I will start with the confession that I want to visit everywhere in England all at once and find it very difficult to choose the next place to go! Every time I read about or see images of this beautiful country, I’m lured into a new option. I’m not really complaining, of course; I recognize and am truly grateful for the ability to even have a choice.
Last year I thought we would go to York, then the Dales. But after really thinking about the time constraints with travel, and plotting out the days, I think it would be best to do that particular trip when we can allocate a longer period to travel. Basically, we have a week, 7-8 days max, including travel days. Fly out on either a Friday or Saturday night, arrive the next day at 10:30 am. Return flight the next Saturday or Sunday. So, after flirting with planning a trip to Norwich and Norfolk, Edinburgh and the Northumberland coast have won out for our next visit in the fall of 2025.
We can fly non-stop into Edinburgh, which is a plus. What I am pondering is whether to stay in Edinburgh for the 5 1/2- 6 1/2 days and take a couple day trips. One to the coast (Timberbush offers one to Holy Island, Alnwick and the Kingdom of Northumbria that looks really great- I am really hoping to see this area) as well as seeing the Highlands (Rabbies day tour).
Or, because after being on two London trips recently the idea of a more natural, landscape experience is very appealing, fly into EDI and immediately take the train to Berwick Upon Tweed and the bus to say, Bamburgh or Seahouses. Other opinions on where definitely open to. This plan and having the base there would make for more of a coastal experience, but I don’t know if it would be worthwhile given we would be reliant on bus service. If we did it this way, we also would sacrifice seeing Highlands by tour, as well as seeing more of Edinburgh itself. However, we may be able to add one more day to this plan to make it work in order to train back to Edinburgh the day before the flight.
I’d love to hear opinions, or maybe other ideas about an itinerary that combines the two from you all. As said, we will not have a car, so would need to use public transportation solely. We love to hike, the coast, and be outdoors, so you can see why I am wondering about the place to settle on. Thanks in advance for your help!