Need Help With What to do with 3 Days Between London and Edinburgh

Can't help with your sightseeing question, but have you checked to see that you can pick up a car in or near London and drop it in Edinburgh without an exorbitant extra charge?

You do not say how u will travel. If by train i suggest going to the lake district ie Keswick. If the weather is poor then opt for a university town like Cambridge or Oxford nr London, they are both beautiful with lots of history and fine culture. If u prefer your xtra days in scotland then take daytrips to Sterling castle and St andrews by the sea all by train from Edinburgh. Enjoy any of the options will be fabulous.

If you haven't been to Edinburgh before, you could easily spend those extra days there. There's enough to see and do, and in November weather you might want to focus on a big city. Edinburgh Castle, the Royal Mile, Holyrood, the Museum of Scotland, the art museum, Gladstone's Land, the cathedral, the ex-royal yacht Britannia (in nearby Leith), and more. If you like "getting to know the culture of a town" three days in Edinburgh will get you at least partway there.

You mention driving but you could easily make this trip by rail. And if you want to stop somewhere along the way, by rail or car, I'd suggest York, where there's enough for at least two full days if you prefer -- York Minster, the Yorkshire Museum, York Castle Museum, and Railway Museum come to mind. Also a lot of pedestrian streets in the medieval center, of which the Shambles may be the best known. You may not want to shop (I'm not into it either) but strolling around York is rewarding whether you buy anything or not.

We went from London to Glasgow last summer and made a stopover in York for one night. It was a really cute little town and I enjoyed it a lot. We also took a short day trip to Edinburgh from Glasgow (we were there for a soccer training for the boys) and it was a really great city!

I would do one night in York and 2 in Edinburgh, I think you might want more than one day there.

We did this all easily by train.

Kim

If you are interested in history I suggest http://www.beamish.org.uk/

Mid November is probably not the best time for the Lake District or gardens. Most National Trust houses will have closed for the winter.

It will be dark by c 4pm.

The journey is best undertaken by train, rather than driving. Break the journey at York for a couple of nights.

Split the extra time between London and Edinburgh, and take the train from London to Edinburgh.

Or at least take the train as far as York, and drive to Edinburgh from there. I don't think you will find much natural beauty visible on or from from the motorway for the first part of the trip.

Plenty of history and culture in London and Edinburgh, and not a little in York, either. You could spend three months in London and not run out of history and culture, so you should have no trouble filling an extra day or three. If you haven't any idea of what to do in Edinburgh, or what is there, you might try some guidebooks for suggestions on both, as well as some historical background.

Good train advice is on the excellent website of the Man in Seat 61; it will tell you where to sit on the train and what you will see (if you go early enough in the day to have daylight at that time of the year).

I think that's a route where advance booking would net you a discount, although the train experts here will know and you may have left it too late anyway.

Good luck with your travel planning.

Thanks so much for all the replies! Looks like train is a good idea at this point. I assume the 3 day Britain rail pass would be appropriate? I would love more time on my itinerary but am stuck with what I have unfortunately. Any and all suggestions are welcomed!

Check prices of the actual trips you plan to take before buying a rail pass. They often do not pay off, at least from the financial standpoint.

" I assume the 3 day Britain rail pass would be appropriate?"

Only if you insist on full flexibility. You can probably do better with single tickets purchased in advance, although the best discounts may be gone.

Go to the National Rail website http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/, and price your tickets for tomorrow, and then for your travel days. This way, you'll know full last minute price and whether discounts are still available for your dates. Then compare these prices with that of the pass.

If I were you I would divide the time between London and Edinburgh because there really is so much to do there.

However, since you are driving, York would be a nice stop between London and Edinburgh.