We fly into London with the sole mission of ending up in Scotland. We plan on seeing Stonehenge ( yes, we know it is SW of London ) and we want to drive north from there. Between Stonehenge and Hadrians Wall, are there any places to stop along the way to break of the drive and stay overnight that would be a great stop over? We have a 4 and a 5 year old, we love history and the natural beauty. Any recommendations will help! Thank you!
Posted by
Troy, Oh, USA
2805 posts
The distance from Stonehenge to Hadrians Wall is about 368 miles. I would suggest Chester, which is half way, it's around 180 miles from Stonehenge. Chester is a very lovely city to visit.
Posted by
Brisbane, Australia
7175 posts
Chester for a city location or the Peak District for somewhere more pastoral.
Posted by
2599 posts
My opinion is that Stonehenge is simply not worth the bother considering the massive detour that you will have to make. Stonehenge is all well and good if you plan to tour the south of Britain. Throw in the fact that you have very young children and you would be travelling on some of Britain's busiest motorways and it just does not make sense. (I suggest you try and follow the routes on Google Earth with 'Traffic' enabled from the side menu. Do this when the Brit's have daytime).http://www.theaa.com/route-planner/index.jsp
My advice would be to pre-book (say 11 weeks out) train tickets from London (Kings Cross) to York - stay overnight and see this historic city - including the National Railway Museum & York Minster. Then, on pre-booked tickets, take the train to Edinburgh.
(You could return south from Glasgow via the west coast route to London Euston).
Best site for train times & fares = www.nationalrail.co.uk Make your bookings with Virgin Trains.
Hire a car once you plan to leave Edinburgh to go touring.
http://www.visityork.org
Posted by
Tunbridge Wells
6113 posts
I think that Stonehenge is very overrated, but if you are insistent on visiting, do it as a day trip from London, then take the train direct to Scotland, which will save you a very long and boring drive. Hire a car in Scotland.
Posted by
York
30 posts
I too find Stonehenge disappointing. Busy road nearby, difficult to get near the stones and not least the fact that what you see was reconstructed several decades ago.
There are loads of stone circles in the UK and most are in quiet, sometimes eerie places, where time almost seems circular and....I've taken that too far. Anyway, here is a wiki link to some others:
Posted by
WA, USA
330 posts
After your stop at Stonehenge, you might want to stop at the Avebury Stone Circle. We went their when our children were little. You can touch the stones and there's lots of space to run around.
Enjoy!
Posted by
Vancouver
63 posts
I too love Avebury. Picnicing amongst the stones is one of my favourite memories. It was likely a much more important site as well. Both our children loved it. If you are looking for iconic British sites to take the children to on your way north, Warwick Castle was a fun day out, York has amazing museums that are very child friendly, the Peaks district and Chatsworth house were fun for children on a sunny day and the Lake District is right on your way. If you do go to York, Alnwick Castle is a great stop and very recognizable from the first and second Harry Potter movie. So, if you really want Stonehenge, stop at Avebury afterwards and journey up the west coast perhaps stopping in the Lakes, or drive up the East coast and stop in York and perhaps Alnwick.
Posted by
Kingston, Surrey
239 posts
If you do decide on Stonehenge then Scotland, I'd echo the comment about stopping off in or near the Peak District, Ashbourne or perhaps Bakewell. You could go slightly further and try somewhere in Cumbria like Penrith or Carlisle, or the western side of the Yorkshire Dales.
Posted by
Austin, Texas
203 posts
Hi,
The Lake District is spectacular!!! Lots of hiking, beautiful waterfalls, chocolate and gingerbread shops in Grasmere, wonderful drive around Derwentwater Lake. Here are a few things we visited last May during our drive around Derwentwater Lake. Moss Beck Waterfall, Scale Force, Honister Slate Mine, Bowder Stone, Lodore Falls. I would think many things for kids to enjoy.
I second the suggestion about York also. The Railway Museum, Jorvik Viking Museum (never been there but heard it was good for kids), walking along the river Ouse to the Millennium Bridge where you can find the marvelous Rowntree Park. Such an interesting city...good for kids as well as adults.
Stopping by Bletchley Park where the Allies broke the Nazis secret code, is also an amazing place!!!
Last May we spent 2.5 weeks touring around England. We started in Salisbury (this Cathedral is amazing.....the tower tour walks you inside where you get to see the original structure of the cathedral built in the 1200's), visited Stonehenge, StourHead gardens, Waddesdon Manor, then journeyed to Bletchley, then up to Keswick and the Lake District for a short marvelous visit, then turned East to visit Hadrian's Wall, Castle Cragg, and York, before circling back to London.
SO MANY things to see between London and Scotland!!!! (And we certainly just hit a very few things which we consider highlights)
Posted by
6 posts
Stonehenge? Overrated, not worth detour and inaccessible. My wife and I just returned from the Isle of Harris, where we got to delve intimately in the standing stones at Callanish, and to top it all off we were alone, no other tourists that day........there are also similar stones in the Orkneys I believe. Spend more time in the North and Scotland