Itinerary Feedback Please - Edinburgh, York, Cotswold, London

I think this is a very good list. Just a few thoughts:
-if you climb Arthur's Seat, I recommend visiting Sheep Heid Inn afterwards in Duddingston Village
-in York you should definitely add a tour of York Minster
-if you have time, outside of York you could also visit Castle Howard, one of the UK's most famous stately homes (either driving or bus)
-if you feel your schedule can allow it, I would consider adding Oxford (very close to Blenheim Palace)
-you don't need a car in Bath- I would drop it off before then- then take the train to London

Good luck with the rest of your planning (but sounds like you've done quite a lot already)!

Thank you Cat. These are welcome additions!

Hi, Gretchen! I agree with Cat—it's a nice and well--thought-out itinerary. I also agree about ditching the car in Bath and taking the train back to London. And I concur that Oxford is well worth a visit. So if you can spare some time to get there, I would highly recommend it. The Ashmolean Museum there is a wonder, but just walking through the streets and seeing the colleges, old pubs where Tolkien and CS Lewis used to hang out, and the incredible architecture is worth it.

I do hope you can make it to Ripon, especially to see Fountains Abbey. It is wonderful and beautiful and has so much history. I would choose that above everything else in the area. But that's me, of course. I love history. :-)

Thank you Mardee!

I agree with Mardee on Oxford. would put it above the Batsford Aboretum and Falconry Center. (I don’t know anything about Berkeley Castle.) We did a 90 minute walking tour of Oxford and loved it. It provided a great overview.

You may want to consider taking the bus from Stow to Burton-on-the-Water, then walking to Lower Slaughter and Upper Slaughter and on to Stow. It would save you from having to find parking. BotW is beautiful but can get very crowded. If you hit it first, you may beat the crowds. We went on a drizzly weekday this past week and hardly anyone was there. If you don’t fancy so much walking, you could return to BotW after the Slaughters and take the bus back to Stow. They run hourly.

I think York and Harrogate you are at least one day short looking at your list. You may need to prioritise.

As far as I know you don't see the Kilburn White Horse from the train. If you do it will be a very fleeting glimpse, and only from the left hand side of the train.

Regarding the White Horse, it is indeed a very fleeting and long distance look from the train! If you have an affinity with it then I would recommend adding it to the potential car journey you are making to Harrogate etc. There is parking just under the Horse and quite a nice walk up the side of it (steep steps!) and then along the top with great views over toward the Dales, all the while with gliders taking off over your head. The walk along the top goes on for about a mile to a visitor centre on Sutton Bank.

For York, yes, city walls is good and you can come off at various refreshment stops if you want and go back on for the circuit. Just remember that the bit around Foss Islands road was originally a lake, so no bit of the wall there. For myself, the river is best looked at from the banks and bridges. The Shambles can be done in a few minutes. Perhaps add the Treasurers House next to the Minster.

To make a change from pool, perhaps bar billiards and there is an original table in an excellent pub called the Golden Ball, in Bishophill (just a minute walk from one of the exits from the wall at Skeldergate bridge). Enjoy!

Thank you everyone for the great feedback and ideas. I will make some adjustments to our plans, do some more research and get started on our list of London activities for more input. Cheers, Gretchen

Edinburgh -

If you enjoy art museums, National Museum of Scotland has a fine collection. The National Portrait Gallery is also quite enjoyable with lots of context for the historical figures if that is an interest.

I am a museum lover and am sad to admit that the National Museum of Scotland absolutely defeated me on a recent visit. I had hoped to spend at least a half day in the Scotland History wing. I tried and tried, but failed to find a route or methodology to making sense of the exhibits. There is a broad chronology, but beyond that, I was lost for context and felt many of the displays to be laid out in an undefined maze.

If I had had another day, I would have tried again, but I didn't have the luxury. I resorted to "wandering" through the wing and later other areas of the museum - a "scatter shot" approach far from my usual museum strategy. Frankly, it was a relief to escape to the National Gallery. https://www.nms.ac.uk/national-museum-of-scotland/plan-your-visit/museum-map

Hi Gretchen -

While I appreciate it may hold some memories for you and despite the fact that it is highly visible, Menwith Hill is a high security installation and any loitering about on the surrounding roads (don’t even think about getting inside) will attract a rapid response from the police who are permanently on patrol around the area. Think of it as Yorkshire’s Area 51! I’m not suggesting you’d end up being detained, but you might have awkward questions to answer.

On a brighter note, while in York, I would also add a visit to York Minster. I might also suggest a visit to the Merchant Adventurers Hall into the bargain. The Shambles won’t detain you overly long, it’s only a single street which imho has milked its (non existent) connection to Harry Potter to death, but is interesting from an architectural and historic point of view, and also has the house, now a small museum, to the martyr Mary Clitheroe.

Ripon is a small market town which, batting above its average, has a large Cathedral, but while in the area, you could fill almost a whole day with a trip to Fountains Abbey and the Studley Park Water Gardens. The complex is about three miles outside Ripon and I think I’m right in saying there is a bus service to it.

If he is back from his travels, Henry’s free walking tour of Harrogate (large tips appreciated!) which meets by the war memorial at the top of Parliament Street (almost opposite the original Betty’s tea room) is entertaining and worth doing. Harlow Carr Gardens, which is quite a long walk through Harrogate, also has a branch of Betty’s on site.

Hope this is of some interest and hope you have a great trip!

Ian

Thank you ORDTraveler and Ian for the helpful feedback. When I am in Edinburgh and can't figure out the museum, I will know I am not alone! Ian, you have helped me drop Menwith from the itinerary and not have any regrets, although I do hope to we can make it to Ripon and Harrogate.