London/Scottland how much time in each
 

We are planning a trip to Europe and want to visit both London and Scottland. We have never been to Europe. We have allotted 10 days but do not know how we should divide the time up. What is the easiest and cheapest way to get from London to Scottland (Edinburgh)?<BR><BR>Thanks

Trains take an average of four and a half hours from London to Edinburgh - the fastest takes just over four hours. There are cheap fares if you reserve in advance and travel on a specific train, but it's expensive if you just turn up at the station and buy a ticket - it's rather like booking an airline ticket. The trains are run by www.gner.co.uk. There is also an overnight sleeper run by www.scotrail.co.uk, which is a slower train but effectively takes no time because you will be asleep and will save the cost of a night in a hotel.

If you want to London by itself you will need a good few days. There is lots to see and do in Edinburgh too, but if you venture out to the country, the scenary is breathtaking. I would do half and half !!

We spend three nights in London, and four weeks in Scotland, and were perfectly happy!

The cheapest way of getting from London to Scotland is often to fly with one of the low cost airlines. Having said that, even the full service airlines have been very competitive on price recently. Flight time is usually around 1 hour (versus 4.5 or 5 hours by rail and there is no shortage of options:<BR><BR>From London Stansted - Go-Fly (www.go-fly.com)<BR>Direct Train (Stansted Express) from Liverpool Street.<BR><BR>From London Luton - easyJet (www.easyjet.com)<BR>Direct train (Thameslink) available from Kings Cross Thameslink to Luton Airport Parkway.<BR><BR>From London Gatwick - easyJet (www.easyjet.com), or British Airways (www.britishairways.com)<BR>Trains from Victoria (Gatwick Express or Connex) or from Blackfriars (Thameslink).<BR><BR>From London Heathrow - British Airways (www.britishairway.com) or BMI (www.flybmi.com)<BR>Heathrow Express from Paddington, or London Underground Piccadilly Line.<BR><BR>From London City - ScotAirways (www.scotairways.co.uk)<BR>Bus from Canary Wharf tube station or Liverpool Street station.