Hello, I am hoping to do a 2-week trip in July or August that involves flying in and out of London, a visit to the Cotswolds, and a visit to Edinburgh. I will have my wife and 1-year-old daughter with me.
I am looking for tips on transportation and nice places to visit en-route to/from Edinburgh. Thanks so much.
Hello,
80% of England is between London and Edinburgh and you can see a lot from England in 2 weeks. Don't waste too much time in London. Chances are you'll be back, as it is a main gateway to Europe flying from overseas.
Travelling with a 1 year old girl I'd rent a car. If she would be older I'd say travel by train and ocassianally rent a car for a day or 2 to explore a small régión(like the Cotswolds), but in this case I'd rather drive most of the way with ocassional short trips by train thrown in.
Will you be renting a car?
Personally I’d use a car for the Cotswolds part, then use train or plane to get to Edinburgh directly because two weeks doesn’t give you a lot of time.
If you’re taking the train from London to Edinburgh, you could think about stopping at York en route, which is a lovely historic city.
Before you decide on dates, be sure to check on Edinburgh in August. It will be jam-packed with people due to Tattoo and Fringe. Costs will be high.
Is there a particular reason why you want to visit Edinburgh, as opposed to other areas in Scotland? As others mentioned, Edinburgh in August will be packed with visitors to the annual arts & music festival. From the Cotswolds, if you drove north on the motorway you could visit Hadrian's Wall and then have a few days in southern Scotland, where there are lots of lovely towns and there's beautiful scenery. To return to London you could take the eastern route through Durham, York, and the Peak District.
See https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/england for some ideas. If you'll have a car, then I'd focus on areas where the car is really useful and save those places more easily accessed by train for a trip that's all by train. For instance, consider the Lake District, Yorkshire Dales, and Hadrian's wall.
If you do decide to keep Edinburgh in the mix, consider flying open jaw - in to one airport and out of another instead of backtracking to London for a return flight. You'd book this under the Multi-city tab on the website of your airline of choice.
