Need help in choosing areas to visit in UK
 

Hello all, hope you can help me.

My husband, kids and I are planning a trip to the UK but not until 2005 probably in late June to July. I know a long way away but planning is half the fun. We will be staying 14-16 days including travel days.

We are definitely going to visit London for a few days and would like to end our trip in Edinburgh.

I need help deciding where to go in between. The kids will be 10 and 8 at the time of the trip. This will not be their first trip to Europe but first to the UK

We like quaint villages, history and lively cities. We would like to see at least one place where Harry Potter was filmed, besides the Zoo in London.

Any help, suggestions, websites would be greatly appreciated.

How fun! My husband and I found York and N. Wales to be the absolute highlights of our first UK trip (just England and Wales). Our 2nd-which was just in March, we went to Scotland and LOVED Edinburgh as well.

when you leave london i would move out through windsor and then on to the cotswolds, which are only 2 hours north/west of london....

of course it largely depends on how you intend to travel....in my opinion i always rent a car....otherwise you are more limited..

from the cotswolds i would head northwest and eventually end up in wales or i would go northeast through york and the lake district and end up in edinburgh in either case....

B&B's are great with kids and often they have small beds that can go in your room for a small cost keeping your over all costs down....we also like to get sandwich making at supermarkets each day and have a picnic which allows the kids to run around a bit while you are preparing...there are many picnic areas along the way and or lay-bys where you can stop....

don't over book yourself or you will be sorry...keep it simple and FLEXIBLE

Ani - thank you

rhkkmk - yes we are planning on traveling by car once we leave London.

Probably fly home from Glasgow as there are direct flights back home.

We plan on spending 3 nights at each town we stop at and explore from there. I don't like to pack up every day or 2 and move.

Thanks for the advice.

I very much second what rhkkmk has to say, especially about the B&B's. The family atmosphere offers rewarding memories.

We've even stayed in B&B's in London. We stayed outside Edinburgh and took the train in.

Other then L. and E., you could plan your trip around (3) 3-night stops - Cotswolds, Lake District and Yorkshire Moors (with a day-trip into York). From each stop you could then radiate out in a different direction each day.

Having said that, I'm also a great fan of the rugged English Coastline - its fishing villages, etc. Maybe you could consider that - it'd be fun for the kids too - there are many places!

(Don't know where Harry Potter was filmed.)

My husband and I toured northern Scotland and it was the best time we'd ever had. We drove from Inverness to Isle of Skye to John O'Groats back down to Inverness in 10 days, stopping along the way. We explored castle ruins and back roads and Loch Ness. Your family, especially the children, would probably love exploring the castle ruins. I highly recommend a trip to Northern Scotland. We also stayed a month in London, which is fun, but a different kind of fun than Scotland. If you have the time and the inclination, you might ride the Eurostar for a day or two in Paris.

TuckH - can you give me some ideas of what areas are considered the "rugged coastline"

jenstu13 - I would love to tour Northern Scotland but as this is a first trip to England for my husband and kids I would like to concentrate on England and a few days in Scotland.

We will definitely plan a future trip based on what was our favorite on this one.

After London, (don't forget Platform 8 3/4 at Kings X) tour the area around Cambridge and East Anglia. This is an region rich in wonderful villages, interesting cities and grand cathedrals (include Ely and/or Lincoln.)

Then progress north along the North Sea coast through Yorkshire (visit York itself for a day or so - especially the Railway Museum for the kids) and the Yorkshire Dales or North York Moors, to Durham (best cathedral in Europe IMO.) Then onward north to Alnwick (pron. "Annick"), near the Scottish border, for a tour of Alnwick Castle, used for many of the exterior shots in HP. Visit the Holy Isle just off the coast (drive at low tide) then on to Edinburgh for the rest of the trip.

The east side of the island will likely offer better weather than the west, and there will be more then enough places of interest to entertain your family for the duration of your trip. Happy planning!

"Rugged coastline" - Yes, I'd be glad to:

1. The White Cliffs of Dover - best found south of London, west of Eastbourne at the so-called "Seven Sisters" - a marvelous hike up-and-down over the seven white humps overlooking the Channel.

2. Near Lyme Regis on the South Devon Coast Path - villages of Beer and Branscombe, etc. Cathedral town of Exeter is nearby.

3. Near Woody Bay (near Lynton) in North Devon - on the Somerset/N Devon Coast Path in the Exmoor National Park.

4. Many spots in Cornwall - too far for you on this trip...

5. Whitby-Robin Hood's Bay-Scarborough in the North York Moors National Park, not far from York.

6. Northumberland - not as "rugged", more of a beach, but with magnificent castle ruins, Bamburgh, Dunstanburgh.

7. Scotland - too many to mention here.

Oh, Gardyloo, don't be ridiculous. Platform 8 3/4!? How could there be such a thing? That's absurd.

It's 9 3/4. :-)

So THAT'S why my nose hurts so much. Crikey. I was obviously misinformed by you-know-who.

LOL you guys

Gardyloo, better watch your language or you'll get a Howler from dear old Mum.

How does this sound as a rough first itinerary

6 nights London
4 nights Cotswolds
2 nights York
3 nights Edinburgh

4 nights in Cotswolds - planning on day trips to Warwick Castle, Oxford, Stratford from this area

We went to Warwick Castle and your kids will probably love it. They had the jousting and sword fighting and dungeons and all that kind of stuff kids love. Oxford and Stratford are interesting places also. Have fun planning your trip, we planned ours for over a year also. Now we can't believe the trip is over and we're back home. Oh well.

Since you are planning for 4 nights in the Cotswolds (we stayed 2, which was MORE than enough for us)...don't miss Kenilworth Castle ruins-about 5 miles from Warwick. Its a wonderful contrast to the completely restored Warwick...romantic, lovely.

I think that the West Highland Line, the scenic train from Fort William to Mallaig in Scotland, served as the train for the Harry Potter films. I bet you and your kids would love it. In the summer they run a steam train on the line, and it's a nice round trip you do in a day.

To start, here's a website that has some info. on harry potter film locations - www.britishtours.com/
harry_potterovernight.html

I've noted from your other question re: the British Heritage Pass that a lot of the things you want to see are in the south. Are you stuck on Edinburgh/Glasgow? Because you only have only two weeks and you could easily spend a week in London. If Edinburgh and Glasgow must be in the trip are you open to training directly there from London, then train to Glasgow, leaving the rest of the time in the south?

If your open to some other ideas, I have some sugestions, particularly with your kids in mind:

Day 1 - land Heathrow, pick up rental car. Drive to self catering cottage somewhere in Cotswolds where you will spend a week in your little home away from home. From your cottage visit: Stonehenge/Bath (Roman Baths, Costume Museum), Sudeley Castle, Oxford (Christ Church, Ashmolean (a neat museum for kids, punt on the river), Stratford/Warwick (Castle, Theatre, shopping, Shakespeare properties, brass rubbings), Blenheim/Waddesdon Manor. You might also check out Snowshill Manor (lots of neat things to see, particularly the attic), Great Tew (a real Snow White village), and steam railway.

Day 8-11 - B&B in East Anglia/Suffolk coast. Stop in Cambridge along the way. Just be beach bunnies.

Day 12-16 - Visit Windsor on way to return car at Heathrow. Store extra luggage/purchases (only if flying out of London). Tube in to London. Check in to hotel. Visit theatre, Kensington Palace, Buckingham Palace/Royal Mews, London Eye, take river boat to Hampton Court, Imperial War Museum or Museum of London, Tower of London, Old Bailey (to see a real court case).

Day 16 - Fly home.

or
Day 8-12 - London
Day 12-15 - Train to Edinburgh. B&B.
Day 15 - Train to Glasgow.
Day 16 - Fly home.

Some more ideas to add to the mix.

rickmav
thanks for the suggestions.

We definitely want to visit London. I have been there but no one else has. I also have a cousin that lives there that I would like to spend some time with.

My husband really wants to see at least one place in Scotland otherwise I would just concentrate on the south.

Thanks for the options I will definitely look into it.

2 points-
Direct flights to New York from Edinburgh start next June.
The highlands are Scotlands must-see (NW of Edinburgh)