I was lucky enough to earn a place in the 2026 London Marathon. Travel plans- arrive Friday morning from US-visit race expo for race day- check into hotel. Saturday take it easy but still do some exploring. Sunday Run Marathon- Monday rest, eat, explore. Here’s where I have a gap. We are planning to head to Manchester Friday and go to the Manchester United Match on Saturday and fly back to US from Manchester on Sunday.
I think the days leading up to and right after the race will be time to see what we want to see in London. I’m thinking about traveling to Scotland via train Tue- Fri - take the train to Manchester on Friday.
Question is would it be too much to try and go to Glasgow and Edinburgh in 3 days? 2 nights Glasgow 1 night Edinburgh? If I had to choose 1 should I choose Glasgow or Edinburgh?
Am I giving us enough time in London?
Am I trying to do too much after running a marathon??
Help!
Thanks!!
Posted by
London
594 posts
Oh that's exciting! Good luck with your marathon. A few thoughts from me:
-I'm not a runner myself but I wonder how much you'll be up to seeing/walking around the day after- just something to consider.
-There's so much to see in London you could very easily fill Monday-Thursday with sightseeing.
-If you do want to visit Scotland, I would recommend Edinburgh over Glasgow for a first visit. Just remember it's at least four hours to get the train up so you will spend half a day doing that, plus the train back down to Manchester which is something like another three hours (which is a bit longer than from London). I think if you really want to see Edinburgh more than some of the big sites in London, then go for it. Otherwise just stay here.
-Do you have United tickets already? They are very hard to get and if it's a more popular match most of the tickets go to members and don't even make it to general sale (tho admittedly it's been a while since I've tried to buy football tickets so not sure what the latest systems are like).
Posted by
Penzance
5 posts
Are you talking about Man Utd v. Liverpool on 2nd May? If so a couple of things to note. Firstly, that game will almost certainly not happen on the Saturday at 1500. It may happen on the Sunday or the Monday as that is a Bank Holiday. Secondly that is the biggest match in the calendar for Man U. and getting tickets will be extremely difficult unless you go down the hospitality route which will be very, very expensive and still difficult to come by. Be aware that anyone other than the club or their authorised resellers as listed on the club website is breaking the law so if you go that route be aware of that and in the quite likely situation where you pay and get no ticket or are refused entry you will have no come back.
Posted by
Surrey, UK
483 posts
According to the Man U website, the match is at 1500 on 2 May (Sat) and as I type there are just 360 tickets left, starting at over £200 each.
Don't wait!
Posted by
Penzance
5 posts
That match will almost certainly not take place at 1500 on Saturday 2nd May so do not build plans around that day and time.
Posted by
Preston UK
1585 posts
There is an immediate big warning here. That is that whilst the Manchester United game is currently scheduled to be at 3pm on 25th April, the exact date and time will not be finally agreed until a few weeks before the game, when the TV companies have made their selections. This means that the game could happen any time from Friday evening to Monday evening. As the game is against Brentford the chance of it moving is less than with some other teams but these days a great many games are shown live on TV and United have a big International fan base that is attractive.
As a result and given that you have an immovable activity on the Sunday I would be loathe to suggest that you secure tickets now. It also means that planning your trip will be difficult as well. It is quite likely that the game will be on Saturday even if it is moved but moving to say 5.30 p.m. brings it’s own issues of getting back to London late, not an ideal preparation for the marathon.
Edit:- re the posts above the marathon is I think on 26th April so the game is at home to Brentford? If it is the following weekend you can forget attending a game against Liverpool as that will virtually definitely be on the Sunday afternoon.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
Wow!! I had no idea that there is chance of the match being moved. Thankfully we haven’t bought plane tickets yet and I can adjust our return home. We have already purchased tickets, we went through the hospitality route. My husband turns 50 the day before we head to London and going to a match at Old Trafford is life goals for him! And it is the Liverpool game on the 2nd that we have tickets for.
Any idea of how far how they would announce a change of date? Or are we at the mercy of it potentially happening that week while we are there?
I am planning to wait until maybe December/January to purchase flights.
Posted by
Preston UK
1585 posts
The Liverpool game will definitely be moved for live TV coverage. Whilst it could be any time over the weekend it is most likely to be Sunday afternoon but could be Saturday lunchtime or teatime. As it is near the end of the season it will not be decided until a few weeks before.
Posted by
Penzance
5 posts
It’s all down to TV. Television executives run football. The latest news is that they plan to confirm dates for matches originally scheduled at 1500 on Saturday 2nd of May on 25th March. (Although these deadlines are rarely met).
Posted by
Lake District, England
10184 posts
So book your flight home for Tuesday, but still come down from Scotland on the Friday. The belief is that there will be a rail line closure, with replacement buses on the Saturday to Monday through the Lake District.
It will be February or March before that is confirmed, but is what has been intimated locally.
What you do need to do is to book your hotel for those three nights, as prices in Central Manchester and Liverpool are already through the roof. They will only increase further.
However there are a lot of places within very easy rail access of Manchester by train or tram where that is not so- Stockport, Bolton, Wigan, Oldham, Rochdale, Bury, Manchester Airport.
I assume you are flying open jaw, into London and out of Manchester. The airport has 24/7 public transport, so there are worse places to stay. About 20 minutes into the city.