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Arriving in London versus scotland

I am planning a 2 week trip to London and Scotland. I wanted to do :May 8 and now aware that the king’s coronation is on May the 6. Will it be better to arrive in Scotland first to avoid the crowds? Or will I be able to find reasonable price hotels in London on the 8th.

My question is therefore which one first.

Also will like to travel in the English country side from Scotland to England or vice versa. Better along the coast or mid section? I love walking and want to experience real English countryside. I know there is the LNER I can use from eEdinburgh to Kings Cross.

My question is - What is a good stop in between ?

Posted by
6231 posts

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.

Posted by
1797 posts

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.

Posted by
295 posts

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.