mollymm

Hello fellow travelers!
My husband and I would like to try and see some of the natural beauty of England and Scotland by car with only 10 days!!!
He wants to spend at least a two days in London to see Westminster, Tower of London, Changing of the Guard etc (although we could do one day in London then take off on our road trip and a final day in London when we return before coming home). Then we thought we should head south and see the seven sisters cliffs... and begin heading north along the west coast towards the lake district, Loch Ness and Edinburgh and back down the east coast back to London. We would also appreciate Bed & Breakfast recommendations or other romantic places to stay!

Any suggestions on where to go in just ten days? Or any resources that you think may help us out in our quest for a wonderful experience ? I did purchase an AA 2010 road map as well as travel guides for Scotland and England.

Also, I have been to England twice, but don't mind seeing anything again... Stratford, Bath, Dover, Oxford, Cambridge etc - because I know he will love it all just as much at I did the first and second visit : )

Thanks so much!
M & M

janisj

"Then we thought we should head south and see the seven sisters cliffs... and begin heading north along the west coast towards the lake district, Loch Ness and Edinburgh and back down the east coast back to London."

10 days simply isn't long enough to cover half of that itinerary -- and that is not even counting any time in London.

Your best bet would be to fly open jaw into London and out of Edinburgh or Glasgow (or visa versa) so you only have to drive one way, not a full loop around the island. But even then you'd be pushing it beyond limits to have time in London and near Inverness and in Kent.

I wouldn't do less than 3 days in London -- if you arrive there. Since your first day will be pretty much lost to jet lag, you'd really only have about 2 days in London.

What I'd do is --

• Fly into Edinburgh and stay 2 nights car-less. Get over the jetlag and see the city. Edinburgh is much more 'doable' in 2 days than is London.

• Then pick up a car and spend 3 days on a VERY brief driving tour of a bit of the central/highlands area.

• Then drive EITHER the west side through the Lake District for 2 nights - or the east side for York/N Yorkshire for 2 nights. It will take a big chunk of one day just to get to either location - so 2 nights really only give you 1+ full day there.

• Drop the car and take the train to London for the last 3 days - using one of those for a day trip to Eastbourne by train. That is if you must squeeze in the seven sisters.

If you do the Lakes - take the train from Manchester, if York - take the train from there.

mollymm

I agree that we are trying to fit a lot in... BUT we only want to see a few things in London - honestly! (Tower of London, Changing of the Guard, Westminster)

Perhaps we should stick with England only... and forget going up to Scotland
I would really like to see the Lake district... and as much of the coastline as possible. He wants to avoid most touristy places... so we can avoid most of the things I have already seen like Bath.

I wish I could take more time off work to squeeze more in... but less is typically better... makes you want more!

see_the_world7

If you don't count the day you arrive and you really only want to do those few things in London, then 1 day in London is fine. Westminster opens at 9:30am, changing of the guard is at 11:30am (although only every other day in winter so check the schedule depending when you go) and then the Tower of London is open until 4:30pm. I would NOT try to do a full day like that if you have an early morning landing from an overnight flight. But you could perhaps see Westminster and changing of the guard the day you arrive, then do Tower of London the following day.

michele_d

hi mollymm
If you want to see the actual changing of the guard as opposed to just the horses and riders marching in then you need to get there ahead of time to get a good spot. I don't know if winter time is much different than August, but we got there nearly 1 1/2 hrs ahead and only barely got a spot on the raised statue in front of the palace. We couldn't see the actual changing of the guard but the riders riding in were fantastic to watch.
Have fun,
Michele

mollymm

Thanks so much Michele
I did see it once and I remember getting there plenty early... probably a grab a coffee and pastry and eat while we wait kind of morning Isn't it amazing how pushy some people get just to snap a photo or get a place? I was in total defense mode the whole time in case some camera toting tourist (like myself) was rude enough to push me out of my spot ha ha!

michele_d

Hi mollymm,
Yes, unfortunately we really had to hold tight to our spot as others would try to squeeze 'just one more' person into the already tiny area. At one point before the ceremony I tried to get one picture of the palace and had an awful time just trying to explain that I didn't want their spot, I just wanted to stand there for 5 seconds to take a picture...if looks could kill.

We really felt sorry for the policeman patrolling on foot...he would ask repeatedly for people to clear the path, stand on the curb, don't walk on the wall etc and there were many who would pretend not to understand just so they could get a better viewing spot...poor guy was so frustrated...really felt bad for him...wonder who he ticked off to be assigned that patrol!

Have a great time,
Michele

mollymm

Michele -
I never noticed that! He must be miserable.. but perhaps it is a prestigious position that heralds some sort of award after a years time and then you get to be on the queen's secret service! ha ha!

But it sounds like I would also have difficulty watching that take place - how rude!! All for a photo that you could easily purchase on a postcard! The world must revolve around these people!

Thanks again Michele!
Molly

tod

mollymm - Here's how we enjoyed one of the most lovely holiday trips we've ever done:
http://tinyurl.com/cwarzw

Lifeman

mollymm--It really is asking too much to see all of Scotland and England in 10 days. If you're only wanting a brief three nights in London as an immovable part of your trip, then I'd do this:

3 nights London
Train to York--2 nights
Hire car to Lake District -3 nights-stay Windermere or Bowness
Drive to Manchester-overnight-drop car
Train to Manchester-2 nights if you can fly Manchester back to the US, or 1 night then back to London for flight home

This is a lot less hectic and relaxed.

kfoster2047

mollym - this is what we did on a similar trip several years ago, although we didn't make it to Scotland (that's this summer's trip!). We had a great time and found the driving to be reasonable, but I understand not everyone likes to move around as much as we do. We tried to alternate driving days with around town days and to take into account that if we got somewhere late in the day, we would want to spend time there the next day.

Day 1 - Arrive and drive to Bath, stopping at Stonehenge on the way. Overnight Bath. We stayed at the Badminton Villa just outside of town (and a steep uphill walk back) but nice view and very friendly. No A/C which was a problem since we were there during a heat wave.

Day 2 - Day in Bath - Roman Baths; Royal Crescent; Assembly Rooms; Museum of Costume. Also a fascinating little museum called the Museum of Work which remains to this day my husband's favorite museum. Overnight in Bath

Day 3 - Drive through Cotswolds stopping in Castle Combe, Chipping Camden and Hidcote Manor Gardens. Overnight in Stratford on Avon. Stayed at Sequoia B&B (convenient but nothing special)

Day 4 - Shakespeare's birthplace and Ann Hathaway's cottage in the morning, then drive to the Lake Country (longish drive). Overnight in Windermere. Blenheim Lodge B&B (small and friendly)

Day 5 - Enjoyed the scenery (and the lake getting buzzed by fighter planes) and went to Beatrix Potter's farm. Overnight in Windermere

Day 6 - Drive up to Hadrian's Wall, stopping at the Roman Fort, and then down to York. Overnight in York. Hazelwood B&B (just outside city walls but very pretty)

Day 7 - Day in York - Jorvik Viking Exhibit (not as good as I remembered, York Minster, Shambles, and a museum I can't remember. Overnight in York

Day 8 - Drive to Cambridge and then on to London by mid-afternoon. Stayed at the Citadines Trafalgar (not cute, but love the location and they had parking for the car)

Day 9 - London. Not sure what we did this trip but sounds like you already have that part covered. Overnight in London.

Day 10 - Home. (Not sure if your 10 days covered flight days but this could also be another London day.)

Hope this helps!

alan64

Although there's no way one can see all of London in two days, you sound like you both love outdoors, scenery and smaller towns/villages. If so, I don't think there's anything wrong with limiting your time in London to just see a few essentials for those two days. If you love your time there, London is one of the easier places to return to IMO, and next time you could stay a whole week!

Other than that point, I like janisj's suggestions. Since I love both the Lake district and York/the Yorkshire dales, I'd skip Scotland and go for those places along with a couple days in London. Fly in/out of London & Manchester or visa versa.

Lifeman

Sorry, the following:

Train to Manchester-2 nights if you can fly Manchester back to the US, or 1 night then back to London for flight home

should read: Manchester-2 nights if you can fly Manchester back to the US, or 1 night then back to London for flight home
Train to London Euston from Manchester Piccadilly station.

mollymm

Alright all... After much thought I have decided that we should stay in the South for this trip. We had already purchased our round trip tickets to London so we are going to save Scotland and the Lake district for next time. I am sad about it... but I really don't see a point to driving all the way to the Lake district and not going to Scotland. I also don't want to drive from Edinburgh to London the night before we leave England... just to get on a plane and fly home... too much traveling!

Perhaps I will give in and see some of the Mid-England area... almost to the Lake district. Regardless I know we will enjoy ourselves and see much natural beauty. I have been to most of the popular tourist towns twice... my husband deserves to see that part of Britain too! (or at least the less touristy places as he doesn't want to be stuck in museums etc

There are so many places to see! Now that I am planning for Lower England I think I opened a new can of worms for myself! ha ha!
Thanks again all - Foster I just may use some of your itinerary!
Thanks!
MM