Arriving in Heathrow, Quarantining in Edinburgh?

She would like to fly into Heathrow (from the US), and take a train to Edinburgh,

that is not allowed.

The law is that is if you enter the UK from a non-exempt country you need to self isolate (food sent in, no going out, etc.,) for 14 days, and you can only use public transport (trains, buses, etc.) if no other alternative is available.

Clearly there are at least 2 legal alternatives available - self drive car rental (car hire), and taxi.

That is today. Nobody knows what will happen tomorrow. Could be better, more likely worse.

Edinburgh and all of the central belt of Scotland are under lockdown which is stricter than Tier 3 in England.

The entire northwest and northeast of England is under either Tier 3 lockdown or Tier 2 at the moment. In order to travel from Heathrow to Edinburgh she will have to travel through one or both of those areas.

Has she got paperwork to allow her to enter Scotland?

She might find it easier to fly into Edinburgh from home. Less exposure for her and the people around her.

She may find it less expensive overall as well....

Look at other airlines like Delta. It's less than $600 round trip to EDI with 2 stops (Atlanta, Amsterdam). I am not finding that EDI costs more than LHR.

Using the tube and train to get from Heathrow to Edinburgh is of course possible but it's relatively expensive and not something that someone with knowledge of the London area would readily choose to do over flying directly to Scotland. Not already having a contactless credit card or Oyster Card would add an extra step.

If like me you have never heard of work away https://www.workaway.info/ The opportunity to teach English in the Yucatan sounds a lot more appealing in January than does Scotland (warm weather, no quarantine).

I'm somewhat interested what this means, "All Workawayers must obtain the relevant visa (working, volunteering or otherwise) for the country they are travelling to." Does volunteering require a visa normally?

This is all very helpful, thank you. I will encourage her to go straight to Edinburgh - both for the legality of the situation, and you are right - it will probably end up being cheaper in the long run.

I believe that if you intend to stay for longer than 6 months, a work visa is required.

I'm somewhat interested what this means, "All Workawayers must obtain
the relevant visa (working, volunteering or otherwise) for the country
they are travelling to." Does volunteering require a visa normally?

Volunteering isn't always treated as an activity that any tourist can do. As a notable example for the purposes of this thread, the UK does not normally permit visitors to volunteer for more than 30 days, and volunteering also can't be the main purpose of the visit. (So I hope the OP's daughter has this straightened out immigration/visa-wise.)

From the Immigration Rules Visitors Appendix 3 (Permitted Activities for All Visitors):

Volunteering

A visitor may undertake incidental volunteering (i.e. the main purpose of the visit is not to volunteer), provided it lasts no more than 30 days in total and is for a charity that is registered with either the Charity Commission for England and Wales; the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland; or the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator.

Isn't her work-away program keeping her informed of travel/quarantine, visa and other requirements? Of course, the traveler should always take the final responsibility for him/herself, but I think it would be great if her sponsoring organization could help out a bit, too.

Thanks Andrew.

If volunteering in the UK is anything like being enrolled in a university there, then (for stays less than 6 months) an authorizing letter will be enough for immigration, without the need for a visa application or special fee. But it may not be treated the same, I'm only guessing.

Hi Kristine, I showed Workaway to a friend’s daughter, and she was wondering what kind of volunteer work your daughter will be doing in exchange for living with a family? Helping the host family like a work exchange, or working at a volunteer charity?