Easter April 17 2022 in London and want to see the Best of London and Britain in 12 days

I googled Easter Sunday in London and came up with a site that had 30 suggestions of things to do over the long weekend. Be aware that it is usually school mid-term break and a four day holiday (Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday) so it will likely be very busy in London. Also transportation may be running on holiday schedules.

Edinburgh, being so far from where you need to end up, and the opposite end of the country from Southampton should come either first on your itinerary or be dropped. Then York, and Bath and London. What do you consider “must see”? You mention your interest in gardens, England is full of them but. April is probably not the time to see them at their best. Lots of daffodils etc but everything else will still be in bud.

I would recommend Avebury stone circle rather than Stonehenge; to me it is more interesting. It is part of a large complex of ceremonial sites and unlike Stonehenge, you can wander amongst the stones. There is an old village within the circle, along with a Tudor manor house and all is maintained by the National Trust.

Stonehenge is easily reached from Bath and is certainly an impressive site. Other places in the same area are Salisbury and Wells, with two of England’s most beautiful cathedrals. Or head to the coast, Winchester and Chichester, and then into Southampton. Portsmouth for HMS Victory.

Other places if you head into London, Blenham Palace, Oxford, Windsor, Kew Gardens.

2-4 days is barely enough time to scratch the surface of London. My go to is the British Museum….easy for me to spend a day wandering through that. London Museum concentrating on the history of London from earliest times, Tower of London, Greenwich and the Cutty Sark, a preserved tea clipper.,Westminster Abbey, St Paul’s, etc. You could spend all your time there and not see it all!

Lots to do and see in a fairly short time.

I agree that you need to scratch Edinburgh from this trip. It's too far away from both the beginning and end of your trip. And since you would want to be in Southampton by noon at the latest on the 27th, you really only have 11 days, the first of which will be affected by jet lag.

London is a huge city that has a long and storied history. Trying to even scratch the surface in 2-4 days is asking a lot. And what is a must see for one person is boring to the next. My advice is to read a few guidebooks to see what most interests YOU. Then make a list and figure out how many days you REALISTICALLY need to see them. And don't overlook the idea of day trips out of London, such as Windsor or Hampton Court. Once that is done you can consider nights in Bath or another place in the south, keeping in mind the time it will take to transit to Southampton.

Again, I'd recommend just one or 2 places from which you could do a few day trips (by car).

As for hotels, I'd look at a site like booking.com where you can set filters for your priorities such as cost and location. In London try to find one close to a tube station that services more than one line, and you can get to all the usual tourist sites fairly quickly. Having a bus stop nearby is a big plus. Google maps is a help there. Once you find a hotel you like, try booking on their own website rather than using a 3rd party site. For hotels outside London, look for hotels with parking on site or close by.

Hoping that COVID is going to be a thing if the past by Easter, especially as it affects travel, is wishful thinking. Pay close attention in the meantime on changes in entry requirements and restrictions both for the UK and for your cruise line.

I disagree with the others - though Edinburgh is my favourite city, so I'm biased. I'm assuming from your post that your flights are already booked? (If not, fly into Edinburgh to make the most sense). I've done the train trip to/from London --> Edinburgh several times, and it's stood out as a kind of quintessential English train journey. Moreover, Edinburgh is extremely "easy" just on public transit/taxis, so could save you a couple days' car rental fee. It was the first international city I ever went to solo, and there's enough to fill a couple of days just in the city, or enough small areas to fit into just a bit of time. My first trip was just two nights (and really only 36 hours, all while being very jetlegged) so we just focused on the Royal Mile and Leith, the next trip I had four nights, so redid those spots but added in Arthur's Seat, New Town, and more museums/experiences. The next trip I added more spots, and so on. All of the trip lengths were worthwhile.
If it were me, and I had to fly into London, I'd train from there to Edinburgh, get a car closer to Edinburgh, and spend a couple of nights getting down to Southhampton. I like the Oxford area, and you could also do Nottingham/Birmingham/Cotswolds on your way down through York and Bath.

Before you rent a car, consider taking trains to most of your destinations. Trains in the UK are not like trains in the U.S. They are extensive and go just about everywhere.

Secondly, you don't want a car in the cities you mention. Public transportation is either extensive (London and Edinburgh) or the cities small enough to see on foot. (Bath and York). Parking is difficult and in some cities you could get fined for just driving there. (London)

For the other areas, you could rent a car for the day or take one day tours. (I reccommend Mad Max Tours out of Bath for places like Stonehenge.)

I think you are trying to do too much in 11 days. While Edinburgh is a great city, staying with London, Bath and York--as well as points in between--will easily fill up your time.

From London, day trips, by train, could be done to places like Cambridge, Oxford, Winchester, Canterbury, Hampton Court and Windsor.

1. There are no must-dos in London on Easter Sunday. It’s not a big thing other than church services. As others have pointed out, it’s school holidays plus a long bank holiday weekend, so London will be busy. Note that all shops over 3,000 sq ft must close by law, including supermarkets.

2. Two days in London isn’t long and most of it will be getting over jet lag. My must sees would be Buckingham Palace, the Houses of Parliament, the Tower of London, St Paul’s Cathedral and a museum (pick whichever subject you enjoy). Take a ride on a double decker bus (not the HoHo) and have afternoon tea.

3. Chester and York would fit the bill. April isn’t the best time or weather for seeing gardens.

4. If you need to end in Southampton, then you either need to start in Edinburgh and see York and London, so drop Bath or you need to drop Edinburgh or add a few days! Bath to York by train is a pain - no direct service. You would need to change train twice and it will take more than 5 hours door to door. Bath is nice, but I prefer Edinburgh. I always find Stonehenge to be underwhelming - it’s much smaller than I first imagined. It can be covered as a day trip from London or Bath. Sorry, but it wouldn’t rate in my top 100 things to see! Avebury is much better as you can get closer.

Accommodation prices have rocketed during the pandemic. London and Bath are the two most expensive places to stay in the country. I was going to suggest that you head straight to Bath, but I have just looked at hotel prices for Bath starting 16 April and your budget isn’t going to get you very far. It’s much cheaper after the schools have returned.

Sorry, but I don’t share your optimism for international travel for April, but what do I know?

It is impossible to answer 'what are must visit places' as what may be must visits for me, might be the kiss of death to someone else...

In London, don't miss Kew Gardens. Hampton Court is also worth a visit too.

In 12 days, don't try and cover too much of the country , unless you want to spend all your time seeing it through a car window. Allow time to recover from jet lag.

If you are wanting 'quaint towns' to shop and have a nice meal, think of a few days in the Coitswolds.

Fly into Edinburgh and work your way to Southampton. From Edinburgh take a direct train to York (2h 30m). Rent a car in York to drive to Bath (5h 15m). The next day drive to Stonehenge (1h 30m) and return the car afterwards. Take a direct train to London (1h 30m).
London’s must-see sights are: Westminster Abbey (be sure to rent the audio guide unless you’re fluent in British history) and Churchill War Rooms and museum that could easily take up a full day; buy tickets before leaving home. The British Museum is also a great place to roam and don’t leave town before visiting the Tower of London and Tower Bridge. Consider spending a night at the theater. You can buy cheap tickets at the TKTS booth in the West End. Plan on sleeping in London a minimum of four nights.

I don't know why somebody would drive all the way from the North to Stonehenge which is practically at Southampton (less than an hour) to then go all the way back to London to turn around and go to Southampton.

I would fly into Edinburgh, which would be a great city to start your adventure (4 nights?). Train to York (2 nights?), and then head to London (4 nights?). From London, I'd take the train to Southampton for my cruise. These locations would give you a nice variation in locales, architecture, culture, etc. I, too, enjoy the train between London and Edinburgh.

Forget Bath (find Georgian architecture in London) and Stonehenge (go to Ireland someday for stone circles) and forget renting a car as you just don't need one, particularly for your trip. Confession: with over 10 trips to England, I have yet made it to Bath or Stonehenge.

Must sees in London...everyone is different. Classics: Hyde Park, The Mall, Buckingham Palace, Cabinet War Rooms, 10 Downing St...from a distance, museums (you pick), The Strand, Trafalgar Square, Parliament, Big Ben, etc. Read a multitude of guide books and information on line to find your highlights.

You have been given lots of conflicting advice on “do this” and “skip that” that you will have to sort out. I will say that you have some wishes (car rental, quaint small towns to stroll and shop, gardens) that are not compatible with your chosen stops of London, York, Edinburgh and Bath, so you need to set some priorities.

London to Bath by car combines well with pottering around small towns (the Cotswolds are perfect for that) and visiting Stonehenge. Add York and that will totally fill your time, so Edinburgh is the outlier for those goals.

As for Stonehenge—-I suggest you look into the special access “Stone Circle Experience” offered by English Heritage:

https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/stonehenge/things-to-do/stone-circle-access-visits/

They go early or late, before the regular visitor hours, and are pretty much wide open for April reservations. Stay overnight in Salisbury (a lovely small town) on your way between Heathrow and Bath to facilitate this. The Red Lion in Salisbury has some lovely suites that will suit your taste for upscale accommodations. (I have twice booked the Seamstress Suite but have had to cancel due to covid restrictions. We’ll make it there eventually ).

https://the-redlion.co.uk/rooms/seamstress/

I actually did a nearly identical trip (without York) over Easter some 20 years ago. LHR—-Salisbury (Stonehenge)—-Cotswolds—-Bath, ending with 4 days in London. We had beautiful weather and it was a very enjoyable trip. We chose that route to avoid spending Easter Sunday in London. But my traveling companion had lived in Australia and was comfortable driving on the left after landing at Heathrow. I would not recommend that for you, but you could still follow that path, maybe by spending the night after landing near Heathrow (Wiindsor?) and picking up the hire car the next day.

I don't know why somebody would drive all the way from the North to Stonehenge which is practically at Southampton (less than an hour) to then go all the way back to London to turn around and go to Southampton.

Why not take a train from London to Southhampton?