We had to cancel our long-awaited trip to France due to a covid rebound, but we are better now. Rebooking that trip would be very expensive, but I have found reasonable flights to London and would appreciate feedback on the following plan, followed by some questions.
Arrive London 10:30 am Sunday October 15, and take the train to York
6 nights in York, likely staying at Clementine's Townhouse Hotel
We will not rent a car on this trip. We plan at least two day trips: North York Moors Railroad to Whitby (will take a bus or taxi to Pickering), and a mini-van tour of the Yorkshire Dales.
Train to London Saturday October 21
6 nights in London, likely staying at Ember Locke in Kensington
We visited London for a week in 1999, so we don't feel like we have to try to see everything. Tentative plans include the following if we have time:
Visit the Victoria and Albert Museum (we have not been), revisit the National Gallery or British Museum (we will reserve), revisit St. Paul's Cathedral (we will reserve), revisit Westminster Abbey (we will reserve), go to afternoon tea at one of the places recommended on the forum, go to one or two plays, and take some walks (guided and unguided). It appears that reservations for the sites I mention can usually be done a day or two in advance, so we base final decisions on the weather forecast.
My main questions are:
1) How does this look overall?
2) If we were to do a third day trip by train from York, what would you recommend? Durham? Try to find a walk in the Yorkshire Dales that we can get to by public transit (we like easy hiking)? Other?
3) If we arrive at London Heathrow at 10:30 am, for what time should we book our tickets from King's Cross to York? This late, is there any advantage to booking ahead, or should we just book when we arrive? I'm having a hard time telling if we could change to a later train if we miss our train. Any advice greatly appreciated.