2 weeks England to Edinburgh

That's an awful lot of moving around and it would be too aggressive for me. You'll certainly learn a lot about UK train stations. Is this inclusive of arrival and departure days?

For that length of time, I'd suggest a maximum of 3 destinations assuming flying into London and out of Edinburgh.

This is exclusive of arrival and departure dates.

I agree this is far too much moving. Three nights somewhere is only 2 full days. Day 1 in London will be lost to jet lag. That gives you 2 days to see London.

London to Newquay by train will take c 6.5+ hours door to door, assuming no rail delays. Newquay to Oxford will be a longer journey of over 7 hours, which will give you one day to see Oxford before embarking on another train journey of about 6 hours door to door to the Lake District.

Pick London plus two other locations for a more sensible pace. Cornwall and the Lake District are both better with a car.

You have some long travel days in there--4 to 6 hours of train time alone except for the trip from the Lake District to Edinburgh (though if you choose an obscure LD location, there could be substantial bus time on that leg), the result being that you'll often have only a very few hours at your new destination on your arrival day. In terms of full sightseeing days, what you're looking at is 2 days in Cornwall, 1 day in Oxford, 1 day in the Lake District and 2 days in Edinburgh. Plus Cornwall and the Lake District are rural areas where you'll be traveling around from village to village, rather than staying put.

Remember, too, that your arrival day in London will probably not be worth much due to jetlag and sleep-deprivation. Two days is really inadequate for a first trip to London.

This looks like two trips to me: one to London, Oxford and Cornwall; the other, to Edinburgh and the Lake District.

You've built in a logistical conundrum for yourselves by specifying both Cornwall and the Lake District. Both take a long time to get to, and both are best appreciated at a leisurely pace. It's not like passing by Big Ben and saying "Ah, now I've seen it."

If you really want your trip to include both of those regions, skip Edinburgh. Or else find 6-7 more days to add to your time on the ground.

Schedule Edinburgh and Scotland for another trip. Consider driving rental car. If you are used to driving; it is not that hard to drive on the left side...just follow the traffic flow. Making bus and train transfers take soooo much time. We drove thru England, Wales and Scotland and loved the freedom to change plans, etc. It allows you to drive right up to the places you want to see. We used a National Trust UK Touring Pass which is available online and can be picked up at several of their listed properties...this will save money on admissions. Their Home page will suggests some great itinerary ideas. Bon Voyage.

Thanks for all of the suggestions. Driving in the UK is something we just don’t want to do. We drove while on Virgin Gorda and it made us both nervous. We will more than likely select between a London, Cornwall, Oxford trip or a London, Lake District, and one other location trip. We are open to flying into one city and out of another which is why we had thought of a London to Edinburgh trip.

I think I would feel the same way I do when I have to drive through Atlanta at rush hour. I’m not from there. I’m in the slow lane doing 75 while the Antlantians are wanting to go 90 in the slow lane. I feel like I’m inconveniencing someone. I think I would feel the same way about attempting to drive on the left, like a jerk.

Driving is your best mode of transport but you’ve said it makes you uncomfortable. I’ll respect that and suggest the following route.

Fly into Manchester.
Public transport to the Lake District.
From then bus and train to Edinburgh
Edinburgh to London.
London train to Cornwall
Cornwall back to London
London flight home

I have a different view on this; I think it is quite doable ( we have done a similar trip).

I completely understand the reluctance to try driving on the left. We did it in New Zealand because public transport does not cover all the places we wanted to see. After that trip we swore never again. My sister and her husband drove in Ireland and it almost ruined their marriage ( I am sure you do not want to risk that!). So when we went to the UK together four years ago ( also in May), we agreed to take trains and were very happy with that. I bought the tickets in advance and they were inexpensive. We did not feel we spent too much time on trains or in stations. And we met some nice people along the way. Our itinerary included London, Edinburgh, Oban, Glasgow, a small town in Wales with lots of double LLsin the name, and Cornwall (Port Isaac), with 2-3 nights in each place. We called it the "UK sampler" -and did not feel rushed. We were there for a walking holiday and got in a moderate or a long walk every day, even on travel,days. ( We all have been to London several times before and would be again, so we did not need more than 2nights there).

For you I would suggest this:

After time in London, take the train to Newquay, a journey of 5 hours with one change on the way. This should be your longest train journey.

From Newquay, FLY to Edinburgh. Yes, there is an airport at Newquay, and there are direct flights to Edinburgh (and elsewhere).

From Edinburgh, it is a 1.5 hour journey by direct train (or with one change) to Penrith, gateway to the Lake District. There are frequent buses to Keswick, close by. ( We visited the Lake District on a 2016 trip, staying just out of Keswick in a lovely country house right on Derwentwater (lake). The Cat Bell's were just across the way. The lodge is operated by HF Holidays, if you are interested. They have a three-night minimum and specified start and end dates. They provided the transfer from Penrith station directly to the house.

I haven't forgotten Oxford; it would be your last stop. It is 4.5-5 hours by train from Penrith. (Or more if you do not pick the right train). Spend two nights in Oxford and then take the bus directly to Heathrow for your flight home. Or the train if you prefer; you head toward London and transfer to the Heathrow Connect at some station whose name I do not recall.