England Itinerary- all feedback welcome

2 nights in Windsor, and hoping to catch some horse racing.

are you intending on attending the Royal Windsor Horse Show? It is on from the 11th to the 14th of May, so that may be what you are planning for. Or are you looking for flat racing at Kempton Park?

Planning on getting to York on the first day will likely be possible but understand the risks you take in buying Advance tickets which are cheaper but only valid on a specific timed train - like missing a flight you will be out money and inconvenience if you have to buy new fully priced tickets on the day - and your flight could be changed or delayed or even early. Or the risks of buying tickets on the day to your budget if you go that route.

May is a long time out but I wouldn't bet the house that the very long running train disputes and consequent frequent strikes will be solved by then. I sure hope so but it may take yet another Prime Minister before they are...

Mountain Goat come highly recommended and do day trips from Keswick

Hi Karen -

You can fill three days easily in Keswick without a car. Keswick is wonderful in that there is plenty to do on foot straight out of the door. There are the launches on Derwentwater and a selection of buses to take you further afield. Not least to appreciate in being without a car is that parking spaces - if you can find one - are criminally expensive or likely miles from where you are staying, so….small mercies!

It also depends on what you mean when you say hike - how far you want to go, how good you are at going (steeply in many instances) uphill. Many trails are rocky and potentially wet underfoot, so I recommend boots or the sturdiest of sneakers. If you give us a clue about where/what sort walking you want to do, maybe I - or others - can offer some specific advice.

Failing that, there’s a ton of research that can be done on t’internet!

Ian

Being as you are here.
Happy Christmas and best wishes for Next Year to the usual UK posters.

Happy Christmas and peaceful New Year to you, and the others, richard

For hiking in the Lake District around Keswick, I highly recommend the HF Holidays program in their country house right on the lake (Derwentwater). We did this a few years ago and were very pleased with the accommodations, the meals, the hikes and guides, and the camaraderie of the other guests. Everything is included in the price—-lodging, all meals ( packed lunch to order), guides, and transport to the trailhead and back. They offer a choice of hikes at 3 different levels each day, equivalent to easy, moderate, and fairly strenuous and you can choose what suits you. Or you can book self-guided and use their books, maps, and other resources to plan your own hikes.

The house has nice rooms, a big lawn sloping right down to the lake, and a lovely garden.

You can see the options here:

https://www.hfholidays.co.uk/country-houses/locations/derwent-bank

The one that would best for your schedule is the 3-night holiday, either guided or self-guided, which is offered May 19-22. To fit this with your desire to attend the horse racing on the dates provided by Nigel, you could put Windsor first, heading straight there from Heathrow when you land. (This be much easier and less expensive than trying to time the departure to York after landing). After Windsor you proceed to York, then Edinburgh, and then make your way to Keswick (train to Penrith, then group transfer arranged by HF Holidays to the Derwentwater house from Penrith station).

Edit: I see the dates Nigel posted are for the horse show, not the racing. If you are looking for racing at Ascot, they will be on the 12th and 13th of May ( Friday and Saturday). So that still works with my suggested order of travel.

https://www.ascot.com/horse-races-and-events

We have been to Britain several times and love visiting there.

What many people do when planning a visit to Britain is focusing more on the large cities. Your itinerary does include some outside large cities, but not a lot.

1. We visited Keswick for three nights and frankly, not sure you would be able to see much of the beautiful countryside of the Lake District without a rental car.
2. York, four nights is a great idea, there is much to see there. Visit the National Railway Museum, walk the ancient walls, visit its great museums and more.
3. Liverpool, we visited that city but were not terribly impressed (we like the Beatles, but were not interested in Beatles stuff there). Chester would be much better.
4. Windsor Castle can be done with the 3 hour tour, not sure why you want two nights there. Of course, I am not into horse racing.

Edinburg is great, but why not stick to England and do Scotland on another trip.
You could visit Winchester, Warwick Castle, Oxford, Canterbury and more.

Also, consider visiting Wales, it is great, both North and South Wales.

I think you might want to fly into Edinburgh or Glasgow and fly home from London. It would save a bit of train travel.

Wow, all good feedback. Since we are leaving SF on May 10th I’m thinking we could get the horse racing in before we head north.
I’m now intrigued with maybe some Wales in the plans but really know nothing about it. Will need to do some research! Maybe will trade time in Edinburgh for Wales.
Also now concerned about rail strikes, that would certainly put us in a bad spot.
Again thanks for your comments & Merry Christmas.
I’m sure I will have more questions as planning continues.

You probably don't have time for Wales for this trip. However, consider it next.

North Wales, Conwy is a must, Chester, England is close by and great. There is more in N. Wales.

South Wales, come into from Bath, visit Tintern Abbey, then take in Ragland Castle on your way to Cardiff.
Two nights in Cardiff, see Cardiff Castle (in the downtown), then take the train for a shot ride to Caerfilly Castle. Upon leaving Cardiff, going west, stop off at The Museum of Welsh Life. The Museum is a Welsh Village and worth a couple of hours.

Then head to Tenby for a couple of days, visit more castles on your way to St. David's on the SW tip of Wales. There is more.

Is this a case where a Britrail pass makes sense? We did a similar itinerary a few years ago and the flexibility of being able to jump on almost any train was worth the extra cost compared to advance purchase tickets. You would have to acquire reservations for some trains.

From what I see, the rail landscape has changed since we were there, so research would be needed. And it looks like passes won't be on sale until '23. You wouldn't want to waste a pass day on a short trip, e.g Bath to Oxford in our case, but for the longer rides, you don't have to worry too much about schedules until much closer to your arrival. Plus Heathrow Express should be covered if you go on to York on your first day.

Rick covers Britrail passes on this site: https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-forum#britrail