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14 Day Trip - July 2017 - Beginning and ending in London with 2 boys 10/15 - Itinerary Help

Posted by on

My wife and I are taking our 10 and 15 year old sons to England in July. We have allocated 14 days which includes arriving on the morning of the 11th and departing on the afternoon of the 25th. Teenager is into art and theater while 10 year old is open to whatever. We spent 2 weeks in Australia 4 years back and mostly did site seeing and boys enjoyed it all.

From discussions with colleagues the idea was to spend 4 nights in London, drive to Cotwolds to spend 3 nights, Lake District 3 nights, Edinburgh 3 nights - train back to London on the 24th Leave London on the 25th.

Some comments seem to have suggested driving isn't a good idea except maybe once out of the city.

I'm concerned Scotland might be too much as I'm sure plenty to see in Southern England. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Posted by
1069 posts

" I'm from Texas so 5 hours is long drive but 1 1/2 - 2 hours is scenic. "

That's as may be BUT you're not driving on our congested narrow roads in Texas.

Posted by
6113 posts

"but 1 1/2 - 2 hours is scenic". None of the drives that you are anticipating can be done in this timescale.

London to the Cotswolds (they are a large area and depending on where in the Cotswolds you are heading, this will be a 2.5+ hour drive (this doesn't allow any time for picking the hire car up). Hiring from central London isn't recommended (there is a Congestion Charge of £11.50 per day, plus the traffic is hideous if you don't know your way round).

Cotswolds to the Lake District - on a good day will take 5.5/6 hours using boring motorways and on a bad traffic day (we have plenty of those), it could take 7+ hours.

The Lake District to Edinburgh - 3 hours on a good day. All the times given do not allow for any stops or sightseeing.

London - four nights would be the minimum that I would spend here and you could add more nights. Your son will be able to get his fill of art and theatre.

The Cotswolds are a little out of the way if you are heading to the Lake District and I wouldn't have thought that they would appeal to your sons. I would be tempted to scrap the Cotswolds and visit north Wales if you are interested in castles, then go to the Lakes. Then either go to York or Edinburgh and drop the car there before taking the train back to London. Even better if you fly open jaw back from Manchester or Edinburgh to avoid as much back tracking.

Alternatively, you could just base yourselves in southern England or anyone of hundreds of options!

Posted by
29 posts

The Cotswolds looks nice and appears we could use a cottage as a base for visiting areas. Is Moreton-in-Marsh a nice areas. Looks like Oxford, Warwick Castle, and a few other areas surround it.

Posted by
2775 posts

Instead of Moreton-in-Marsh I would stay in Bourton-on-the-Water, look up the model village in Bourton-on-the-Water I'm sure your sons would enjoy seeing it. Also, River Windrush flows through the village, the average dept of it is 10inches, your 10 year old would enjoy taking off his shoes and playing in it for a while. Sudeley Castle is 12 miles, 20 minute drive and Blenheim Palace is 25 miles a 40 minute drive from Bourton-on-the-Water.

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