England/Scotland Itinerary Advice

That looks like a great trip, can I come along? ;-) Also, I envy your daytime flight from Boston. No chance of anything like that from Seattle.

I have just a couple of observations. First, Oxford is worth more time than you're giving it. Might be better to save it for another trip. Blenheim would be a good day trip from Chipping Campden, but adding Oxford is taking on a lot, especially with the hassles of a car there.

Second, Durham Cathedral is pretty much on your way from Edinburgh to York, and well worth a stop. It's one of the best Norman cathedrals in Europe (they call them Romanesque on the continent), in a striking setting above a river. You have a busy day, and you don't want to shortchange Hadrian's Wall. (I recommend the Vindolanda and Housesteads sites there, not far off your main route.) And, having said all that, I wish you could add a full day in York for the Minster, the Yorkshire Museum, and walking on the wall.

No doubt you'll get a lot more "must sees" from posters here than you'll ever have time for. That's a predictable result of putting a great itinerary in front of all us travel junkies.

I love that BA day flight, but I'm not aware it has been flying. Hopefully, it will by the time of your trip if it hasn't started up already (keep in mind they might still sell tickets). I suggest you keep an eye on it as they might flip you to an overnighter, which I abhor.

It’s not a very relaxed pace, with lots of driving.

Day 5 - I suggest Oxford or Blenheim, but not both.

You really need 3 full days on Skye to see all the highlights.

Day 14 - I hope you have at least 2 drivers. This is the best part of a 7 hour drive without stopping.

Only one day in Edinburgh is short by at least a day. Unless Hadrian’s Wall is a must, I would suggest that you add a day to Edinburgh and take the train to York. Again, you are short changing York as you could easily fill 2 full days.

Alternatively, drop the side trip to Oban and the islands.

We have done 2 long driving trips in the UK. My suggestion is to plot your trip on a map to eliminate too much backtracking and circling back when you don't have to. Check actual distance and time to drive, add at least one hour for each stop, arrive at accommodation before supper, before 6. Enjoy evening out or resting up. Consider your special interests. We like history, castles and great estates. Some people enjoy natural scenery and hikes. Give yourself time to enjoy what is near to your main destinations, instead of rushing away. Look for "scenic drives" to take you to your next real stop. You may not have to book accommodations for every stop as there are many B & Bs, etc. You can check them out if you show up late afternoon. You can book ahead online. We enjoyed Wales because it has several castles.
I went thru your driving part of your trip, and it does seem to flow OK. I would stop over in Stirling on your way from Inverness to Edinburgh. You have a long drive from Keswick to Oban; but avoid "shortcuts" because some country roads in this area are actually rated as treacherous. My personal choice would be to do Scotland as one trip and England and Wales as another.

I concur with all the comments on the pace of this itinerary and the driving times. For example, you plan to drive Edinburgh to Hadrian's wall, visit that and then drive on to York. Google maps shows about 2.5 hours for each leg - 5 hours driving time total. I have driven both legs and I can assure you that it took us considerably longer - at least 6 hours total driving time without consideration for stops. To see the highlights of Hadrian's wall would take several hours. We stayed 2 nights in a B&B in Haltwhistle and spent a full day visiting the various wall sites and driving along the will and walking on top of the wall. By the way, it was raining sideways and it was great to go back to the B&B and hang up our wet clothes and get some hot coffee. Would not have wanted to get in the car and drive another 3 hours before drying out. Do a bit more research and decide how much time you need to really see the things that are important to you. York needs more time, too. etc. etc. Note that we did this trip June 2019 and we were in our late 70's.

I have driven quite a bit in Northern England and Scotland and not only is there always a bit of stress in staying on the right but on a lot of your route there are narrow roads with lots of curves. Passing is often impossible for many miles and if you get behind a Lorry (truck) you can be driving at their pace for many. many miles. Many roads are barely two lanes, often without a center white line and some (like around Hadrian's wall) are one lane with turnouts. Driving is definitely stressful.
A couple of specific recommendations:
1. Use google maps both for planning and for navigating on the road. Add 20% to google times for planning. Consider it a blessing if google time turns out to be right.
2. Cross check the google routing on a paper map so you have a visual idea of the whole route.
3. Have someone else helping you navigate and watching the google map display while driving. Keep your eyes on the road!!

I won't pile on but your day 5 and day 17 look really tough to me.

I'm only about an hour from Oxford and my wife is a few years into her 70's (I'm slightly younger) and I can tell you that Blenheim and Oxford is a hard day for somebody 40 years younger. Blenheim Palace is HUGE. Oxford is full to the Plimsoll Line with things to see and do.

It is a lot.

Others have commented on day 17 so I won't repeat.

I've been looking for a down day - laundry, chilling, extra coffee, sit and admire the view, get a nap. Did you plan for what Rick calls a "vacation from your vacation"?

Your itinerary is excellent and it is obvious you've put a lot of work into it.
You've received lots of great advice from the wonderful forum members here, so I will just comment on a few things.

Day 5--I would be seriously thinking about staying the night in Oxford.
There's really no point in driving back to Chipping Campden at the end of a day trip to Oxford. You are leaving CC early the next day to travel onwards to the Lake District anyhow.

I would be wanting to take a walking tour around Oxford, then explore on my own.
I would want to spend as much time at Blenheim Palace as possible to enjoy not only the tour through the house, but to have a look at the gardens and a rest sitting at one of the tables out back of the cafe on the terrace with a cup of coffee and sandwich or cake.

Actually, I would spend 2 nights in Oxford at this point in the itinerary.

Cut one night from London.

Day 17--Travel Day - Edinburgh - Hadrian’s Wall - York - Overnight in York
Day 18 - York (turn in rental car) - Train to London

It looks as though you already know you'll get into York too late to turn in the rental car the evening of Day 17.
Leaving York the next morning on the train for London?
You're not going to see any of York.
I would absolutely add one night to York, and spend your full day there exploring.
Personal preference, but in some ways, I prefer York to London.

I would cut an additional night in London out of the schedule.

There is, of course, much to see in London, but the days and nights you'd have remaining in the schedule are plenty, in my opinion.

Your itinerary is excellent, but Oxford and York are wonderful.
Don't cheat yourself out of a full day at each one.
These are two good places to slow your pace down, and enjoy a day of not traveling.
You will get to busy, noisy, crowded (but still wonderful) London soon enough.

Constantly checking in and out of hotels consumes energy that I don't have. I'm sure this trip reflects the priorities and interests of you and your traveling companions, but for what it's worth, here are my thoughts:

I would skip the Cotswolds and Blenheim Palace-I found both to be underwhelming. Instead, I would do a day trip from Bath to Avebury and Cotswolds with Mad Max. I have done this tour and really enjoyed it. I would add a day to London and go to Oxford or Cambridge as a day trip from London. I loved York and Durham. I would add a day to York and then spend one night in Durham. I found it to be quite peaceful despite having a university there. There is a lovely path along the river.

I agree with previous comments - overall a good itinerary, but if it were me I'd reduce the time London and spend more time in Oxford and York (they both need at least one full day, which is more than you're giving them). Durham is lovely, but your itinerary is pretty packed already.

We did a four week drive tour of England and S. Wales in 2016 and some of your trip overlaps ours.

Here is my detailed review of our trip.
28 days in Britain and Celebrity Eclipse home

https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=599139

Note, a great place to stay in Chipping Campden is The Volunteer Inn. It has the best pub in town, spacious rooms and a super Indian Restaurant.

Consider a stop at Warwick and see the castle on your way north to The Lake District.
Also, consider more time in York. We loved York and did three nights there.