England, Scotland and maybe Ireland

Is that 10 days including arrival and departure?

Forget Ireland.

In reality you’ll have actually have 8 full days and 2 half days depending on arrival and departure times at Heathrow.

Honestly given your itinerary you’ll spend more time on train travel instead of actually seeing sights.

The fastest train from London to Edinburgh is 4.5 hours. Then you have to get to your accommodation, unpack, etc.

Flying is quicker….so consider flying open jaw. Into Heathrow and out of Edinburgh.

Definitely save Ireland for another time. If you really only have eight days (not counring arrival and departure) I would do.as.Claudia says, start with London and end Edinburgh. Perhaps four days London day to get to Edinburgh (I would go by train) then remainder in Edinburgh and home from there. You can do.a couple of day trips from.London perhaps Windsor or Hampton Court.and day trip to Bath if you really want to see it. We took day trip to St. Andrews from Edinburgh and really enjoyed it. This seems not as.rushed as your plan in my opinion. If you have ten days on the ground just add a day to each city.

Way too rushed for me. As indicated above skip Ireland. I count 10 nights on the ground in the OP. So I would suggest something like

• 4 nights Edinburgh
• 3 York
• 3 London or 2 Bath 1 London to catch flight home.

You are spreading yourself way too thin. Keep in mind that two nights in any one place equals one day. All of the places you have listed are wonderful but you will not really see them with this schedule. I would suggest spending most of your limited time in London with day trips to Windsor, Hampton Court, Oxford for example and then go to Edinburgh for the remainder of your time. Over the years we have spent many weeks in London and there is still so much to see. And Edinburgh deserves at least 3 nights/two days. With your schedule you will be able to say you’ve been to these places but that’s about it. Your trip will be a blur and exhausting.

Way, way too much - even cutting out Ireland. You are looking at 2-3 weeks to begin to do justice to all the places you have listed.

London to Bath to Liverpool in one day is over 6 hours spent on trains, so you won’t have much time for sightseeing.

I would suggest London with a day trip to Bath then Edinburgh would fill your time. Fly back from Edinburgh.

Alternatively, head to Bath immediately upon arrival (I am not a fan of this idea, but it works for some) for 3 nights then take the train to York for 3 nights then finish in London.

Thanks all for the replies! We plan to fly into London, arriving at 8 am and thought flying out another city so we don't have to backtrack so maybe Edinburgh. I think London, Bath, York, and Edinburgh would be a good itinerary and I like the idea of doing the day trips from London. Lots to think about and since we're not going until next summer I've got time to really plan this out.

London has the most expensive accommodation. York is on the rail route from London to Edinburgh. (It is also possible to go by train from Bath to York (via Bristol). It is also possible to fly from Bristol Airport to Edinburgh.

With that many actual places to visit, I’d eliminate any day trips or cut one more city.

You know you, but I think most people would be sick of going to and from train stations that many times in a short vacation.

I assume this is a solo trip? Otherwise, you’re likely to face a mutiny.