My husband and I are taking a last minute planned trip (if we can pull it together) to Edinburgh, Scotland, York and London in mid May (2019). We are late 60's and love seeing the historical and cultural sights and mixing with the people. I am an above knee amputee and while I walk well with a prosthesis, I have obvious limitations (no major hiking and I avoid hills and steps when possible--yes I know Scotland is hilly). We are thinking of flying from the US to Edinburgh. We would stay 4 days there to acclimate and see the city. Then we are thinking of 2-3 days of side trips (by car or train) out of Edinburgh (making Edinburgh our base unless others think that is a bad idea) to see places of interest that are unique to Scotland There is so much to see we are stymied as to what to choose, so any suggestions will be welcomed. From there to York and then to London for the end of our trip.

May 15th - Leave US
May 16th-19th Arrive and visit Edinburgh
May 20-22 Side trips (still unknown)
May 23-24 Train to York (better to fly?) and visit there
May 25-29th Train or fly to London and time there
May 30th - Return US

Are we being foolish to think we can pull this together this fast? Hotel suggestions and best sights to see are welcome. We like nice hotels (not the MOST expensive but willing to pay more for the experience). We are reading as much as we can but not knowing the terrain makes it tricky. Thanks!

No, Not foolish at all.

Just some random comments:

• >>no major hiking and I avoid hills and steps when possible<<.

You will fine Edinburgh difficult. It often seems the EVERYTHING is uphill. Not actually the case but it is a real problem if one is mobility Challenged. I would probably only spend 2 nights - max. 3 nights there and use taxis to get back and forth between the Old (uphill) and New (downhill) Towns.

• >>Then we are thinking of 2-3 days of side trips (by car or train) out of Edinburgh (making Edinburgh our base unless others think that is a bad idea) to see places of interest that are unique to Scotland<<

I would NOT use Edinburgh as a base for driving day trips. A car in Edinburgh is a real liability driving in/out of the city is not something done voluntarily. So if you want to get out into the countryside, pick up and move to a base for 4-ish days out in the countryside. Like Fife/St Andrews . . . or Callander for Stirling/the Trossachs/Stirling/Inchmahome/Doune. Neither of these bases is convenient by train.

• >>May 23-24 Train to York (better to fly?) and visit there<<

A Train is the only reasonable option. A train to York from Edinburgh take just a tad over 2 hours and the train station in in the middle of the city. Then the train York to London is another 2 hours.

• >>May 25-29th Train or fly to London and time there<<

May 27 is a major Bank Holiday so everyone in the country will be on the move the afternoon of May 24 through the 27th. Book your Saturday train as soon as possible. You will also want to jump on booking accommodations in York ASAP

Doable for sure. Trains are best to York and then to London - about 2-2.5 hrs each but book those trains early to score nice discounts at National Rail Enquiries - Official source for UK train times and timetables - www.seat61.com has great info - general info trains (like first v 2nd class) BETS-European Rail Experts and www.ricksteves.com. Leave early for York so you can see its main sights that day and leave for London the next morning. Two easy day trips from Edinburgh are Stirling and its lovely castle and St Andrews - for golf history and gold but also a neat university town on lovely seaside. Both easy by train; for St Andrews train to Leuchars then short bus link to town. You can also take bus tours from Edinburgh to the Highlands for a few days. I would not bother with a car - not on your limited time.

Meant to add:

>>Hotel suggestions and best sights to see are welcome. We like nice hotels (not the MOST expensive but willing to pay more for the experience).<<

What is your actual budget per night? 'Willing to pay more' doesn't tell us anything.

>>for St Andrews train to Leuchards Leuchars<<. Yes -- IF you want to stay IN Edinburgh the whole time you can do train/bus to St Andrews, and/or train to Stirling. But you can't get out into the countryside because trains don't go there . . .

But another option would be to take either day trips or a 3 or 4 day tour with Rabbies. They do small groups (in minibuses) and are really excellent. That way you can se glorious scenery without having to drive.

https://www.rabbies.com/en/scotland-...from-edinburgh

Given that it's still fairly early in the season, let me offer a slightly different idea, with the following schematic...

- Start with a couple of nights in central Edinburgh to see the main things - castle, Royal Mile (walk downhill, castle to Palace) New Town, some pubs, maybe the Dean village and path from Stockbridge... the usual.

- Relocate to a hotel near the airport, e.g. the Dakota, get a car and do a couple of day trips - maybe the East Neuk of Fife, Stirling, maybe even a long day trip loop (or an easy 2-day one) out to Glen Coe and back (this would be a very long day trip by Scottish standards, not so much by US standards.) Alternatively, some Rabbies tours as Janis suggests.

- Keep the car and drive to York via the Northumberland coast and Durham. Map - https://goo.gl/maps/7RfP49tRBqS2 . Take two or three days in the process, stopping at one or more of the fishing villages on the East Lothian or Berwickshire coasts, the Holy Island of Lindisfarne, Bamburgh for its remarkable castle, Alnwick ("Annick") for ITS amazing castle, and especially Durham, with its stunning cathedral. End in York, drop the car, and then take the train into London.

Driving down to York is a good idea -- the route is VERY site-dense so you could easily take a whole week just for that and still miss a lot of worthwhile 'stuff'. The Border Abbeys, Traquair House, Abbotsford, St Abb's Head, Lindisfarne, Bamburgh, Alnwick, Hadrian's Wall, Beamish, Durham, etc etc. But if you are very selective and pick just the few that most interest you you could make a nice 3 days out of it. If I didn't have three days, I'd probably forget about doing the drive and just take the train down to York. If you spent three days in York you could rent a car for one day and explore the Dales, or you could visit Castle Howard, or head east and visit the Moors, Whitby and Robinhood's Bay

They do not have time to drive - look at OP schedule. Well if they cut time off Scotland but then why even go there.

I'm jealous - London-York-Edinburgh is one of my favorite trips! If you're in York don't miss Fountains Abbey (45 minute drive on the way to Scotland) . It is magical!

>>They do not have time to drive - <<

No one said they have to drive. But they do have time IF they make certain decisions about what to see and do and what to skip. If they are not interested in seeing the bits between Edinburgh and York, then driving absolutely isn't necessary. And it isn't necessary even in rural Scotland if they take a Rabbies tour.

This is very doable and you sound way more organised than me - but as a Londoner and someone who is only just waking up to living and exploring beyond the M25 I can understand the desire to see as much as possible - If you are heading down the East side of UK I thoroughly recommend taking in Cambridge - esp if you have good weather - a day trip will suffice and you could do it from your jaunt to York - also try to take in some of the countryside/rural AONB - Lakes/Chilterns etc My only fear is that you will be ultra organised and scheduled and have a military operation rather than a great trip with memories - as for classy but affordable bookings tickets etc. there used to be a man in London who specialised in doing this for overseas people - even private dining and other stuff - don't know if he still does it - like a concierge but real + relatable: ByConrad.com - one thing he does is like picnic catering arranged in your destination for collection by Carluccios etc. May is also looking to be a lovely time to be on the South Coast - perhaps somewhere in East or West Sussex: Eastbourne or Chichester Harbour if you're posh!

Isleofwight (dot org, so no confusion re what you are promoting) . . . There is no mention in the OP of anything/place on the south coast. And the Chilterns?

Sort of like someone asking about Venice/Florence/Rome and saying they must go to Sicily instead.

Edinburgh is going to be tough, really everything is uphill, so I would budget for taxis to take you up a fair bit, especially from the low-level station and to the castle. The main drag is ok, but every turnoff leads to a hill.

York centre is very simple, if you are a train nut then from the station you walk only a short distance away from the town centre and you are in probably the best train museum in the world and its free. York historical centre has a lot of cobbles of just the wrong size (large fist size) so take care.

The other stops you might like are Newcastle or Durham. Durham is by far the most historically interesting small centre but again this is a town build on a volcanic plug (or similar) so cobbles, and uphill. Newcastle is a bigger city with the best bits on top of a hill but at least the station is on the top of the hill not on the bottom of the nearby valley.