9 days to do this. Do you think it's reasonable? Here's what I've got so far:

Day 1 - Arrive London a.m. - Big Ben and Parliament - St. James' Park - Trafalgar Square - Buckingham Palace - Finish the day in Soho at a pub (or two)

Day 2 - Westminster Abbey - St. Paul's - and just view the Tower and Tower Bridge (visit if we have time) - Do a London Walk this evening

Day 3 - Train to Salisbury - Salisbury Cathedral - Bus to Stonehenge - Back to Salisbury and explore the town or go back to London and see more - Maybe another London Walk tonight

Day 4 - Train to York - See York Minster - Jarvik Viking Center - Relaxing evening in York

Day 5 - Rent a car and drive to Ripon - See Fountains Abbey - Drive on to Durham for an overnight stay

Day 6 - Durham Castle - Hadrian's Wall - Drive on to Edinburgh

Day 7 - Edinburgh - I need real help here on what to see. I'd love to see Rosslyn Chapel and Stirling Castle of course, but I don't want to do it at the expense of not seeing Edinburgh.

Day 8 - Edinburgh - Evening train back to London

As I said earlier, we may have a ninth day, which we could spend in Edinburgh. If there are only 8 days available to us, would you still try this plan or do you think it's too hectic. Also, remember that my cousin's wife is deaf. Any tips on traveling with a deaf companion? Any suggestions would be a great help. Please advise me of anything you think I'm missing. Thanks everybody!

janis

A few comments:

First of all I don't think it is a good idea to do Westminster Abbey and St Pauls the same day. They are both fabulous of course but I think better appreciated w/o doing them together,

On day 1 you are going to be directly across the street from Westminster Abbey so it makes much more sense to visit the abbey when you go to Parliament/Big Ben/St James.

Then Day 2 you can go to the Tower in the morning and over to St Pauls after lunch.

Days 5 and 6 sort of mess up your plans. Fountains/Ripon/Durham/Hadrians Wall are ALL absolutely terrific. But renting a car and driving through there cuts your time in Scotland to barely enough to see the highlights of Edinburgh w/o getting to Stirling or Rosslyn Chapel.

So you basically have to bite the bullet and decide -- do you want to see North Yorkshire/Durham/Hadrian's Wall -- OR do you want to spend time in Scotland?

If you want to actually see much in Scotland - take the train from York to Edinburgh and stay 3 nights. One day you can take the train to Stirling and one day you could visit Rosslyn. This would still only give you about 1.5 days for Edinburgh.

But if you decide to concentrate on Yorkshire/Durham Spend another night in York and then rent a car and spend a couple of days touring to the north. Then train back to London.

janis

Oh about your cousin's wife. Does she read lips? If so some of the smaller London Walks will be fine. But avoid any like the Jack the Ripper one. It gets a huge turn out and moves fast so she will probably be unable to follow the commentary.

One of the Pub Walks woiuld probably be great though.

Fosco71

Thanks Janis!

I actually thought about Westminster Abbey being in our exact locale on the first day. I'm just worried about jetlag messing up our cognitive skills. At any rate, given the short period of time we have I'm not sure we have a choice but to follow your suggestion.

Thanks for your tip on choosing between York and Scotland. None of us have been there, so which would you recommend for some first-timers if you had to choose between the two? I know it's a tough call, but it's just what we may be faced with.

Regarding my cousin's wife, she is an excellent lip-reader.

Anybody reading this please feel free to comment. All opinions are appreciated.

janis

Fosco71: Well - you really can't make the wrong decision. A driving tour of Yorkshire/Durham/Northumberland would be GREAT. And a train trip up to Edinburgh w/ visits to Stirling and Rosslyn would be GREAT. Guess that didn't help much, huh?

My perfect solution would be to go for 11 or 12 days and have enough time for both. But if your trip is limited to 8 or 9 days - just decide which one seems more to your liking. You would totally enjoy either one.

I absolutely LOVE Scotland (my favorite place to holiday) in general and Edinburgh in particular.

But a leisurely 2 or 3 day car tour of Yorkshire including the Moors, a bit of the Dales, and Durham plus Hadrian's Wall if you could squeeze it in might be my choice in this case. You could pick one centrally located B&B and do day trips from there instead of moving on every day.

Morgana

Hi there
You have had some good advice from Janis as usual.
I live in North Yorkshire and there is certainly more than enough in this area to have a wonderful holiday.
If you choose to do the Yorkshire/Northumberland tour here are a couple more places that might appeal.
1) Lindisfarne (Holy Island) www.lindisfarne.org.uk This is a really special place, reached by driving across a causeway that goes underwater by several feet when the tide is in (tidal tables available to look at before you cross!)I love the atmsosphere on the island, and the abbey and castle are open to visitors to explore.
2)The new gardens at Alnwick www.alnwickgarden.com I haven't yet visited these but can't wait to do so. By all accounts it is incredible - take a look at the garden features including the grand cascade and that amazing treehouse!
Holy Island and the Alnwick Garden could be done in a day together, with maybe a visit to Bamburgh and its castle as well (Bamburgh is on the coast, half way between Holy Island and Alnwick) www.bamburghcastle.com The coastline is lovely around here.
Cragside is also a fabulous place to visit - details on the National Turst website www.nationaltrust.org.uk
The Yorkshire Dales are also gorgeous - I go there walking each weekend and their peace and beauty keep me sane!
I'd better stop or I'll give you enough to do for a couple of months!
Let me know if you need any further help.
M

hopingtotravel

Am topping this for more input, as my husband has mentioned an interest in a similar itinerary in a few years.

Morgana, to spend a few days driving around both the Yorkshire Dales and Northumberland, would one want more than one base for stays?

Morgana

Hopingtotravel - yes, you would definitely need more than one base. The Yorkshire Dales themselves cover a huge area, and Northumberland is large too. Such gorgeous areas though! If you want more info please let me know, but just warning you I am off to France for a couple of weeks at the weekend (no computer!) so if I don't answer for a bit you will know why.
M

hopingtotravel

Thanks. Enjoy France.

jsmith

Here are a few thoughts:

Could you fly home from Edinburgh or Glasgow to avoid the trip back to London: i.e., an open jaw ticket?

Another alternative would be to train from Salisbury to Edinburgh (overnight?)and visit Hadrian's Wall and Durham on the way back to York. We have driven from Glasgow with a stop at Gretna Green, Hadrian's Wall (Housesteads is the best place to visit - mid way between Chester and Newcastle) and an overnight in Durham. Leaves a short drive to Fountains Abbey and York in the AM.

Another alternative is to train from Salisbury to York (overnight? - probably not). About 15 years ago we took the train from Salisbury (or Winchester, forget which) to Leeds. Don't recall if we had any changes of train but it wasn't a bad journey.

I wouldn't consider your cousin's wife deafness to be any handicap in Scotland. After all, many people have commented upon hearing the bagpipes for the first time, "Thank God there's nae smell". She could also add, "Thank God there's nae sound".

Nice to see someone who's given thought to the itinerary. Good luck with finalizing your trip.

st2327

I think your itinerary sounds great and we did much the same. You can actually go from London to Bath and back through Salisbury in one day with adequate time in both. After York you might consider staying overnight in Darlington. This is a lovely small town and you could take a side trip to Whitby ( the home town of Capt.Cook)which is a beautiful location on the sea. Often seen on the PBS show " The Royal"
We found Edinborough very dirty, dusty and extremely crowded. After walking up to the castle and being shoved off the sidewalks and visiting a filthy public washroom we could't wait to get back to England

amelie

Edinburgh (and Scotland) are magical! You would love it. I think you can't go wrong with which ever you decide though.

I've been to Scotland twice now, 8 weeks total, and I cannot wait to go back next summer (husband moved to the US from Scotland).

It's beautiful.

alya

st2327

Whitby is a very overlooked town, I remember going when i was 5/6 year old for the first time and standing under the Whale jaw bones and feeling very very small and boy oh boy did the walk up there work your calf muscles.

Fosco71

I'd like to thank everyone for their comments.

My cousin's tickets are in and out of London and have already been purchased so that cancels out an open jaw. But I'm going to look into an overnight train from Salisbury to Edinburgh. I was just talking to a friend of mine who studied in England for a semester and she also asked me why we're planning on going back to London after Salisbury/Stonehenge. The only real reason is to try to see a little more of London before we leave for good, because this is their first visit and one jetlagged day and one full day just doesn't seem to be enough.

I've done the Salisbury/Stonehenge day trip from London and it seems like I got back early enough to see some London sights later in the day. Can anyone tell me how long it might take to take a train from London to Salisbury, see the cathedral, bus to Stonehenge and back and then train back to London without feeling rushed. I'm thinking 6-8 hours.

Input anyone?

Also, my aforementioned friend said she didn't find Edinburgh too memorable. But she defended the city by saying she was only 20 and it was her first time abroad. Anti-Scots, here is your opportunity to voice your dissatisfaction and Pro-Scots can defend their beloved capital.

At any rate, I will definitely look into Whitby. Didn't the ship carrying Dracula arrive there? I cant' remember.

Thanks again for all the comments and suggestions, and I look forward to reading more.