We are completing a conducted tour of Ireland & Scotland that finishes at the end of August. We then intend to self drive from Edinburgh to London in eighteen days. We have not visited the UK before and would appreciate some advice on which routes to take, places to stay and what to see during this time frame.
Posted by
8330 posts
We have a 28 day drive tour of England and South Wales planned for this October.
Our plans start in Bath.
Here are the places we will stay:
Bath
Cardiff (Wales)
Tenby (Wales)
Llanddewi Brefi (Paternal ancestors came from there)
Chipping Campten, the Cotswolds, we plan to visit Oxford, Blenheim Palace and Stratford on Avon as well.
Warwick
York
Pickering, the Yorkshire Dales and Whitby
Durham
Haltwhistle =Hadrian's Wall
Keswick= The Lake District
Winchester
Southampton
Your tour would likely plan some time in London, which we did not plan. Also, I expect you would skip S. Wales.
York is an obvious choice for you. The Lake District is on the opposite side of England, but you could manage that if you decided to do so. We plan a lot of time in the Cotswolds and Bath, with three days in Bath, six in Chipping Campten and one in Warwick.
If you are interested in a book to assist, other than Rick Steves guide, there is a great book on touring Britain by car.
It is
Eyewitness Travel, Back Roads of Great Britian
Also, here is a good reference
http://www.greatbritishescapes.com/example-itineraries/great-british-history.aspx
Posted by
OP
3 posts
Thank you for your comprehensive reply, appreciated, Regards Lance
Posted by
Hereford
109 posts
We travelled to Edinburgh last year, however we did not pick up our car there for our tour of Yorkshire, hence to London. We took the Border Railroad to Galashiels and picked up our car rental from Enterprise there. We returned the car in York and took the train to London.
In between we had a great trip: hiking Hadrian's Wall, visiting castles, abbeys and priories and just enjoying the countryside.
We stayed in a B & B very close to Hadrian's Wall, and a pub in Whitby (my favorite abbey). We loved Bolton Abbey and Lanercost Priory.
We generally make it point to pick up our car outside the busy urban areas. Gives us a chance to get our "landlegs". We always make it a point to rent the smallest car we will fit in to...it is just my husband and I and we travel light. Driving some of the smaller roads can be challenging. (We have had a Chevy Spark and a Fiat 500. Both were comfortable enough for the two of us but the Chevy didn't do as well on hills.)