Scotland/England in Sept 2017....need help getting clear itinerary

If you only have two days I'd choose one or the other from Lake District or Chatsworth.

Is there a reason you are not going to Edinburgh on the 13th and 14th? You could leave car, maybe at airport, and take train to London. on 15th.

Speaking of rental cars, you might want to reconsider renting a car as soon as you land. Jet lag (no matter how well you handle it), lack of sleep, not being familiar with the local road system, and the novelty of driving on the "wrong" side of the road can all present big problems. There are some that are not bothered by any of those things. Others think they are ok but are really driving somewhat impaired without realizing it. And some folks are complete zombies and should never drive on the day they arrive. Even a minor fender bender is not the best way to start a trip. Don't mean to be Debbie Downer, just food for thought.

Have you driven in the UK before??

The first few days is very fast. Kudos for not starting a visit to Scotland by flying to London.

Suggest you sacrifice days in London for a less frantic trip. You can always go back to London.

I've done an enterprise return to Luton Airport but it's a tad convoluted: car return free shuttle to airport then pay shuttle to train. Very easy access by overground rail to several stations in central London. If you are flying home via Gatwick for heavens sake stay near St Pancas or Blackfriars stations, way easy.

I notice you are skipping Oban and the Hebrides. I would skip Loch Lommond before I would skip Oban.

I wanted to mention that while Hubby is playing the "real" golf course at St. Andrews, the Himalayas Women's Putting Association golf course there is an absolute blast. You can do 18 holes on this putting course for just 1-2 pounds depending on your age. It is a great deal of fun, you are literally next to the old course and you can always tell everyone that you did 18 holes at St. Andrews as well. I generally don't enjoy golf all that much and I had so much fun that I did it twice!

I notice you don't have Edinburgh, Falkirk, or Stirling on your list either but do have a few days. You could also drive down to Hadrians wall country instead and return your car at Newcastle or Carlisle and take the train to London.

Lucky you! You will be in Inverness at just the right time to see the wonderful Highlands Tattoo at Fort George. There is a special bus that leaves from the station in Inverness if you don't want to drive. http://highlandmilitarytattoo.com/ I highly recommend this as an evening you will never forget. We bought tickets directly from the Highlands Museum shop at Fort George. I also,highly recommend staying at the Strathness House in Inverness. An ideal location along the river, great restaurants just steps away and just across the small walking bridge from downtown. http://www.strathnesshouse.com/

On September 10th - You are driving out to Eileen Donan Castle. If you can, I would try and continue over the bridge (free) to the Isle of Skye and try at and get as far as Sligachan. (I know it is pushing it and if you ask on the Scotland forum, people with more familiarity with Scotland will no doubt give advice).
https://www.visitscotland.com/destinations-maps/isle-skye/

Sept 13th How about seeing Edinburgh? http://edinburgh.org

Sept 14th - I would take the train to York for an overnight. http://www.visityork.org/?AskRedirect=true
Sept 15th - York to London (Kings Cross) by train.

Pre-book the trains about 11 weeks ahead for the cheapest price as turn up and go can be expensive on these longer journeys.
Find trains at www.nationalrail.co.uk
(You will probably pre-book with www.virgintrains.co.uk)

We were just in Scotland for the first time. Driving the roads and highways isn't the same as driving those in the US. Many are smaller and "slower"-- lots of curves, roundabouts. On the plus side, it's a much less congested country. Driving in the city of Edinburgh was discouraged, and frankly it was easy to get around without a car. (Parking didn't seem easy either!)
It might be better to spend the first couple of days in Glasgow/Edinburgh and get used to the country, which is WONDERFUL (I left my heart in Scotland for sure!) After you've adjusted to time changes, roads, and other subtle differences that might throw you for a loop (making a right turn isn't as easy as you'd think! What about pedestrians? Is that bus headed straight for me going to STOP??) then you might consider a loop out to Fort William or to one of the islands.
It's great to have half a plan, and leave room for something serendipitous! We happened to be in Inveraray for their Highland Games-- a surprise to us. For our leg in London, we ended up seeing a state visit procession with the Queen and King of Spain, as well as Queen Elizabeth, and that hadn't even been announced until just before-- wouldn't have known to plan that!
Scotland is wonderful!

your original plan is very sensible (apart from trying to add Bath......). You have to choose between Lake District and Chatsworth, and I'd wait until about 11th/12th and check the weather forecast, if it's wet go to Chatstworth! Drive down on 13th, stay2 nights.

Whichever you choose you'll be approaching London on the M1 motorway, if want to get rid of the car go to Luton Airport. You can use the shuttle buses to reach the railway station and the trains pass through a choice of central London stations. There are also frequent express buses http://www.nationalexpress.com/en/airports/luton-airport.aspx.

Really it depends on where your hotel is, there is a special toll for taking cars into central London which is somewhat cumbersome to pay (and if you don't, Enterprise get a large bill and charge it to your card).

I can't believe so many of you were kind enough to reply, thank you! I've decided we need to try and stay in more central locations and day trip from there thus limiting hotel changes with baggage. I'm used to having a very American view where distances between cities and sights are much, much further (we commonly drive 8 hours, nearly 500 miles, for a weekend at the beach) and I'm realizing there are many sights within a 2 hour drive time window. I've also taken your advice and am planning on staying in Edinburgh and then taking the train down to London (thus getting rid of our car and eliminating having to drive in busy London). I located some reasonable day trip excursions from London in order to see some of the other sights. Thank you again!

Sept. 9, 2017: Arrive Glasgow, train to Inverness.

Sept. 10, 2017: Pick up car in Inverness. Day trip by car to: Eilean Donan Castle, Loch Ness, Urquhart Castle. Staying in Inverness.

Sept. 11, 2017: Inverness

Sept. 12, 2017: Inverness day trip by train: Kyle line.

Sept. 13, 2017: Inverness to St. Andrews (husband golfing, wife touring). Staying in St. Andrews.

Sept. 14, 2017: St. Andrews to Edinburgh (dropping off car).

Sept. 15, 2017: All day in Edinburgh. Overnight sleeper train from Edinburgh to London.

Sept. 16, 2017: London.

Sept. 17, 2017: London. Guided (bus) day trip to Windsor, Bath, and Stonehenge.

Sept. 18, 2017: London

Sept. 19, 2017: Depart London early AM to Baltimore, US

Looks like a great trip! We're doing a similar one in two weeks! I'm stealing the idea about the putting course in St. Andrews - sounds perfect!

Between St. Andrews and Edinburgh in Fife there are nice, free standing stones at the Lundin Links golf course

http://www.britainexpress.com/attractions.htm?attraction=5009

You will be the only tourists there if you visit.

Also after crossing the Forth bridge exit the motorway and circle back down to the water to view both of the Forth bridges, it's stunning.

Thank you Tom_MN for the standing stones suggestion! Looks amazing!

You could save a day’s car hire by doing the train trip to Kyle first.

When you drive to Eileen Donan Castle, I would head for the castle first rather than make stops outbound. (I would also try and get over to the Isle of Skye). I can’t see much point in spending a day in Inverness.