2 weeks in the UK

CatherineK,
We planned a road tour driving a rental car in 2017 for four weeks in October.
Initially, I wanted to visit England, Wales and Scotland (not going to London at all).
The more than I planned, we decided to limit our itinerary to England (nothing northeast or south
east of London and south Wales.

Our itinerary included Bath, Wells, Glastonbury, Tintern Abby, several castles in Wales, Cardiff, Tenby, St. David's and the small village in Cardiganshire where my paternal ancestors were from until 1716. Also, we visited Oxford, Blenheim Palace, Stratford Upon Avon, the Cotswolds (based in Chipping Campden), Warwick Castle, York, the Yorkshire Dales, Whitby, Durham, Hadrian's Wall, the Lake District and Winchester.

I highly recommend Winchester, the Cotswolds, Stratford Upon Avon, York, Durham and South Wales if you have time.
If you drive, get a rental car with automatic transmission and a navigation system.

The British countryside is amazing and very scenic. Most farms have either hedgerows or stone walls around them. There are many places where you find the quaint homes with thatched roofs (lots in the Cotswolds). The cathedrals at Winchester, York and Durham are amazing. Walk the ancient walls of York and visit the National Railway Museum there. The Lake District is great if you like outdoor activities like hiking.

Do not try to drive long distances. We only had three days were we drove more than two hours from place to place. I largely stuck to the speed limit, since driving on the left was an adjustment. British drivers tend to be polite.

If you go to Bath, recommend the Brooks Guesthouse as well as The Scallop Shell for the best fish and chips in England.

Here is my detailed review of our trip.
https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=599139

In your timescale I would opt for Scotland or Ireland.

Start with a few days in London then take the train to York for a few nights. Hire a car if you are happy doing so and see the Yorkshire Dales and Whitby. Drive to Durham and spend a day at Beamish Museum and another seeing Hadrian’s Wall and Northumberland. Drive to Edinburgh and spend 3 days minimum here. If you have any time left, take a trip to the Fife coast and St Andrews.

If time is tighter, drop Durham and spend longer in Fife and add in Stirling. Fly home from Edinburgh.

Plan B - London for a few nights, then train to Glasgow have a couple of nights then hire a car. Drive to Glencoe and explore the Highlands, head to Nairn near Inverness for Culloden etc then end in Edinburgh.

Since you've been to London twice, my suggestion is to bypass it.

Fly directly into Edinburgh. From there , there is much to see in Scotland. At least a week. From there choose either more of England or Ireland. Not both. You could head down to the Lake District of England.

Thank you all for your ideas and suggestions! I hadn’t even gotten to the point of thinking about flying in or out of Edinburgh - great idea! I was initially thinking that I really wanted to see Ireland more than Scotland but the more I read about Scotland I think it might be the winner of the two.

If you want to leave the driving to someone else so you can enjoy the scenery--especially in Scotland--look into Rabbies Tours.

Their tours are in large vans--no more than 16 people. I've taken a few of their one day tours and they were excellent.

I've been all over the UK using public transit. Sometimes, the buses are mostly locals going from one town to another. Some are not used to seeing tourists on their buses--I think the suitcase gives it away--and they strike up a conversation. I've gotten some great tips on where to eat and what to see from them.

You really need to spend some time in London for your daughter to shop. After numerous trips to London, we recently went to Kew Gardens and recommend taking the boat one way.
I also recommend Durham, Rabbies tour, Mad Max tour from Bath, the St. Fagan's folk park near Cardiff. I have traveled with my 18-20 yr old daughter twice to London, once to Bath, once to Durham and York. She is a big Harry Potter fan.

Don't know about Scotland but I loved the Yorkshire Dales and York. Used to work for a company had their main office in Harrogate. Also a lovely town.

Scenery, good food and lots of historic sites in Yorkshire. Plus it's easy to get the train to Edinburgh.

Fly open jaw. Fly into London out of Edinburgh.

Shopping for teen daughter in London options:
Carnaby Street, Forever 21 on Oxford Street, Camden Lock Market, Spitalfields Market, Portobello Road and the massive Westfield Shopping center in Shepard’s Bush.

In London have you visited Kew Gardens? The Sky Gardens? The Hill Gardens? How about Crystal Park gardens with the dinosaurs?

Take the teen for pub lunches. Along the Thames path in Richmond The White Cross. In London the Blackfriar, the Dove, Ye Olde Mitre.

If you want to properly see and experience Ireland car rental is a must IMHO. I’ve driven the island twice and throughly enjoyed finding hidden gems of villages and sites.

Thanks for the replies! So many great suggestions! I do wonder if we would regret not at least going to London for a couple of days? I like the idea of flying into Scotland and out of London (or the reverse).
We have been to Kew gardens - I’m a huge garden lover and that was a really cool garden to visit.
Thank you for the tour recommendations as well. It’s fun to do go on day tours. We went on a great one in the Cotswolds on one trip to London. It was the highlight of that trip.
Planning these trips is almost as fun as going on them and I learn so much on the RS travel forum!