england/scotland/ireland first time itinerary without car

Why are you going to Bath on day seven when you’re also going on day nine? Otherwise, it’s a good itinerary.

thanks so much for the reply MaryPat. My plan was to go from London to Bath on day 7 and then sleep there until day 10 so it's almost 2 full days in Bath (days 7 and 9) and then the day 8 cotswolds/stonehenge organized day trip is from Bath. Do you think that's too long for Bath? Thanks again for your help.

Got it, thanks and no, I think you're spending the right amount of time in all the places you're are going. It's obvious you've done your homework. Actually I think your itinerary is perfect. Good job!

Is the Stonehenge/Cotswolds day just catching a bus to Stonehenge and then up to the Cotswolds or is it with a tour? It seems like it will be a long day. Will you just visit one village in the Cotswolds?

CanAmCherie, thanks for the reply. Here's the tour i was looking at:
https://www.madmaxtours.co.uk/tours/tour-1-stonehenge-cotswold-villages-and-avebury-stone-circles

what do you think of it? in general, what villages would you recommend visiting? hmm, would i be able to go to stonehenge/cotswold villages on my own? I didn't even consider that.

Day 6: If you decide upon Oxford for your day trip, you are close to Bath, but would backtrack to London, then travel in the same direction the next day to Bath. You might consider a night or two in Oxford either before or after Bath - this would make more efficient use of your travel time, and would also allow you to visit Blenheim Palace if it's of interest. Oxford is also useful as a departure point for Cotswolds tours - and It's worth two nights, IMHO.

Day 8: trying to see both Stonehenge and the Cotswolds on the same day seems overly ambitious. Since you appear to have flexibility in your schedule, you might pair Stonehenge with Salisbury, and devote a separate day to the Cotswolds.

Day 10: I seem to recall that it's been mentioned here that the best rail route from Bath to York is through Bristol.

ttps://www.madmaxtours.co.uk/tours/tour-1-stonehenge-cotswold-villages-and-avebury-stone-circles

I just did this tour in September. Well organized, a small bus tour with good commentary. There was a good amount of time in each location. We stopped in Castle Combe and Lacock. Not much time to go to any other village, but if you want to skip the stones, then they have Tour 2 that focuses on just the villages of the Cotswolds. Bus tip, Get to the bus departure early and check in. Sitting at the back of the bus was no fun. We bounced a lot down the roads and the commentary was sometimes hard to hear.

Do you know how early the first train is from Paddington to Bath?- 0523. Yes it's a cheap train, but feels a bit early.

And I am a seriously early traveller.

Likewise Bath to York- first train is at 0535.

That early travelling via Bristol is very expensive as it is a busy and short Commuter train most of the way. If leaving that early it is far better (on cost and comfort grounds) via London. Via Bristol vastly reduces in fare from mid morning.

York to Edinburgh trains are so frequent and fast it doesn't matter what time you travel.

If you travel on the first train at 0627 it is usually much cheaper to have 'split tickets'- York to Newcastle, Newcastle to Edinburgh. That often applies throughout the day.

markcw, thanks so much for the reply. Right now i'm leaning more towards cambridge than oxford since i read good things about the smaller town atmosphere. A major appeal of choosing oxford though is combining it with Blenheim Palace. I think if i choose that I will spend the night and then go to bath or cotswolds the next day. I think I'll watch some youtube videos of the cotswolds to see how much time i'd like to spend there and what villages i'd really to go to (if any).

mpaulynsettle, thanks for letting me know what you thought of the tour. I'm leaning towards that tour over their tour #2 since think I'd like to see stonehenge since it's so iconic. I have definitely heard some mixed reviews about stonehenge though.

isn31c, thanks so much for the info on the trains. Maybe on some days i wont take the earliest train but the second earliest one :) Would you happen to know how far in advance I can buy train tickets? I think i read 10-12 weeks somewhere.

Hi dayexday -

Looks well planned to me other than on day 12 I’d opt for the later time train to Edinburgh just in case when you get to York you’ll find yourself going “Oh no! We could do with a bit more time to explore York!”.

Have a grand trip!

Ian

@dayexday- Advances on Great Western and Cross Country (Bristol to York) are 12 weeks out. On LNER (London to York to Edinburgh) currently until 31 May on weekdays- end of March at weekends (due to engineering work). But, especially on LNER, they are available until 5 minutes before travel (I know it makes the word Advance look a bit silly)- not at rock bottom fares of weeks out, but still good fares.

Likewise on Great Western, advance fares are normally available until at least 2 days beforehand (at a higher price than when first released). So on the super early train to or from Bath it is £23 booked weeks early, but only £36.50 booked 2 days before- compared to the £118 walk up peak fare.

So York to Edinburgh it could be worth buying really good fares at a very early stage. Then, as Ian says, if you want more time in York just throw them away and get new cheap tickets. Of course that reduces your time in Edinburgh!

On LNER if you suddenly wanted to splurge you can bid for a 1st class upgrade through Seat Frog-https://www.lner.co.uk/tickets-savings/your-ticket/first-class-upgrade/

That works on even deeply discounted Advance Tickets.

We've been to all the places on the Mad Max Tour you cited. It seems to fill the bill quite well with regard to visiting some of the best things in the area. We would take the tour even though we've been to those places before. You can do a lot of it on your own, but the tour is much easier to do.

Looks good to me.

The only thing I question is that the days seem very busy and you've scheduled no down time to recharge the batteries.

Only you know if you need that or not.

Also very little time in Dublin.

Could you tell me who the group tour is with for days 16-20? Also your tour on Day 28 - 31. Thanks, trying to plan my own trip.

I would skip Bath and add more time to the Cotswolds. Blenheim is wonderful and takes at least half day to enjoy the palace, museum of Churchill and the grounds. You can grab a sandwich and eat on the terrace overlooking the grounds. I would allow at least one full day to hire a driver and do a loop through the Cotswold villages. You don’t want to rush that. A most pleasant day. Then on to York (which is also fabulous) and then on to Scotland.