There has been many different versions through rounds of back and forth. With flights purchased and hotels booked, this should be the itinerary we will actually follow at a high level. Pls help review and let us know what needs to change. Thank you!
day 0: Arrival - arriving at 4pm. check into hotel in South Kensington and rest
day 1: London City -- Buckingham Palace (will get the inside audio tour), St James park nearby briefly /or Covent Garden briefly for quick lunch, V&A
day 2: London City --Westminster Abbey, Big Ben (tour booked, seniors in the group won't join this tour), Parliament building tour to be booked, south bank.
day 3: London day trip --Widsor. depending on energy level we may add Fortnum & Mason shopping (for tea) and/or a quick stop at Liberty or Harrods (no plan to do any shopping though)
day 4: London City --Hampton Ct Palace; depending on energy level we may add Fortnum & Mason shopping (for tea) and/or a quick stop at Liberty or Harrods (no plan to do any shopping though)
day 5: London City or another day trip -- Either Cambridge day trip, or St Paul Cathedral for half a day + taking boat to Greenwich for half a day
day 6: London City --London tower, tower bridge (won't get inside). Leadenhall market/spitalfields briefly. optional: add a show in the evening.
day 7: London City --British Museum 1-2 hours only, St Paul Cathedral + Greenwich (with city cruise ride) if didn't get to see it on Day 5. Otherwise, this would be a do-nothing, stroll around to see whatever else we want to see day.
day 8: Train ride day+Cotswolds -- leave London for Oxford. train arrival before noon. pick up car and drive to see some cotswolds villages (hope to find less crowded ones)
day 9: Oxford : we might swap costwalds and Oxford between day 8 and 9. the reason for scheduling Oxford in day 9 is because we want to avoid Cotswolds crowd on a Saturday, and more importantly, there is some possibility that tours for Bodleian library will be offered on a Saturday, but none offered on a Friday. Slim chance of getting one though I know. downside is one more day of car rental and parking nightmare in Oxford.
day10: Drive day + Peak District --drive to Peak District. easy walk, scenic drive around Peak national park
day 11. Peak District -- Bakewell and Chatsworth
day 12. Drive day + York -- drive from Bakewell to York before noon and return car. From noon to evening : York minster (really want to see inside, but with the expensive ticket price and the short amount of time we have, it's likely we can only see the outside), castle museum, national railway museum (we won't have time for it, but we may try to get in to take a very quick Look after returning car near train station), Yorkshire museum garden and ruins of St Mary's Abbey (it closes 1 hour after everything else closes, so we will try rush to it), City Wall (schedule this 6-7pm if weather permits), Shambles in the evening only. optional: ghost walk in the evening (I don't think I will have energy left for it. it's listed as a just in case). --- I sadly assigned way too little time to York, and now I am struggling to optimize this part of itinerary. But more than likely, I will only be able to see: castle museum, city wall, museum garden. Shambles in the evening. Everything else is wishful thinking :D
day 13. Train travel day + Edinburgh -- morning train to Edinburgh. hotel checkin. national museum of Scotland.
day 14. Edinburgh -- castle, St Giles Cathedral, Royal Mile, Carlton hill for sunset if good weather
day 15. Edinburgh --Palace of Holyroodhouse; Princess park and street, dean village
day Final: fly out