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9 day England/Scotland trip

Posted by on

My wife and I will be in Ireland for 6 days in late July and then flying to Great Britain for 9 days. We are thinking of flying from Dublin to London and then after 9 days flying out of Edinburgh back to Dublin, (our flights are already booked from Dublin to US)
I would love your feedback on the rough plan we have for now for the9 days.
Day 1 - Fly into London. Take train into the city and check into hotel for 2 nights. (budget hotel suggestions?)
Day 2- See the major sites around Central London. Hop on/Hop off bus. See a play in the evening.
Day 3 - Rent a car at Heathrow and drive to Windsor Castle. Drive to Averbury and drive on to Bath to spend the night.
Day 4 - Tour Bath in the morning. Drive through Cotswolds in the afternoon. Spend the night where?
Day 5 - Drive to Oxford in the morning for quick look. Drive 1 hour to Warwick Castle for the afternoon.
Drive 2-3 hours to Liverpool (or stop some where on the way?)
Day 6 - Finish drive to Liverpool and return rental car. Take Beatles tour bus at 2 pm.
Take 6 pm train to Edinburgh. Check into hotel.
Day 7 & 8 - 2 days in Scotland.
Suggestions for day trips out of Edinburgh or just stay there? We would like to see some countryside in our l
limited time in Scotland.
Day 9 - Another day in Edinburgh before flying back to Dublin on a 7:30 flight.

I know it is fast paced, but we enjoy seeing a lot and have done this pace before. Besides the pace, what do you think of the general sites we have chosen and transportation choices? Anything to leave out or add in? Or a suggested different route all together? I have not booked the 2 flights in and out of Dublin, so we could do it all in reverse order if that is better?
Thanks.

Posted by
223 posts

Though you may enjoy fast-paced travel I feel you're moving a little too fast. By the looks of things you'll be spending your holiday looking at motorways rather than sights. You will not get to see the Cotswolds by driving through them, and going to Oxford and Warwick Castle on the same day will be a lot of effort and little enjoyment. Also, using one of your two days in Scotland to head out to the countryside is yet more travelling. There's plenty to do in Edinburgh to last you two days and gives you some more relaxed time. If you insist on flitting between places then pick one a day. So for Day 3 choose Avebury or Windsor; Day 5 Oxford or Warwick. Given you'll only be spending a few hours there I'd consider omitting Liverpool altogether.

I know you say you enjoy fast-paced travel, I understand that completely, but will it really be a fun, memorable holiday if you're constantly clock-watching to ensure you stick to such a tight schedule and having to make quick decisions should things go wrong, all for the sake of taking a quick glance at something before moving onto the next attraction?

Posted by
7175 posts

Save the stress and cost of driving by staying in London and making day trips.

Day 1 - Fly into London. Take train into the city and check into hotel for 5 nights. (budget hotel suggestions?)
Day 2- See the major sites around Central London. Hop on/Hop off bus. See a play in the evening.
Day 3 - Day trip to Windsor Castle
Day 4 - Bath and Stonehenge tour
Day 5 - Day trip to Oxford
Day 6 - Train to York for 1 night
Day 7 - Train to Edinburgh for 2 nights
Day 8 - Day trip to Stirling Castle
Day 9 - Another day in Edinburgh before flying back to Dublin on a 7:30 flight.

Posted by
1010 posts

You can also do day trips out of London, with Evan Evans Tours. We found their tours were very convenient and thorough. We didn't want to drive anywhere inside or outside of London, during our trips. You can go to Oxford or Cambridge by train on your own. Then when you get off of the train, you can exit the stations and immediately get on the Hop On, Hop-off buses and tour Oxford or Cambridge.

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