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Feasibility of this as a travel plan? 14 days

14 days-
Coming from the USA- Fly into London, get a plane to Inverness- Rent Car

Visit Loch Ness/Inverness area (days 1 and 2--depending on arrival time)

Day 3 Drive to Glencoe see sites- Day 3- Spend Evening in Glencoe

Day 4 Drive south through Trossachs/Lochs visit Stirling Castle, stay in Stirling.

Day 5 Drive to Edinburgh visit castle continue to Alnwick. Stay in Alnwick.

Day 6 Visit Alnwick meander through Northumberland national park to Newcastle.

Day 7 Spend day in Newcastle. Spend evening in Newcastle.

Day 8 Drive from Newcastle to Cotswolds. (drive all day). Spend evening in Cotswolds.

Day 9 Visit the Cotswolds district. Spend evening in Cotswolds

Day 10 Head to London. Stay in London.

Day 11-14 Stay in London- visit museums, shop, fly home.

So the question is--- 1) should we ditch the car in Newcastle and take the train to Cotwolds, OR ditch it in the Cotswolds and/or Oxford area on the way to London ? We aren't planning on having the car in London at all. Nasty traffic!

Posted by
3428 posts

WOAH, NELLY! Stop and Take A Breath. Do it now, you won't be able to on that trip. You are moving WAY to fast. You won't even have 1/2 a day at most of your stops. Though driving distances in the UK look small, they take much more time than in the US. Also, you really need some time to experience a place. Re-think and try to plan on spending at least 2 nights in most places. Some will need 3 or more.

Posted by
220 posts

sigh..I would... except I know my travel buddy is insistent on visiting London...personally I could probably cut it out entirely and just stay up north.. but...otherwise I'll never end up going in the first place. I did anticipate the drives being 1.5 to 2x what google tells someone, and I'm sure I'll pull over to take pictures periodically.

I'm mainly interested in castles and landscapes, and museums in London...and of course hairy cows..I'm not fond of large cities for the most part, but they are a necessary evil since some large castles are in them. While I could probably stretch it another 2 days at most...my traveling companion? prob not.

If I did stretch it to 16:

16 days-
Coming from the USA- Fly into London, get a plane to Inverness- Rent Car

Visit Loch Ness/Inverness area (days 1 and 2--depending on arrival time)

Day 3 Drive to Glencoe see sites- Day 3- Spend Evening in Glencoe

Day 4 Spend day in Glencoe and evening

Day 5 Drive south through Trossachs/Lochs visit Stirling Castle, stay in Stirling.

Day 6 Visit Stirling stay evening in Stirling

Day 7 Drive to Edinburgh visit castle continue to Alnwick. Stay in Alnwick.

Day 8 Visit Alnwick meander through Northumberland national park to Newcastle.

Day 9 Spend day in Newcastle. Spend evening in Newcastle.

Day 10 Drive from Newcastle to Cotswolds. (drive all day). Spend evening in Cotswolds.

Day 11 Visit the Cotswolds district. Spend evening in Cotswolds

Day 12 Head to London. Stay in London.

Day 12-16 Stay in London- visit museums, shop, fly home.

I'm still interested in where to ditch the car...

Posted by
2600 posts

fly into London then plane to Inverness - what does that mean in practice? there are non connecting flights (easy jet) from Gatwick but nothing from Heathrow so you may not be flying on one ticket - not always a good idea

the Cotswolds seem to be tagged on just because they are well known - better scenery in the Yorkshire Dales or Northumberland which are not so much out of your way.

Posted by
1694 posts

Before going further into your plans, have you considered the sleeper from London to Inverness. This could be used as a hotel and train for one of the nights.

In the plans I agree with a couple of the posts up thread. You will want two nights in an area so that the day can be used for proper explored. If the Highlands/Scotland are the main goal, then the Cotswolds are probably an add on you can afford to drop, with more consideration of the areas on either immediate side of the border such as Scottish Borders, Dumfries and Galloway to the north, Northumberland/Cumbria to the south.

Posted by
359 posts

Given the frenetic pace of your schedule I'm not convinced you'll be able to see anything in Scotland in depth, which is a common reason for wanting to rent a car - to explore places in more depth that you otherwise would be able to.

Have you considered basing yourself in Edinburgh and doing a series of one-day tours like Rabbies tours? Then head to England from Day 6/7 onward, via car or train?

If you want to drive most of the way to London and then ditch the car, it might be a good idea to drop the car at one of the airports and train the rest of the way into London.

Just some thoughts.

Posted by
220 posts

can you tell me about more of the scenery in Northumberland? If i can cut cotswolds it might be beneficial.

Posted by
1694 posts

Northumberland is England's rugged northern county that stretches from Hadrian's Wall to the Border. Wild, remote, haunting. It is relatively empty in terms of human habitation, contains Lindisfarne, a dark skies reserve. It flows north of the border into the Scottish Borders.

Historically these were tough lands, fought over frequently by London and Edinburgh, and have a culture all their own closer to each other than to the other parts of their respective realms.

Posted by
6713 posts

If you can access Google Earth, "fly" into Northumberland and look at some of the photos people have inserted. Many will be buildings but many will be scenery. I agree that if scenery is your goal Northumberland and Yorkshire will give you plenty without diverting to the Cotswolds (not that there's anything wrong with that area either, just out of your way).

I agree with others that your plan is too rushed, though I understand that it's a compromise between you and your travel partner. I'm also curious why you have two nights and a full day in Newcastle. It's a fine destination but I'd choose Edinburgh for that kind of time, which you're just driving through with a stop at the Castle. Don't you think you'll be curious about all the places you can see from the Castle?

Your route will take you very close to Hadrian's Wall, well worth a visit. Perhaps the website will give you a taste of scenery thereabouts.

Posted by
3896 posts

Why would you fly into London if you want to start out your trip in Scotland? Fly into Edinburgh or Glasgow, rent a car. Book your return flight out of London.

Posted by
220 posts

well technically I'm starting in Inverness...so I have to find an airport with flights to Inverness....most flights from my home airport of LAX (direct flights) land in Heathrow. (hence the London portion).

Posted by
1694 posts

You might be better looking at flying into Glasgow or Edinburgh as said above, and hiring a car from there. Both have trans Atlantic flights from the US and Canada, but you might need to change. It might be easier than flying in and out of London.

Having just returned from a trip to England/ Scotland, I will say less is more. Give yourself time to really experience some of the places you want to visit. For example, stay in Inverness a few days and explore the castles in that area. A little over an hour from the city is the gorgeous Dunrobin Castle. The hubs and I were just meandering our way down the coast from one of the Orkeny ferries and happened upon this place. We spent half the day there and one of the highlights of the trip was their falconry show. In my opinion, it is not to be missed. There are a ton of castles in and around Inverness. Cut out something later in your trip and spend some more time there. Make some of the areas your "base" and spend more time in the base area exploring. You'll feel much less rushed and you'll be able to more fully imerse yourself in the experience. Remember, there's always next time!