Heading to UK/Scotland 8/30 - 9/11 flying in and out of Manchester. Tentative plan:
1 night in Lincoln (family connection)
2 nights in York
2 nights in Edinburgh
4 nights in Scottish Highlands/West Coast
1 night in Lake District (Keswick)
I am debating whether to ditch the Lake District as we will have plenty of similar scenery in Scotland. Would appreciate any critiques or suggestions. We are planning on trains through Edinburgh, but will pick up car for second half of trip. Many thanks in advance!
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23245 posts
Personally I am not a big fan to two nights since it is really only one day. Getting to Edinburgh from York will take most of the day. We almost never do less than three nights. And one nights for us only when we are moving between locations. But it is your schedule and if you are comfortable with it, it is OK.
Posted by
Brisbane, Australia
7175 posts
You might like to try and plan to get to Braemar for the Highland Games on 3rd September. In 2004 we managed to time our drive from Pitlochry to Inverness to coincide with the Gathering. I can't guarantee you will have warm sunshine as we did, but it really was a glorious day with the Queen in attendance. http://www.braemargathering.org/information.htm
We made a similar journey ...
Edinburgh >> via Sirling to Pitlochry >> via Braemar to Inverness >> Isle of Skye >> Fort William >> Trossachs >> Glasgow >> Keswick
Posted by
Pacific Northwest
2622 posts
You're really limiting your ability to enjoy York and Edinburgh with those 2 night stays. I would take the time to write down the list of sites that interest you for each town to see if you can really see them all in what is basically a one day stay there. Don't shortchange York - it's a great city.
Posted by
OP
Atlanta
47 posts
Thanks so much for the insights and opinions. Our age-old dilemma is always deciding whether or not to spend a good amount of time in a very few places or taking the "survey" trip. I think we will definitely re-allocate the night in the Lake District to one of the destinations on the front end of the trip and give the overall itinerary some prayerful consideration. Point taken about Lincoln, however, that is somewhat of a check the box stop and the day we land is always somewhat of a wash so might as well spend it on the train.