First Time England - London 1st or Last?

I suppose it would depend to an extent on how long you are in England and how you intend to split your time between London and the rest of the country.
However I would much prefer London last. It may be hard to drag yourselves away from London and the rest of the trip might involve a number of moves which would emphasise how much London offers from one base.
I know that if I am on holiday in Italy I would much prefer to end my trip in Rome or another major city to enjoy what a capital city offers.

Thank you David! We'll be there for 2 weeks and will spend sometime in Yorkshire as this is where my mum's family is from.

I agree with David, I would end my trip in London.

If you are flying in and out of London, then there is another alternative. Do a bit of London at the beginning and end of your trip. We've done that several times and really enjoyed it. With 2 weeks you could spend 3-4 days there each time and have a week to go up to Yorkshire by train and see a few other places on the way there or back perhaps. London is AWESOME and there are plenty of day trips you can do on your own by train, too. Windsor, Cardiff, Bath, Brighton, Stratford-upon-Avon, Winchester, Dover, Canterbury, Oxford, Cambridge,...... these are only a few of the places that one can do as day trips from London.

I would spend all my London time in London first. You'll be excited to be on your trip and have more energy at the beginning imo. After London, you can relax more and you may not have as much energy as you will in the beginning.

Paul,

to me, its whatever happens to work out for your trip, $$$ and time.

happy trails.

There is definitely merit in starting with the relatives while getting over the jetlag and long-haul flight and holding off on the intensity of sightseeing in the big city.

We are going to London in about a month. This is what we are doing, we are staying in London first because it is closest to the airport for our trip. We can get in stay up all day getting organized, get a good night sleep and go from there. Gives us a week to get familiar with the train station we will be leaving from to go to York at the end of the trip. We gave ourselves a slow few days in York because we know by that time in the trip we will be a bit more tired. Then back to London for a night at the same hotel and by then we will know restaurants and can cruise our last day. This has worked well for us on many different trips.

Since your wife will be a first time visitor, I think her excitement will be building on the flight over. When you guys get off the plane, she will have that "I'm really in England! I'm really here!" feeling. That kind of excitement really calls for London to be your first stop. Your wife will be so excited to see Big Ben, The Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace out the window of a taxi or a bus (or on a walk) the first day. It's really the maximum effect of "Wow!" in my opinion. Follow up with a visit to The Tower Of London, the British Museum and Westminster Abbey on the second day because it really gets you in the "history of England mood", if she likes history. Third day, maybe a trip out to Windsor Castle (or Hampton Court Palace if she is interested in Henry the 8th and the Tudor period), then back to London for some walks around the city or along the river. The Victoria And Albert Museum is a museum she may enjoy; filled with decorative historic objects and clothing. The Museum of London is great, with Roman mosaic tile floors from ancient Roman townhouses found in London. The National Portrait Gallery is great. Then, I'd leave London for a week, go to Yorkshire (don't miss York) and other places. Return to London and spend several days doing more restaurants, maybe a night at the theatre, shopping, take some walks around London just to see the architecture and cute neighborhoods like Chelsea. Have a look at www.walks.com. This is the "London Walks" company, and they do themed guided walks all over London, plus day trips out of town with a guide.