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9 day itinerary help!

Posted by on

I just booked flights in/out of London for October because I found a great deal, so now trying to frantically figure the rest out. My husband and I met and lived, briefly, in Edinburgh YEARS ago, so he wants to go up there. We have 2 boys, 11 and 14, who have never been to the UK. It's been about 13 years for us.

We want to see London (with possibly a day trip to Oxford), Edinburgh and York if we can make it work without it feeling too crazy. Trying to figure out the best way to do it.

We land at 6:40am Oct 5, and are thinking of heading straight up to York for a night or two, then Edinburgh for 2-3 nights, then maybe the overnight train (Caledonian Express) back down to London to save time for the rest of the trip (we fly out around noon on the 14th). Wondering what we'd do until about 10pm at night (the overnight train boards at 11pm) with our boys if we went the overnight train route? Late dinner and wondering around? Might not be too bad if we sleep in that morning.

Any thoughts on this?
Thanks!
Julie

Posted by
11799 posts

It might seem extravagant but when in a situation like that, we have paid for an extra night of lodging so we can enjoy the day, then go back to shower and pack up for the night train (or flight). Even a brief pre-or-post dinner nap is possible.

Posted by
28249 posts

In on the 5th and out on the 14th would give you 8 full, relatively non-jetlagged days in the UK. While I wouldn't want to squeeze 3 hotels into that short a trip, your plan could work for you. The kids will probably look on the night train as a grand adventure. With luck you'll get enough sleep that it will be a net-positive experience. Keep in mind, though, that the fastest day trains take less than 5 hours, so the night train doesn't save you a full sightseeing day.

I would definitely want more than one night in York. Spending just the first night there would mean virtually no time at all since some of you may be zombies after the overnight flight.

Although I liked Oxford a lot, there's so much to see in London that I wouldn't plan a day-trip this time around. The Pitt-Rivers Museum might well appeal to your kids (shrunken heads!), but I think there will be more for them in London.

Posted by
4627 posts

I agree-omit Oxford and spend two nights in York.

Posted by
3 posts

Thank you! We have decided to do 2 nights in York, 2 nights/3 days in Edinburgh, overnight train back to London (yes, a grand adventure for them!) and have 4 days in London. Still want to squeeze in Oxford, but I think we can do it! Our kids are pretty good travelers. We've done that flight to Australia from the US (5 to LA, then 14 to Brisbane) many, many times and they handle it like champs. ;)

Posted by
8330 posts

You have 9 days.
York is great, we spent three nights there and were busy all the time. You need two nights there as a minimum. We spent over three hours in the Munster (Cathedral) that is amazing.
Walk the walls, visit the narrow streets area, a couple of museums and the National Railway Museum near the train station.

If you do 2 night in York and 2-3 in Edinburgh, with travel, that only leaves you with 4 nights in London. Skip Oxford for another trip.

Posted by
28249 posts

I did not go to the Yorvik Viking Center in York, but it sounds as if it's designed to appeal to children as well as adults.

The National Museum of Scotland also seems to appeal to all ages. I especially appreciated that the scientific/technical displays (not my thing at all) were mostly physically beautiful, so even I could enjoy looking at them.

There are some ghost walks in Edinburgh in the evening. They might appeal to the kids. I didn't do one.

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