I was wondering if anyone has taken a train from Edinburgh to London, or the Cotswolds? Is there a high speed train similar to those in other European countries? I understand that the drive is long and slow going. Don't want to waste any time but would perfer not to deal with the airports if possible. We are planning to rent a car to travel around England a bit, but where we go first will depend on the possiblity of a train and it's stops.
Thanks for the help.

The train trip From Edinburgh to London takes about 4.5 hours -- it does not go through the Cotswolds. (if you want to hit the Cotswolds then it is a much longer journey w/ transfers)

York is about halfway between London and Edinburgh and is a lovely one night stopover if you have the time.

I haven't done any research on York. What is there to do there? Would we then rent a car to continue our trip to the Cotswolds or get back on the train to continue to London?

Sorry if you don;t like the "tour of train stations of europe" line - but it'd accurate and descriptive.

The OP already was concerned about trying to do too much. Encouragement based on incorrect info is not useful. (Even if a flight only takes one hour, the entire trip from city center to city center usually takes at least 4 to 5 hours - if not more).

nytraveler: Did you mean to post that on this thread? I don't see anything about lots of other destinations/too much/train stations of europe??

soods: "<i>Would we then rent a car to continue our trip to the Cotswolds or get back on the train to continue to London?</i>"

It is hard to answer piecemeal questions like that. It is better to lay out the whole itinerary you are considering and then we can suggest the best way(s) to get from place to place.

Thanks for your help janisj. I don't have the whole plan figured out yet, but my thoughts are...4 nights in Scottland. Edinburgh and some day trips possibly. Then 4 nights in the English country side and 4 nights in London. I don't know in which order yet. It really depends of the most time effienct way to fit it all in. We will be leaving London on the chunnel for 4 nights in Paris.

I've done Edinburgh=London by train and it sure beats driving or flying (unless you happen to already be conveniently right by the airports, by the time you check in and travel to and from airports it takes longer overall to fly). It's a lot quicker than driving (and probably costs less than the petrol).

My advice if you do choose this route is train. You can upgrade to First Class for £15 and I hugely recommend this, it's more comfortable, you get complementary drinks (tea, coffee, fruit juice, alcohol with meal), meals x 2 and snacks, and the staff really look after you. Made the journey a pleasure.

The friends with whom we recently attended an Edinburgh wedding continued on to London by train whie we flew home.

They loved it. They booked well in advance and noticed that the early trains are more expensive than trains after 9 AM. By leaving Waverly after 9, they traveled First Class economically and had a comfortable trip. Their experience was just as described by nona1.

I have taken it many times and find the sections from York to Edinburgh to be quite scenic.

Book well in advance it will allow you to achieve sizeable price reductions, the quality of the service has increased hugely over the past 10 years but it is well short of those in say France in terms of speed.

Be aware that if you a travelling at the weekend the infrastructure operator has a habit of closing lines down and replacing the train with a coach road link which is very annoying.

It is still, as someone posted above far more enjoyable than flying and the related security or using our ridiculous road system south of Birmingham.

Book at www.eastcoast.co.uk

Booking opens around 12 weeks ahead, fares from £18 one-way if you pre book.

Indeed 1st class starts at around £49 and includes at seat food and wine.

Personally I can see no advantage of the plane over the train if going from London to Edinburgh.

As for trains to the Cotswolds - depends where you are going but 1-1.5 hours will get you to any larger station. The time may be in the connection onwards to your accommodation which will require road transport, unless you are heading to Oxford or another city/town which has plenty of places to stay. I live in Stroud so far edge of the region and it takes 90 minutes to Paddington.

Tip on first class - if you select this as your initial ticket you'll pay more. If you go through the booking process for a standard seat (before you confirm) you'll be asked 'would you like to upgrade to first for £15 (or even £12.50 some days)?', and it saves you money doing it that way rather than looking at the first class prices initially.

An idea for a possible itinerary might be to take the train from London to Oxford. Oxford is not actually in the Cotswolds but nearby and well worth a visit. If you're insistent on staying in the Cotswolds, then you can take the train from Oxford to Moreton-in Marsh which is probably the quickest and easiest Cotswold village to get to from London/Oxford. You'll need to return to Oxford to get a train to York which is about a 3 1/2 hour trip depending on which train you take. York is about a 2 hour trip to Edinburgh.

Posters have provided you with some good information regarding the train from London to Edinburgh. The following website is excellent for planning a train journey. Have a look.

www.nationalrail.co.uk

Rethinking this and your best option for seeing the Cotswolds would be to stay in Oxford and take advantage of a day trip/tour. Oxford could easily be a full day if interested. Try Cotswold-Roaming as they offer several different tours of the area. Have a look at their website.

www.cotswold-roaming.co.uk