Arriving in London versus scotland

May 8th will be a Bank Holiday following the coronation, but I would imagine many people will be making their way back home by that point, so I would think your chances of finding something reasonable in London would be good.

Have you checked hotel prices? I would go to a couple of hotels you are thinking about and check their prices for that day. Or try a booking site like booking.com to check prices. If they're too high, then switch your plans to start in Scotland.

I'm not quite clear - are you planning to use the train or drive? If you are wanting to 'experience real English countryside' you may be better off driving. The A68 from Edinburgh down through the Borders and Northumberland gets you into some wild and very beautiful countryside. There's good walking along Hadrian's Wall. After Darlington you have the choice of either the North York Moors or Yorshire Dales - again with lots of good walking, particularly in the Dales. Further south, there is the Peak District.

We were in London and then Edinburgh during the observance for the Queen's funeral and lying in state. Our airbnb hosts were absolutely stunned by how "crazy" different areas were. We did not run into any excessive crowds except at Buckingham Palace and in the park there.

We essentially switched places with the queen, departing London for Edinburgh the day she was moved to London from Edinburgh. I can't imagine Edinburgh would have been pleasant while events were ongoing there as it's much more cramped and they had to set up huge bleachers and such. They were in recovery mode when we arrived but it was reasonably calm the following day.