England Ireland and Scotland

How much time will you have for three countries?

We have been to the British Isles several times and still haven't seen all we want.

You need 10 days just to see Ireland. You could spend an entire month and just visit England.

Suggest that you do your research and review some guidebooks to determine your travel priorities.

You will need at least 5 days in London. Also, for England strongly recommend you include York, Winchester, Cambridge, Oxford, Salisbury, the Cotswolds, Bath, Stratford Upon Avon and if you have time the Lake District for a few days. Wales is great as well.

For Scotland, Edinburgh needs 2-3 days, then the area north of that city, taking in St. Andrews. Inverness and Loch Ness are great. Also, the western highlands. Need at least 10 days for Scotland.

I spent 6 nights in :London last October and it was not enough. I loved what I saw but there was so much that I never could get to.

How much total time do you have for your trip?

Do you need recommendations for lodging? For things to do? For places to eat? For transit?

Also are you driving or travelling by train/bus?

Bamburgh is a bus from outside Berwick Railway Station (on the LNER route to London Kings Cross, the Transpennine route to Newcastle, and the Cross Country route to the South and South West of England, via Chesterfield). If travelling from Chesterfield to London then East Midlands trains run frequent, cheap trains, when booked ahead, to London St Pancras International.

If you can end in Ireland (and fly out of Shannon or Dublin) then you benefit from US pre-clearance. Book it as a multi-city (or open jaw) into Scotland or England, returning from Ireland.

Apart from that England or Scotland first makes little obvious difference, in terms of travel from either country to Ireland.

Thanks so much everyone.
I think I will fly into London spend 6 days there, then head to Chesterfield via train, maybe two or three days there, then fly to Newcastle hire a car, stay in Bamburgh.. not sure how long. Then the plan is Ireland and Scotland.
All up 4 weeks I’m planning.

I am curious why you intend to fly to Newcastle (and I'm assuming you are talking about Newcastle-upon-Tyne).

It's only a little over 2 hours by train, and if you buy an Advance ticket, it should not be that expensive. It will take you more time to fly when you consider getting to the airport, flight time, etc. Plus you have to deal with the airline's baggage restrictions, which can be onerous on the cheaper airlines.

It sounds like you will have at least two weeks between London, Chesterfield, and Bamburgh. That leaves you about 2 weeks for Scotland and Ireland.

Do you want to spend those two weeks visiting cities like Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Dublin? Or do you want to see the countryside? Or more castles? Or a mix of both? There are so many wonderful things to see, so you will have to be diligent about making decisions about what are your priorities.

It is difficult to give you advice without understanding a little more about what you are interested in.

Flying from Chesterfield to Newcastle makes no sense at all. You would have to go back south to London, then all the airport rigmarole, just to come back north. All in all it is going to take something like 3x as long, as well as being horrible to the environment.

If you want to drive in Northumberland, you can rent a car at Newcastle Central Railway Station, from Europcar.

Since you intend on visiting Bamburgh castle, consider nearby Alnwick castle and Holy Island as well. No idea if they are easy to reach using public transportation.

not only does flying from Chesterfield to Newcastle make little sense, but it's also impossible. You might as well hire a car locally and keep it until you depart Great Britain.

Note that the Fringe Festival is in Edinburgh in August, so reservations could already be tight.

Thanks for the advise, I wasn’t sure what the best way to get around was. I will hire a car and see more of the beautiful country side. I had no idea, hence why I asked.