I am traveling with my family of 4 to the UK this summer, flying in and out of Glasgow. We are planning to travel by overnight train to Paris from Edinburgh, then break up the trip back to Glasgow with two nights in towns north of London so we could experience some of England. The train info. is somewhat confusing, and I'm wondering if we've made a mistake in trying to travel so far by train. It looks like Cambridge and York would make a logical combination, but I'm wondering if you have any other suggestions for a combination of overnight stops that would make the most sense with regard to straight-forward train routes and smaller towns that offer a good representation of England's rich cultural history. Help, please!

With a family of 4 check into a BritRail Pass, if travelinng more than a day or two on trains as with the Family Pass all kids under 16 get a free pass. and also compare fares at www.nationalrail.co.uk - there are some nice discounts if you book far in advance but they may have restrictions - a pass lets you hop on any train anytime but you do have to be traveling at least 3 or 4 days of some distance on trains - but the Family Pass where kids under 16 get a free pass may make a pass viable where it would not be for folks without kids. For lots of great info on British trains check out www.seat61.com (for pass prices click on this site's link to RailEurope USA; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com.

for a possible itinerary - Scotland to Lake District
Lake District to either Bath or York and then back to London - you could also use a pass on day trips from London to say Stonehenge (Salisbury), Oxford, Shakespeare's Stratford, etc.)

IMO getting to Paris from Glasgow or Edinburgh would be cheaper and a heck of a lot faster by plane.

If it was me, I'd fly to Paris and then take the Eurostar back to London and trains north from there. Taking the train both directions doesn't make a lot of sense.

How long is your entire trip?

Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts! Our entire trip is 3 weeks, the first week visiting the Isle of Iona and Edinburgh, the second week in Paris, the last night of our time in France in Chartes, with 3 days to get back to Glasgow for our flight home. We are considering a night in Cambridge and and night in York, with our final night in Glasgow. It looks like there is an overnight Caledonia Sleeper car available for the trip from Edinburgh to London, then a regular train from London to Paris. What I have not been able to determine from the websites is how to combine train travel in the UK with the trip to Paris, adding a sleeper car, and how flexible train passes would be for breaking up the trip for stops in Edinburgh, York, and Cambridge. I really appreciate the feedback.

I agree with Janis about flying yo Paris, unless the sleeper train is an important part of your vacation experience.

The London, Cambridge, York, Glasgow train travel over 3 days is simple enough.

1. London to Cambridge, frequent direct trains, 45 mins. to an hour, fare around £20
2. Cambridge to York, regular trains requiring a change in Peterborough, fares from £25 (restricted advance purchase) to £78 (open, walk up)
3. York to Glasgow, about 4 hrs, a few direct trains but most require a change in Glasgow, fares from £21 (restricted advance purchase) to £86 (open, walk up)

The national rail site referenced above is where you find fares and schedules.

<i>then a regular train from London to Paris</i>

There are no "regular trains" - there is the Eurostar which isn't covered by railpasses. In theory you can combine a UK train ticket with a Eurostar ticket by booking through the UK version of the Eurostar website but I suspect booking the sleeper and Eurostar will be difficult - and impossible if you want to book a Bargain Berth

First thing you should do is investigate "open jaw" / "Multi-city" tickets to see if you can fly home from Paris. This will save you a day of travel of your holiday.

From Edinburgh take the train to York, then the next day take other trains to Cambridge (via Peterborough). From there take a train to London and Eurostar to Paris (this can be booked as one ticket - see above), then either fly home from Paris or fly to Glasgow for your flight home. No need for sleeper trains and it maximises your time in Europe.

I utterly agree with Janis, unless being on a train is what you want to experience (and you will get plenty of that on the way back).

Your route back is on the "wrong" side of the country, although on the West Coast Main Line pretty places to get off are fewer and further between. I think my recommendations would be Lichfield and Keswick (you get off at Penrith and take a bus link to Keswick)

Certainly Paris by train in at least one direction is easy as the Gare du Nord is in the centre of the city. I hope my blog posts Passionate About Paris http://thefeaturewriter.wordpress.com may help when you get to plan the fine detail of your stay there. Wishing you all a wonderful trip.

ww.scotrail.co.uk/caledoniansleeper/index.html

If taking the Caledonian Sleeper trains, as I have done on occasion and have been very happy with the accommodations - being amongst the finest in Europe, be sure to book as early as possible as you can save tons of money by snagging the very limited in number I believe deep discounted tickets. If you did have a railpass then the pass would cover the train fare but you would have to pay a supplement for the actual sleeping accommodation of your choice.

Thank you all for the suggestions! They are very helpful.