Itinerary Feedback: UK in October with two teenage boys

"Youngest son wants to stand on the Prime Meridian and see the HMS victory."

HMS Victory is in Portsmouth Dockyard, are you sure you don't mean the Cutty Sark (as it's in Greenwich).

https://www.rmg.co.uk/cutty-sark

First, your son won't be able to see HMS Victory from the Prime Meridian, he'll have to go to Portsmouth to see it, does he mean The Cutty Sark?

*Edit. I knew someone would beat me to it!

Where are you staying during all those one nighters? That's a lot of time spent finding your accommodation, checking in, unpacking then packing, ablutions, breakfast etc before you set off again on a whirlwind visit. I'm afraid it's far too rushed and aggressive for me. You're short changing London by a huge amount. I would drop Scotland and concentrate on England, giving London more time.

Concur with skipping Scotland as there is plenty to see in England (Cornwall Tintagel King Arthur) and Wales (lots of castles). Save Scotland for more time.

Research where on Hadrians wall. It isn't just one spot and some are just stones sticking out of the dirt i.e.not much to see.

Stonehenge good but I'd also add the Roman Baths in Bath. In both cases the audio guides make for a great experience.

noted about the ship, thanks! he will have to settle for the Cutty Sark...

I hate one nighters to be sure, so I only scheduled one. First stay is 2 nights in Chipping Campden, then one night in Langley Castle, 3 nights in Oban area, 2 nights in Edinburgh, 3 nights in London.

For Hadrian's Wall, we are using the focal point of Haltwhistle, suggested in RS Great Britain book.

You might want to check sunset times too.
The Royal Armoury s mus. at Leeds might be if interest.

That is an aggressive itinerary with a lot of driving and you are not going to have a lot of time to see things... Have you checked out driving times between destinations? If using google maps, the advice is to add at least 25% to their times AND THEN ADD ON TIMES FOR ANY STOPS. Don't underestimate hoiw long these will take. Just finding somewhere to park, all get out of the car and get to the attraction can easily put on 30 minutes.

Distances may not look very far on the map but will take a lot longer to cover than you might expect.

Day 3 for example, Chipping Campden to Stonehenge is goint to take well over 2 hours to drive and the same back...

Day 5 Chipping Campden to Langley Castle is going to be 5-6 hours drive. Beamish needs a full day to begin to do it justice. You haven't got time! Think about a stop in Durham instead with its cathedral and castle.

Day 6 Again it is going to take 5-6 hours to drive to Oban That doesn't give much time to play at being Roman soldiers on Hadrians Wall.

Day 7 Not sure what you mean by Hebrides exploration - is this a day trip to Mull?

I think you need to pare back your itinerary even more to give you time to actually see and enjoy the places identified. You can't do everything , much though you may want to! cutting back on time rushing through Scotland is one way of doing this. You could still add a couple of nights in Edinburgh after Hadrian's Wall. There are some splendid ruined abbeys as well as the ruined castles of Dirleton and Tantallon on the North Sea coast.

If you want a boat trip, there is always one from Edinburgh to Inchcolm Island with its ruined abbey (good alternative to Iona...) There are several companies doing boat trips.

How about this?

Day 2 Head to Chipping Campden from Heathrow and spend 4 nights here.

Use Day 3 to complete recovery from jet lag and see a bit more of the Cotswolds, or even visit Oxford.

Day 4 - Full day to visit Stonehenge and you could tie in a visit to Avebury stone circle, or Long Kennet Long Barrow.

https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/west-kennet-long-barrow/

Or a bit further away is Old Sarum, a wonderful hill fort - do a google image search to see what I mean.

https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/west-kennet-long-barrow/

Day 5 - do Warwick Castle. Also visit St Mary's Church for the Warwick family tombs. If time allows there is also the ruined Kennilworthcastle near Warwick which is great fun. This was a Norman castle and Rober Dudley Earl of Leicester, who was a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I , nearly bankrupt himself upgrading the castle for her visit. (It didn't work as she still wouldn't marry him!).

https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/kenilworth-castle

Day 6 Head to Langley Castle with a stop at Durham. Either stop here for three nights or spend 1 night here and then head to Haltwhistle for two nights.

Day 7 Spend a full day at Beamish

Day 8 Spend the full day on Hadrian's Wall - visit Housesteads Roman Fort, go for a walk along the wall, viasit Vindolanda and/or the Roman Army Museum at Carvoran.

Days 9-11 Head to Edinburgh for 2 nights. Visit Edinburgh Castle and explore Edinburgh. Think about a boat trip to Inchcolm Abbey.

https://www.visitscotland.com/info/see-do/inchcolm-abbey-p247601

Day 11 evening Catch the overnight sleeper from Edinburgh to Euston

Day 12 & 13 do London as planned ....

We did 4 weeks of South Wales and England with a rental car. I recommend skipping Scotland and do it on another trip. There is so much to see in Wales and England. You have two weeks, half of what we had.

Here is my detailed itinerary with tips on hotels, B&Bs, restaurants, tours, etc.
https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=599139

We stayed at Chipping Campden (at the Volunteer Inn-I recommend it) for 6 nights and used it as a base. I recommend visiting Stonehenge before you head on to Oxford and Chipping Campden.
Stonehenge is SW of London and not far from Salisbury, which is a great city to visit, especially its cathedral. You could do Windsor Castle if you haven't do so after your flight. It is not very far from Heathrow and you don't want to drive much after your jet lagged flight. You could head to Stonehenge the next day and perhaps see Salisbury. Then you could head north to Chipping Camden and stop at Avebury, where a large stone circle over a wide area is worth a visit. There, you can go up and touch the stones.

You have not planned to visit the Cotswolds at all, I recommend spending a day for that, there is a lot to see. Rick Steves guide of Great Britain will give details.

Also, you skipped Stratford Upon Avon. Not interested in Shakespeare. It is a great city.

Warwick Castle was nice. You say a day trip to the castle, where are you going to stay? You and your kids will want to spend some time at the castle, it is a great place for kids. Warwick is not real far from Chipping Campden, but you won't be on a dual carriageway , you will be on rural highways going through small towns with 30 MPH speed limits (also, these places have speed cameras).

Driving to Haltwhistle from Warwick the same day you plan to see the castle is a non-starter. That trip will take you some hours. Traffic, especially in the south of England and the Midlands is heavy. Also, you have incorporated another castle to stop and visit. NOT REALISTIC.

We stayed at a great B&B in Haltwhistle for a night, check out my review for details. You will see what is left of Hadrian's Wall and can visit the site of the Roman fort nearby with a great museum. This will take up 2-3 hours.

Consider visiting York, your kids will love the ancient Roman walls, the wonderful Minster and the National Railway Museum. We spent 3 nights there. Lots to see.

You plan to go on to Scotland from Haltwhistle, somehow getting to the highlands after visiting the Wall. NOT going to happen.

Loch Ness is great, near Inverness, but that it at the north end of Great Britain. Suggest you do Mapquest trips plans to see how long your travel time will be.

You have minimal times scheduled for London and Edinburgh. You could spend 3-4 days in Edinburgh and a week in London and not see it all.

Slow down and see more and your trip will be more fun with less frantic travel.

So, you are going to ‘wander over to Stonehenge in the afternoon’? It is rather more than a ‘wander’. In fact it is nearly a 2 hour drive each way. I suggest you go on Google Maps & check your distances/timings. https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/Chipping+Campden/Stonehenge,+Salisbury/@51.6190944,-2.462513,9z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m13!4m12!1m5!1m1!1s0x4870d0ac6c1603d5:0x53be13d60ab2da5b!2m2!1d-1.7832211!2d52.049655!1m5!1m1!1s0x4873e63b850af611:0x979170e2bcd3d2dd!2m2!1d-1.826215!2d51.178882!5m1!1e1

Haltwhistle (near Hadrians Wall) to Oban is 4 hours driving time:>https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/Haltwhistle/Oban/@55.6875102,-5.0873518,341220m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x487da3444b804039:0x5946893d09162007!2m2!1d-2.460856!2d54.972237!1m5!1m1!1s0x488941d0d2ddf1c1:0x83dd4aff818fc237!2m2!1d-5.471047!2d56.415157!3e0!5m1!1e1

https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/housesteads-roman-fort-hadrians-wall/

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I have of course already run my itinerary through driving distance calculations, but adding 25% was not something I figured in, so great suggestion @wasleys. Our look at Cotswolds was figured into Day 2 and morning of day 3, anticipating that my boys would be completely bored there.. Am I wrong? For a similar reason we skipped Tuscany on our most recent Italy trip... and I think it was the right call.

Ok, sure, substitute the word "wander" for "drive to Stonehenge and look around, return to our cottage rental when everyone has seen enough." Thats fine, @James , and I appreciate the feedback and the Google linking, but you get my drift, don't anchor on semantics. The important aspect is that it will take 2 hours, which is what I actually planned on, which is also a holdover from our original itinerary idea which spent the night in Bath. Which is closer to Stonehenge. I am really open to staying anywhere in that area, just trying to maximize time and sights/sites and minimize driving. It could be that Avebury will do the trick. When you mention that to my family however, they are convinced that the major iconic option is the best.

There will be some compromise here of best vs. doable for sure. And really, best is in the eye of the beholder. Having done massive drive time trips before, I will definitely agree that it isn't the best. Put yourself in my shoes squeezing in lots of bucket list items with family vacations before they head off to college and adulthood and you see where we need to try to compromise :) Can we save Scotland for another trip @geovagriffith? Perhaps, but there is still Athens, and Germany, and, and, and... Maybe if we cancel school altogether. Or travel in lieu of school. We certainly do not have 4 weeks open, but I will look at your itinerary and suggestions. I am running into some difficulty finding B&Bs with accommodation for 4.

You are correct in your assumption that your boys may find The Cotswolds boring. For me I can drive through, appreciate that the area is attractive but no more attractive than many other places in the UK but there isn't actually much of interest other than lots of tea rooms and antique shops. There is far better scenery elsewhere in the UK if that is what you're looking for.

Avebury is often overlooked in favour of Stonehenge however most people who visit both state that they prefer Avebury. It really is a magnificent place and excites the imagination more than Stonehenge in my opinion. Both are worthwhile visits if you have an interest but don't go simply because you feel compelled to tick it off a list.

I understand your argument about fitting in Scotland but we all have an endless list of places to visit and we have to acknowledge that we can't do it all. My advice is to go with the attitude that you will return and visit Scotland. Your boys are teenagers, they have their whole lives ahead of them and I'm guessing that you parents are reasonably young too. Far better to enjoy and properly experience somewhere than to rush through and recall nothing but a blur.

Jules, I think the general feedback is that you're going to spend way more time in transit than actually seeing anything. I'd suggest that first, you cut way back on your number of destinations and second, you select things that are closer together. Try to limit the change of lodgings to 3 or 4. London itself has a lot to see and I'd add more time to that. One idea would be to travel by train to York and do day trips from there, then return to London. Another itinerary that might work is to explore the area south and east of London (Dover with its castle, Canterbury, Portsmouth, etc.) and then return to London.

Totally agree that the Cotswolds will be dull for teenagers. It’s not somewhere people generally want to spend much time in until they’re at least 40. Main attractions are walking, country pubs, cute cafes and gift shops.

Also agree that there is too much driving. Driving in the U.K. is not fun. The roads are congested, delays are inevitable. I’ve done US road trips and it’s a different experience, open road and reliable driving times mean that you do not arrive at destinations already stressed and fed up. Anyone who travels around the U.K. regularly will tell you this is the absolute norm here.

I’d try to stay in more cities like Bath or York as there will be things there to appeal to your kids. They’re both proper small cities not just museum pieces.

Consider taking a train from LHR to Paddington station and then a direct train to Moreton-in-Marsh that’s a 15m taxi ride to Chipping Campden where you can get a good night’s sleep before renting a car.

@MaryPat I had considered this option, but I couldn't find a nearby place to rent a car from CC. Had combed the forums looking for some tidbits here with no luck. Will try again.

There will just be local companies in Chipping campden. Much better to get off the train in Oxford and hire from one of the national companies there and drive to Chipping Campden. They are also more likely to do a one way hire too.

Guess I should have checked first. It sounds like you’ll need to take a direct train to Oxford and rent a car there. Chipping Campden is a 1h drive.

You can skip the tube and train by taking the Oxford Bus. The bus stops at two of the Heathrow terminals and then goes directly to Oxford where it makes multiple stops. You can purchase your tickets ahead of time online and and you are not required to use the tickets for a specific time. The driver will stow your luggage in the compartment under the bus and you can just sit back and relax until you arrive in Oxford.

Thank you Anita, that is good to know.

Thanks Anita!