Itinerary for England and Scotland

As others will undoubtably say, a lot depends on your interests, how much time you want to spend in each country, and mode of travel.

Thanks for your reply! History and culture are primary interests, as a beautiful gardens and Outlander! Stratford is a must. Open to, even anxious for suggestions from others who have traveled England and Scotland. Will be self-driving.

I'm just going to list some of the places that I loved as a history person myself.(sp) Are you going any further north than Edinburgh? If so the Orkney's were wonderful as is Inverness with Culloden and Beully Priory nearby, as well as Urquart Castle on Loch Ness. Dirleton and Tantallon Castles are wonderful, as is Dunnottar Castle in a spectacular setting. Edinburgh has of course the castle, Holyrood, Mary King's Close, Cragmillar Castle, and Rosalyn Chapel nearby. Isle of Skye was great. Right across on the mainland is Eilan Donan Castle from highlander fame. On Skye is Dunvegan with wonderful gardens, brochs, etc... From Oban we were able to see a little of Mull, Iona and Iona Abbey, etc... as well as Dunstaffnage Castle which was a headquarters for Robert the Bruce if your interested in him. The borders have spectacular ruined castles and abbey's. The border abbey's of Jedburgh, Melrose, Kelso, and Dryburgh are wonderful. Dryburgh has Sir Walter Scott and his home nearby, Melrose was the supposed burial place of Robert the Bruce's heart, Jedburgh is fairly well intact and a sight to behold, and Kelso was the richest of the four but now has the least left. They were of course destroyed (repeatedly) by the English.

Heading down into England there is of course York, the Lake District, the area around Bath - Roman Baths, Avebury/Silbury Hill/Stonehenge, Wells Cathedral, Glastonbury Abbey, the south coast, and London itself. To me the major must-see's in London include Westminster Abbey with Verger tour, London Walks walks, the Tower of London, the Harry Potter studios, St. Paul's Cathedral, the British Museum, the British Library, Hampton Court, a globe theatre performance, West End Musicals.

There is so much more than I can list here that I have enjoyed on my travels so if you want specifics or more specific places just ask. Maybe once you have figured out how much time you want in each place and a general route.

I think York is a must-see destination and the free walking tour by local people and the York Castle museum are musts.

I love trip planning! I really recommend that each member of your group go through the guide books at your local library as well as online sources (Undiscovered Scotland is about as comprehensive a site as you’ll find—I wish other countries had a source as good). When everyone has a list of what they want to see, put it together in order of physical proximity so you can determine an itinerary for all of your interests that is reasonable in your time available.

Do the research ahead of time, otherwise you might miss something you’ll regret—when I was planning my first trip abroad to Britain six years ago, I didn’t know about the Ness of Brodgar dig in Orkney until I had already locked in our dates. Turns out that we could have seen the year’s dig beginning if we extended our stay by just one day!

You need to say whether or not you intend to hire a car or just stick to public transport.

" Will be self-driving."

From that comment in post 3, I'd say that they're hiring a car.

There is far too much to choose from with your brief! Exactly when are you travelling? Important for gardens.

Edinburgh deserves 2 full days and have a day trip to St Andrews or Stirling, then you could head to Northumberland and visit some of the castles such as Bamburgh or Dunstanburgh on the coast. Holy Island is magical, but check the tide timetable, as it is accessed via a causeway. Cragside near Rothbury is one of the most interesting properties that the National Trust own IMO and you could spend 4+ hours there including the gardens.

A day at Beamish Open Air Museum shows how life was like 100 years ago, then on to Durham.

Drive through the North York Moors to Whitby, home to Dracula and visit the old Abbey. York could easily fill 2 days. For garden lovers, an essential is the Royal Horticultural Society’s Harlow Carr in Harrogate and the town itself is worth a visit.

The Peak District is worth visiting if you are there at well dressing time, when floral arrangements “dress” the towns and villages.

The towns and villages around Rutland Water are chocolate box twee and the gardens at Barnsdale are nationally renowned.

Personally, I find Stratford upon Avon to be too tacky, so I wouldn’t recommend it, but each to their own. I am also not a Cotswolds fan. Instead, I would head to Bletchley Park - it is a fascinating day out if you like WW2 history.

Are you spending any time in London? I think you may need 2 months, not 2 weeks!

You seem to be more focused on Scotland.

We planned a four week drive tour of Britain and after much research decided to save Scotland for another trip. We did all four weeks in South Wales and England (also skipped London and the SE of England).

Here is my review of our trip:
https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=599139

Bath was a must see. Also the Cotswolds (stayed in Chipping Campden). Loved Stratford Upon Avon. York was one of our favorite places. Tenby, Wales was great. Durham, north of York was another great place. Winchester, in the South was worth a couple of days.