Pacing for England and Wales early September

Unlike many itineraries, this doesn’t seem too aggressive. Not familiar enough with Wales to judge that part. Have you got parking for York? I’ve never driven there but it seems to be a horrible place to park.

Newcastle and Durham are also nearby and both well worth a visit, although I hope you have better weather than I did.

Thank you for responses. The trek up to Hadrians Wall is also my biggest concern with timing. Thank you Emma for suggestion of getting the car rental in Salisbury, that was not something i had considered. Very helpful!

Are you driving back to London at the end of your trip? If so, it may work better to hire your car at Heathrow airport and return it there. The auto rental sites at Heathrow are always open on weekends, whereas they may not be in York. Also, if you want an automatic, there may be a larger selection at Heathrow as opposed to Salisbury.

Since you’ll have a car and will be somewhat in the area, consider stopping in Caernarfon on the way to Conwy. Conwy and its castle probably won’t take a full day. Llandudno is close to Conwy and nice to walk around for a couple hours just to walk along the water and look at the buildings.

I love it when a plan comes together! With all the excellent advice, we decided to save Hadrians Wall for next time, when we hope to get to Scotland. So, we are adding the extra day for York. And as advised, we decided to return the car there, take the train back to London and end our vacation at Fullers for a brewery tour. A perfect way to finish up our UK adventure.
As for the other suggestions, Caernarfon is already on the agenda. Thanks!
The car being stick shift is not an issue. We both drive Mini Cooper S six speed. (Now if we could find and afford to rent a Mini Cooper in the UK, we would be golden :p. Thank you again everyone for the advice and affirmations. I really appreciate.

You are missing a lot in South Wales.

On your way to Cardiff is Tintern Abby and several great castles. In Cardiff, Cardiff Castle is worth a visit, as well as the Museum of Welsh Life.

Caerphilly Castle, a few miles north of Cardiff is as impressive as Conwy, perhaps more.

Tenby, Wales is a great palace to visit, then Pembroke Castle and especially, St. David's Cathedral at the SW tip of Wales.

emma, right thanks to my carelessness and apple spell correct.

Thank you again for the suggestions. Emma you have been super helpful! I love when we can shift gears. That is what makes traveling so fun. We added the Peak District, instead of Hadrians wall or adding an extra night in York. We were not able to add the extra day to our hotel reservation in York., so its all working out well. Any suggestion things to see or do. I know Chatsworth House in Derbyshire is a must see as well as some more Neolithic things. I found a cool B&B in the north part of the Peak District to stay in.
As far as the other two suggestions Tenby is way out of the way, but does look beautiful. I did add Caerphilly castle, we already had Cardiff Castle on the itinerary. I am still going back and forth on Tintern Abby. We plan on going to Glastonbury already. Have to see on the timing I guess. We have penciled in as possibles old Sarum, Woodhenge and West Kennet Long Borrow as options after Stonehenge and Avebury on the way to Cardiff.

We both drive Mini Cooper S six speed. (Now if we could find and afford to rent a Mini Cooper in the UK, we would be golden :p.

As you both drive a Mini Cooper S you'll know how stiff the suspension is and how every minor bump and hole can be felt. My wife has a Cooper S and whilst it's a fun car to whizz around town in I wouldn't want to drive it on country lanes (it's a great size) but not good on less well maintained roads or on muddy pull overs.

Tintern Abbey is worth visiting. In case you didn’t already know, the A466 is closed (since May, for about a year) just north of Chepstow, between St. Arvans and Tintern. To get to Tintern, at St. Arvans, follow the diversion signs towards Devauden, then up to Trelleck (not Trelleck Grange). In Trelleck, follow the sign to Tintern. After a couple narrow roads, you’ll come out onto the A466 in Tintern right by the Wye Valley Hotel. Turn right and go just over a miles to the Abbey. The road closure adds 4 miles to the trip. Just before entering Trelleck ar Harold’s Stones; 3-3,500 year old standing stones. Since you intend on visiting Cardiff, Caerphilly, Caernarfon, and Conwy castles, and possibly Tintern Abbey look into getting a CADW pass to see if it would be cheaper. CADW.gov.wales. On the site you can see the prices for each of the sites you’ll be visiting, plus the different plans. That way you will know for certain which is cheaper for you. We bought an annual joint membership for our trip. Membership cards were sent to the house and arrived in a couple weeks, although the website says it could take up to 28 days. Our cards didn’t arrive before we left so we printer the confirmation email and type membership, and were given temporary cards at Tintern Abbey (our first CADW site)

The quickest way to get to Caerphilly castle is by exit 32 (A470) off the M4. If coming from Cardiff castle head north on the A470/Northern Avenue. Go north to Caerphilly road (B4600, Nantgarw rd). That will take you into Caerphilly. There is one parking lot in the center of town, but it’s always crowded or full. A lesser used lot is off of Crescent rd, that runs along the backside of the castle. From Nantgarw Rd, turn right onto Crescent Rd. About a 1/4 mile down the road, it briefly narrows to one lane, and the car park is on the right.