Rabbie’s Tour London to Edinburgh

Here's a link to that tour:
https://www.rabbies.com/en-us/tour/london-to-edinburgh-adventure-8-day-tour-from-london

I haven't done that tour, but it sounds interesting. I have done a different multi-day tour with Rabbies and enjoyed it.

I have been to the UK several times. Rabbie's London to Edinburgh seems to cherry pick some of the best site locations. It could be fun. But remember that the price of their tours does not cover the cost of accommodations which will be probably equal or more to the tour price. They do help you with making arrangements. You might be happier taking the train to specific towns or cities in which you really want to spend time and take Rabbie's day trips from these. That way you would have to make fewer reservations and less time in a Van. If you've not been to London, you could visit several free museums and other historic sights and then take the train to Edinburgh, maybe doing a stopover in York. Bon Voyage!

Thank you both for your replies. Good to hear a different multi day Rabbie’s tour was enjoyable! I do realize the accommodations are extra. It still seems like a pretty good deal though. Yes, I’ve thought about exploring London and then taking a train to Edinburgh via York. Maybe with some side day trips. But when I saw the itinerary of the London to Edinburgh tour it really seemed to go to so many places I would like to see. It definitely caught my eye. I would still explore London a bit ahead of time. Plus even though I enjoy travel planning, it would be nice just to pop on the van after someone else did all the prep work! :-)

This is an excellent itinerary. I have not been on this tour, but would take it in a heartbeat without hesitation.

My hesitation is that it does sound like a lot of time spent in a van.

I would not let that worry you one bit. You'll be seeing scenery all along the way out the window, and your guide/driver will answer any questions such as "What's that building over there?" I saw all kinds of things I wondered about (several castles and cathedrals) out the window while riding on the bus...coach....on my last Rick Steves tour, Best of England.
All tours must get around some way, by larger bus, small van, or by train. There's always going to be some "down time" between sights when you're riding.

You might build in some time in London (2 to 3 days) before you depart on this tour.

It is possible to take the train from London to Edinburgh, with some stops along the way (York, Durham) but it wouldn't be as much fun as this Rabbies tour. Rabbies has an excellent reputation and I have never read a bad review of one of their tours. IMHO, you can book this, let them take care of all the transportation, and enjoy yourself. Two thumbs up for this tour! Although I haven't actually been on it yet, I have confidence it would be great.

We did the first 4 days of this trip and the time on the van was not at all oppressive. I think some of the places visited would be cumbersome to visit by public transportation and the Rabbies tour was so easy.

Thank you for your words of encouragement Rebecca and Cala. It really is a great itinerary!

The itinerary takes you to many interesting places but as you have already said, my concern would be the amount of time you spend sitting in the van travelling. Most days you are looking at around 4hours travelling time. Adding in time for lunch, that may not give very long to actually see much of the place you are stopping at. It may be a choice of lunch or seeing the attraction.

Looking at Day 3 - you are likely to be spending 4+ hours driving between Shrewsbury and York. Add in a stop at Buxton (say an hour?) that isn't going to give very long for Chatsworth House especially if you are planning on lunch there. The house is gorgeous and is surrouynded by extensive gardens and grounds. Ideally it needs at least half a day to explore and you may feel short changed by the amount of time you have here. Entry isn't cheap either - or is that included in the price of the tour?

It's a difficult decision. It does get you to some lovely areas and a tour makes it a lot easier than trying to arrange this yourself. Loike everything it is a compromise. If you are happy to accept the time spent travelling, then go for it.

To enjoy this you will need to be prepared to be happy for very brief visits to the sites you stop at. Wesley’s has explained the challenge on day 3. The issue is the same if not worse on Day 1. Driving from London to Shrewsbury with stops at Stratford and Ironbridge means just a quick glimpse at both. To put that in context I don’t think that you can possibly see Ironbridge properly in a full day, it needs more. Now that’s fine if you only have a passing interest in the stops or are happy to come back again to see whatever really interests you another time.

I think Johnew52, it will be a stop just to view of the iron bridge itself rather than a 'visit' to Ironbridge. To do justice to all the different museums there would need 2-3 days... However the Stratford visit is going to be rushed, especially as it includes the lunch stop.

Thank you to both UK citizens for your input! That helps shed more light on the travel time in the van situation. Although the itinerary seems great, I’m just not sure it fits with my preferred travel style. This trip wouldn’t be imminent anyway. I’ve got other travel plans/ideas first, so I still have time to ponder what to do. Everyone’s feedback has been very helpful!

I did 3 Rabbies tours last year ranging from 3-4 nights each. It was really nice to just get on the coach and have someone take me from place to place. The driver will give you details and information on the places you are going to stop at. However, be aware that they will just drop you off and pick you up. It’s definitely not a guided tour like RS. You’ll still need to do research on the stops to make the most of your experience. One of the feedback we gave Rabbies is that they should give a brochure/handout/map of the stops as a better guide instead of the guide pointing to where you should go. I still had a great experience. I did the Devon and Cornwall tour, the Southern Wales tour and the Isle of Skye tour.