You aim to see the whole of Ireland in three days at an average speed of 40mph. Get a map and get realistic. Sorry but there would be no point in coming apart from being able to say "I've been all round Ireland" its like covering Australia in less than a week.

Humpty . . . Many of us have driven from Edinburgh to London in a day. OF COURSE you can travel fast in parts of the UK. But here on Fodors we are seldom talking to folks commuting and needing to get from point A to point B 3 or 4 times a week.

You can't drive from Edinburgh to London in a day (or even 4) if you want to see 'Melrose Abbey, Hadrian's Wall, Durham, York, Stamford -- oh and can we fit in the Cotswolds too' . . .

You are coming from the point of view of a local who doesn't need to stop at every beauty spot since you've been there/see that many times.

Folks touring for their first -- and often only -- time are lucky if they average 35 mph.

To maybe illustrate another issue about drive times -- some of you have read my long/sad :) tale of the 6 ladies and 2 (3) cars TR. Just knowing the roads makes a HUGE difference.

I used to live in NW Oxfordshire re and know my way around pretty much like the back of my hand. The other driver had never been in the area. The ladies in my car got to see and do much more than the the others. I was able to zip around but their driver was LUCKY to keep <i>up</i> to even 30 mph.

janisj has made an important point. Knowing the roads and being familar with the (sometimes) quirks of driving in a foreign country results in longer drive times and, then, you need to add time for sightseeing stops. It's not just going down the road and avoiding the garden centres while trying to get to point B. There are few roads in Ireland and Scotland where anyone could average 60mph.

Unfortunately the OP has not yet responded which leaves me wondering about what kind of trip they'll have with the itinerary from Hell. I hope they do come back and take into consideration some of the excellent advice that's been offered.

Oh jeeze -- I lived in NE Oxon . . . Not sure where the 'NW' came from --- but I still know the area :)

"There are few roads in Ireland and Scotland where anyone could average 60mph." I know plenty of roads in Scotland - and not just motorway / dual carriageway - where I could maintain an average of 60mph, but then I know the roads well so I know where the speed cameras are, know where it's pointless trying to overtake, know what's round the corner and hence how quickly I can enter the corner.

If you haven't already booked your flight, I would start in Paris, have a couple of days there, get the train to London, have a few days there, then drive either west or north visiting some (but not all) of the sights you have listed from Day 7 onward. I would scrub Ireland (sorry!).

That way you will still get to see three countries (France, England and either Wales or Scotland) but not be quite so stretched.

Actually, in four weeks you could fit in both Wales and Scotland if you wanted to, so make that four countries, but still forget Ireland.

Humpty, no, my average 35mph doesn't include sightseeing but does include a quick lunch & coffee stops for the driver on long journeys. This is based on my own experience of travelling in the UK in the last 10 years or so, including visiting relatives up to 400 miles away. Sometimes we do better (that 400 miles has been known to take as little as 9.5 hours :-)) but I wouldn't assume we can.