Need Opinons on Itenerary

First, I suggest you stop using vague terms like "10 days" to describe your trip. Instead, use actual, specific dates (even if you haven't booked your flights yet, which by the way you shouldn't until you have your itinerary figured out). If you don't have excat dates yet, use proposed dates, but be specific. Otherwise it's all too easy to tell yourself little white lies about how much time you actually have.

Don't include the days you arrive or depart - those are not terribly usable. Then, if you're going all the way from one end of the country to the other (London to Edinburgh, or vice versa) that day is also consumed largely by travel, no matter whether you train, fly or drive (it would be a very long drive in one day). Then you have the actual number of full, usable days you have to play with. I'm guessing that's some number smaller than 10 - maybe as few as 6 or 7.

Depending on how you define your "10 days" trip, you may not (probably don't) have enough time to do all that you are hoping to. Post you actual (or proposed) specific travel dates and you will get better advice on the specifics of what's realistic.

Not sure why you would choose Bristol as most people would go to nearby Bath. I am not a fan of Manchester either. If you just wish togo to cities, then probably best to use the trains - especially as you have never driven in the UK before. It is plain daft to return to London and then take the train out to Bristol and again to Manchester - especially as London has the most expensive hotel prices.

So, sticking with you original cities I would go by train as follows:> London > Bristol > Manchester > Edinburgh > York > London. Note that I have inserted York on the final leg. If I was choosing the route I would go London > Bath > Cardiff > Chester > Edinburgh > York > London. If hiring a car, it is best to do so if you wish to tour highland Scotland - or take coach tours from Edinburgh. Car hire is also useful for touring country areas such as The Cotswolds or the mountainous parts of Wales and The Lake District. See map of rail system:>http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/static/images/structure/css/nationalrailnetworkmap.pdf

www.nationalrail.co.uk is the place to find schedules & fares. On these longer journeys you would find it much cheaper if you can pre-book specific trains in advance as pay on the day fares can be very expensive. You can make the bookings on the presumption that you already have a Railcard. Also consider getting a Railcard. www.railcard.co.uk

If you decide to drive but don't pre-research some of those possible stops along the way, then I think you're unlikely to make many stops. The easiest driving route is always just to get on the big motorway and not get off. Compared to that, however, train travel is often faster between the big cities, e.g. London-Edinburgh direct in as little as 4h 20m by train, versus 7.5 hour estimate (without stop or delay) by car on the M1.

I just wanted to share a few thoughts about your trip: For the number of days you have, you might want to reduce the number of places you visit. London, York, and Edinburgh would make a nice itinerary with two bigger cities and one smaller, very walkable town in the middle. Finally, if you've not already purchased airline tickets, you could check into flying into one city (London perhaps) and home from another (Edinburgh or nearby Glasgow). If you travel by car, you really can't use it efficiently inside some cities, and travel between cities will probably be on boring highways. Trains will probably be a better choice. Check out the NationalRail website for tips on ways to save money with advance purchases, railcards, etc. Hope these ideas help.

Not sure why you picked Bristol and Manchester to visit. There are far more interesting places in Britain to see.

Also, with 10 days and 5 days in London and 5 in Edinburgh, when are you going to visit the other places.

York is a wonderful option and it is on the way between London and Edinburgh.

Also, don't even think of driving a car in cities like London, Manchester or Edinburgh. Traffic is awful and parking is a huge problem and expensive.

If you want to do the countryside, check out my review of our 28 day self-driving tour of Wales and England.
28 days in Britain and Celebrity Eclipse home
https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=599139

Definitely do not drive. The mental energy it takes to drive on the other side of the road cannot be understated. We learned this lesson the hard way in Ireland. Also Britain has an amazing train system that goes basically everywhere you could want to go with a few exceptions, so there is absolutely no reason to drive. Since you have never been before, I would do six nights in London and four nights in Edinburgh. London is an amazing city where you could spend months and not see everything. If you’ve ever been to New York it’s similar in that aspect.

Fly into Bristol/Manchester/Edinburgh; fly home from London. Or vice-versa. Use a multi-destination search function. Inter-city trains thereafter.
PS: I enjoy Manchester's industrial history; including a great gearhead industrial museum. Plus wonderful South Asian restaurants. Bristol has smaller mechanical interests, primarily a famous early bridge, and a good international airport. Edinburgh doesn't need five days unless you take day excursions. I'd leave it to a separate trip to Scotland.

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i like Anita's itinerary and do it by train. Quicker and less stressful than driving. York is one of the best destinations. You should also consider a Rabbies day tour from Edinburgh to the Highlands. I have been to the UK 7 times and have never been to Bristol or Manchester, but day trips to Windsor and Cambridge are much more popular.

I concur with the London, York, Edinburgh suggestion. My husband and I are leaving next week! Wish I had thought to look into the multi-city flight option. We are flying in and out of London. Here's how we planned it: 5 nights in London, 4 nights in Edinburgh, 3 nights in York, 1 night in London. Using the train for London to Edinburgh, Edinburgh to York, York to London. Booked all the trains as specific trains with a Railcard (have form filled out and pics in hand to purchase Railcard at Gatwick). We are flying in and out of Gatwick so we picked a hotel near Victoria station and staying there all of the nights in London including the last one as we will be familiar with the area. We've driven in Ireland and it is definitely not an experience we will likely repeat. If you feel the need to get out into the countryside, do a day trip.