7 day itinerary after RS London city tour

If you want to stay two places in that week, try Edinburgh, Scotland (3 or 4 days), then stop at York for 4 or 3 days on the way back to London. If you want just England, Bath and York are both wonderful, although we’ve visited Bath just as a daytrip from London, and haven’t stayed overnight. Otherwise, you could combine Newcastle in far northeastern England (and near the eastern terminus of Hadrian’s Roman wall) and York.

We had an extended stay, in London only in April this year, and some days were pleasant and mild, but there were some heavy rainstorms other days and nights. A sweater and/or down vest would be good to have, in addition to a very good raincoat.

i much preferred York to Bath, so I like the Edinburgh/York plan.

Bath is a good location for visiting the cathedral cities of Wells and Salisbury, also Old Sarum just North of Salisbury. Tours also run to the stone circles of Stonehenge and Avebury (I prefer Avebury, it’s part of a large complex of sites). And of course Bath is full of must sees: the Roman baths and adjacent excavations, the Regency era buildings such as the Assembly Rooms and the Royal Crescent. You might consider one of the more central parts of England for your second base. Maybe Derbyshire? The Peak District is stunning and offers good walks if weather allows it. Otherwise there are stunning old country houses and castles, historic sites relating to the Industrial Revolution. Remember you lose a day of your vacation every time you change locations.

Personally I’d train from St Pancras station to Whitsable on the coast. About an hour and a half. From there bus to Canterbury if you wanted to see the famed cathedral. Otherwise enjoy the sea air and shops.

As far as hiking have you researched the length of the Thames path. Not a hiking trail but allows one to explore non touristy areas of London.

You could also review this website to see if a trail meets your criteria.

https://www.alltrails.com/england/london

Lastly, don’t be skittish about driving on the other side of the road. I’ve done it more than once. On one trip landed at Heathrow, took the bus to the car rental place on the ring road, got my vehicle and drove to Lyme Regis. Another time drove from Belfast in NI to Dingle in Ireland. You merely follow traffic in front of you. And BTW I was born when Truman was in office. But your vacation, your choice.
Both Bath and York are fine options.

I would stick to destinations that you can get to by train or bus and not drive. There are so many places you can see without driving. One of my favorites, like others, is York. We also took a small van tour of the countryside while in York.

I vote for Bath and York. I’m a huge fan of Bath as I love the contrast between the Roman history and the Georgian architecture. I like York but not as much although I know many feel differently.

As mentioned both are accessible by train.

Scotland might not be my favorite in April.

Does Easter fall during your visit? Just asking to think about crowds/ school holidays.

Thanks all! I like either doing bath and York, or York and Edinburgh. Getting between bath and York seems to require going thru London. I checked school holidays and they’ll be over by the time we go. Pam, why do you recommend avoiding Scotland in the spring? Weather?

Getting between bath and York seems to require going thru London.

Not necessarily. If you book a through ticket, then yes, you would probably have to go through London. But you can avoid that by buying two separate tickets, which could wind up being cheaper. For example, when I booked my train ticket from Carlisle to Oxford earlier this year, it kept forcing me to go through London, but by buying 2 separate tickets—Carlisle to Birmingham, then Birmingham to Oxford, I avoided London and it was cheaper than buying it together.

Pam, why do you recommend avoiding Scotland in the spring? Weather?

Yes, I'm sure that's what Pam is talking about. Scotland can get damp and chilly in early spring, although I don't know that I would let it detract me from visiting Edinburgh, which has many indoor sights. I think it would be more of an issue if you were visiting the Highlands.

Going from Bath to York you go to Bristol Temple Meads by train then there is an hourly Bristol TM to York train every hour taking 4 hours.

You will find the best value fares for that kind of journey on the Scotrail website- looking in 6 weeks time the 0948 from Bath, arrive York at 1430 is £54.70.

If you look on the GWR or Cross Country websites (the train operators) the fare is £113. The reason is that Scotrail 'splits' the fare up for you (at no extra cost), The reduced fare is a Bath to Bristol flexible Anytime single ticket and a Bristol to York Advance (Train Specific) ticket.

That is as fast and cheaper as going through London.

Yes, Mardee is reading my mind! It was weather that concerned me. And it matters if you are going early April vs late April.

It looks like you are from the DC area so you might be fine with early April (and have the clothing for it - waterproof outerlayer and puffy jacket/vest) whereas someone from a more southern location might not enjoy it as much. For myself, living in the NW, early April with any rain and associated cold/chilly weather would be doable.

Edinburgh will be fine in April. Yes it could be cool and wet but you’re not going to get frost or snow. It wouldn’t even occur to me not to go then.