September/October in England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland

Find your accommodations now (best to book rooms you can cancel if plans change) as many places are already booked. I'm currently looking for locations in Wales and London for October. Some of the bed and breakfasts, and some hotels, have limited availability, if any, even at this point in time. I'm looking for lower priced rooms; perhaps a more robust budget would provide many more options.

It is not too early to book a rental car. We used Arnold Clark for Yorkshire this month. We were very pleased with this company. We did not have to pay until we picked up the car.

We love exploring possible ancestral locations. I recommend trying to connect with local family history groups/Facebook pages for the areas you will explore.

Thanks thats very reassuring as the other one in my group wants to leave it until we arrive but I'm thinking unavailable accomodation will limit us a lot.

Definitely book accommodation before you arrive. It's the tail end of the season in Scotland and smaller B&Bs might not be open, limiting availability of accommodation for you outside of cities.

Rabbies are a well regarded 'small bus' touring company especially for Scotland.

In Scotland it's whisky and in Ireland it's whiskey. Distillery tours generally need to be booked in advance. Once you've seen the process once you'll find it's the same everywhere.

Obviously a famous Scottish fabric is Harris Tweed. If you plan on visiting Lewis & Harris in the Outer Hebrides you'll also need to consider ferry bookings via Calmac and you'll want to avoid being there on a Sunday as almost all shops and fuel stations are closed.

I agree with Skye Girl about Harris and Lewis for fabric. The Harris Tweed store is a short distance from the ferry dock and it had hundreds of items made with Harris tweed, ranging from men’s jackets, hats, purses, and ornamental objects. But there is also a LOT of wonderful rich wool fabric there. I was in my glory, going through all the stacks of wool.

And if you drive up to Lewis (lovely drive and very good roads), there is a small shop called The Weaving Shed in the village of Crosbot (you can find it on Google Maps). Two sisters weave some wonderful fabric and sell it from their home. I had a great time in here choosing some lovely stuff to take home.

I really loved Harris and Lewis, because it was not nearly as crowded with tourists as the Highlands were. And it was a beautiful and very scenic place, with mountains, white beaches, and rugged coastlines. There are also so many ancient historical sites like neolithic stone structures, medieval churches, and the amazingly beautiful Lews Castle (which has an equally amazing museum inside). It is well worth a visit.

We did four weeks driving around England and S. Wales in 2017 during October.

The weather was nice until the end when we had some rain at the Lake District.

We are looking at doing a Rabbies tour as well, the one to Cornwall and Devon.

Thank you Skye girl, Mardee, Geo and all! We've just confirmed our flights so nows the time to start booking the trip. We'll look at the Outer Hebrides too. I checked Rabies tours and it said it did not include accomodation? So we think train to Inverness and do day trips from there, then onto the north western side and ferry trips and possibly stay on an island overnight. What is a good base to do day trips from on the western side? Do all ferries take cars? Thanks again.

You can choose to let Rabbies book your hotels, which takes the pressure off you. Yes all ferries take cars.
One option would be to go to Inverness, then the afternoon ferry from Ullapool to Stornoway (Isle of Lewis), drive down through Lewis and Harris, ferry from Tarbert (Harris) to Uig (Isle of Skye) then drive on to Inverness or Glasgow/Inverness.
Or Inverness, one night in Ullapool, then the morning ferry to Stornoway.
At Tarbert there is a hotel right next to the Ferry Terminal.
You would want a minimum of two nights on Lewis and Harris. Ideally three.

Thanks isn, we'll chart your suggestions and consider it.

Which is best Orkney islands or Isle of Lewis & Harris?

Whilst everyone is right about getting your accommodation and car hire sorted now it's too early for most train tickets. Depending on what train journeys you are planning you may be able to book some of them now but for most it will be more like 12 weeks before or even less for weekend travel. If you can, it's probably better to avoid rail travel at weekends as that's when maintenance is done and bits or track can be closed causing complications in trips.

Which train journeys are you planning?

Rabbies books accommodations for you and charges you the additional cost based on the type of accommodation you select-B&B, moderate hotel, expensive hotel. We took a Rabbies tour in England and Wales (Stratford on Avon, Ironbridge Gorge, Conwy, York and Cambridge) and loved it.

We were thinking of a train trip London to Inverness then hire a car.

Which is best Orkney islands or Isle of Lewis & Harris?

I think most people would say they are both equally wonderful. Orkney has many more neolithic sites than Lewis and Harris, but L&H has beautiful beaches and incredible scenery. To get to Orkney, most people either fly up or take an overnight ferry. L&H is a quick 2-3 hour ferry trip.

Here is a post from a few years ago that asks for a comparison and has some good responses. https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/scotland/lewis-harris-or-orkney

London to Inverness take the Caledonian Sleeper from Euston, or the 1200 LNER through train from Kings Cross which arrives at 8pm.
The Sleeper does not run on Saturday night. It can be booked now.
LNER can currently be booked for most dates until 1 November

We love wildlife, history, pottery, whiskey, fabrics, Brian Cox

Which Brian Cox?

https://amp.theguardian.com/culture/2022/jul/23/succession-actor-brian-cox-meets-professor-brian-cox

Hahahahahaha!! I love that, GG!

Yes GG I thought that was a no brainer hahaha. The Prof of course.

You've all made some great suggestions. We are looking at 4.5 weeks and it looks like 2 weeks in Scotland & driving back thru Wales would be great. We're staying with Friends in Oxford and will do day trips from there for a week. We'd have to do a booked short tour of a Ireland if we want to see it's beauty as I don't think we'll have enough time as well as staying in, and exploring London.

I think you've answered your own question Aussie - with all you have planned you have virtually filled up all your time in Scotland, Wales and England. Rather than try and rush, leave Ireland for another trip and spend 2-3 weeks there!

Thank you everyone! We'll be referring to all your Invaluable suggestions re: things to see, how to travel, when to book trains & accomodation, as we go. It's all a bit nerve wracking booking your own trip when you've never been before and there's so much layered history in the UK. Maybe I'll report back later in the year. :)

Above you were saying you were interested in doing the train from London to Inverness.

I was talking to someone today about how affordable that 8 hour , nearly 600 mile journey is, and they are not wrong.

With a £30 Two Together Railcard in early September an Advance Fare is just under £60 each, and 1st class £100 so a very affordable splurge. With more notice at the end of September those fares are £40 and £96 respectively.

Go way out into November and 1st class is as low as £72 on some dates.

Thank you isn31c for the info re London-Inverness train bookings/prices. Very helpful. I’ve been looking at the LNER website and their prices are higher. Where can I buy a Two Together Rail Pass?

This is where to get the Two Together Railcard- https://www.twotogether-railcard.co.uk/