Sightseeing from London to Edinburgh

9 whats? Babies, children, teens, adults, seniors? Any mobility issues?

There are 9 passenger vehicles but there won't be anywhere enough room for 9 adults and luggage for 9 adults.

Minibuses get very expensive and have special requirements.

When is the trip?

If you're there during the season, it's totally worth going to a match. It's really interesting to compare the fan experience between EPL and MLS soccer here in the US/Canada.

I got tickets for Tottenham v Liverpool this October at Whitehart Lane. This involved waking up in the middle of the night to buy tickets when they went on sale to non-members (9:30am GMT).

I think York is worth a two-night stay for tourist reasons. You're right about it being a lot of driving though. I've only taken the train, which was very comfortable and convenient.

5 adults, two teenagers and two kids. I have been pricing vans but am afraid of parking. That was our only issue in Spain - parking the monstrosity.

We are going in June so no chance of any soccer matches - right after Champions League and before Euro Cup so no friendlies either I don't think.

Seven days to hit all those sights ANd get to Edinburgh is too little time. Skip Edinburgh this trip. Obviously, you've done the big rig driving thing before and I wonder if you have a good memory for how complex and tense it must have gotten going hither and yon with it and nine people. Simplify your itinerary and you'll enjoy the things you see so much more.

If you haven't been to London before, spend another night here as day 1 will be getting over jetlag.

A smaller minibus with 9 seats will not have anywhere near enough room for your luggage and if you go any larger, you will find it difficult to hire such a vehicle and will have trouble parking it in some places. Driving is the obvious option for the geographically diverse places that you want to cover, as 9 people doing this by train is unthinkable. The best option would be to hire two cars, which may not cost any more than a large minibus.

You also need to review your itinerary, as you don't have time to cover all your must sees plus Edinburgh. Edinburgh needs more than a day to make the journey worthwhile. I would suggest that you only go as far as Manchester then head back to London.

Don't underestimate the traffic that you will encounter.

Day 1. Pick up cars, visit say Highclere and say Salisbury then stay in Bath.

Day 2. In Bath

Day 3. Over 2 hours driving to Stratford plus stopping in Gloucester or Cotswolds.

Day 4. In Stratford.

Day 5. Warwick Castle then the drive to Manchester way take the best part of 3 hours.

Day 6. Manchester

Day 7. Stay in Manchester, but visit Liverpool or Chester.

Day 8. Drive to Rutland and visit Stamford (where Middlemarch was filmed), Oakham and or Uppingham and visit Rutland Water (hire bikes?).

Day 9. Either drop the cars and get the train to London or drive back to London.

I am not sure from what you have said that I have calculated your total days correctly. You can get the train back to London from Manchester if needed.

Thanks Jennifer. That looks like a great itinerary. I am rethinking Edinburgh but my husband is hell bent. We will see who prevails ;-)

I think you will find that in the UK they drive on the right side of the street (ie. the left side).
You could do this by train, but reduced mobility limits your destination possibilities. Then again your reduced time does that as well. Look at something like this by train ...

Day 1 Bath
Day 2 Stratford-on-Avon
Day 3 Manchester
Day 4 Manchester (or York)
Day 5 York (or Durham)
Day 6 Edinburgh
Day 7 Edinburgh

I would go Highclere & then to Stonehenge before reaching Salisbury for an overnight. (See Salisbury Cathedral - which I think is better than Gloucester - which I suggest you miss).

Next day > to Bath. I would leave Bath on A46 going N & then A433 to Cirencester (overnight in Bath or somewhere near Tetbury/Cirencester).

Cirencester to Northleach via A429 and into Bourton-on-the-Water = wonderful Cotswold village (but tourist magnate). Visit other attractive Cotswold villages in this area > Lower Slaughter, Snowshill, Broadway & Chipping Campden. Then B4632 to Stratford-upon-Avon. (Overnight in Chipping Campden to Stratford area).

The above are how I would do the southern bit of your route.

If going to Manchester and then on to Edinburgh, I would stay on the west side of the UK and visit the Lake District (overnight).
http://www.lakedistrict.gov.uk/visiting/placestogo

You could return to London via the East side if the UK. If driving, Bamburgh & Alnwick Castle are worth a look. Alternatively, take the train from Edinburgh to York (overnight and visit) and then train next day to London. (Long distance trains should be pre-booked for getting lower prices). www.nationalrail.co.uk
http://www.theaa.com/route-planner/index.jsp

If you have to do Edinburgh, then you will have to drop something else and the obvious, as it is in the wrong direction is Highclere and Bath. Otherwise, chartering a helicopter will be the only option! David's suggested itinery doesn't work as it doesn't allow for travel time and would give you less than half a day in each place. Too much travel for too little reward.

You are trying to squeeze a 2 week trip into half the time. Believe me, sitting on a motorway for hours is no fun!

Another issue you are going to have with moving on so much and being a party of 9, is trying to find accommodation.

Jennifer is correct, that given your wishlist (distances) and limited time, large chunks of your day will be taken up with travelling. So you have to get smart - stay in accommodation close to the train station, and travel during the early evening. Out of the way places are difficult (and time consuming) without a car. Perhaps a day tour to Highclere from London?

As others have said, you are trying to cram too much into too little time. Britain is full of historic houses, castles, attractive villages as well as natural sites of interest. I think that you would be better off choosing a base and travelling out on day trips. (Check location on Google Earth for ease of access). If you did consider a self catering base, I would come back on to this forum & ask members what they think of the location - prior to booking. A car is essential for most cottages. You might be better off with 2 cars rather than 1 bigger vehicle as some roads are narrow. (Look at them on Street view).

How about renting a large cottage (or 2 smaller ones)? Here are some of the sites available:> https://www.ownersdirect.co.uk/rentals/united-kingdom/cotswolds/r24363
http://www.english-country-cottages.co.uk
http://www.visitwales.com/holiday-accommodation/self-catering/cottageshttps://www.visitengland.com/plan-your-visit/find-accommodation-and-places-stay-england/self-catering-accommodation-and-cottages

sofia,

Are you planning to rent the van at the airport and drive immediately after a long international flight. That practice has been compared to driving in an impaired state (especially as you'll have to get used to driving on the "correct" side of the road).

You'll also have to get used to different road signs, the sometimes cryptic markings on the pavement and of course the roundabouts. Country roads and bridges are often quite narrow and with a larger van you'll have to be prepared to pull off the road as much as possible if approached by a large lorry coming in the opposite direction.

I have to agree with the others that you're trying to fit too much in to what is a very short 10-day time frame. I've found on every occasion that driving in England takes longer than even the best laid plans (sometimes considerably longer). One example that comes to mind was a drive from Manchester to Winchester on one of my trips several years ago. If you're not using a GPS you may have to allow extra time for "getting lost".

Good luck with your planning!

Thanks everyone for all of the responses!

We are spending three days in London before we were planning on picking up a car. We rented a large van in Barcelona two summers ago to tour Northern Spain and had to deal with the roundabouts and small roads and dearth of parking so we are prepared for that. The left hand side driving is the biggest obstacle and does give me pause.

I am hesitant to stay at an apartment or cottage as we rented an apartment in Paris and it was beyond awful. But I am going to look into the suggestions provided here.

Edinburgh is pretty much off the table at this point. If rather come back and do Scotland on its own.

Thanks everyone!

You mention you are a "Downton Abbey" fan. We are also. Our friends tried to get reservations, two years ago. They were devastated they couldn't get in. You might not know, but you can't just visit the castle. It is only opened a few days per year. You have to have reservations. There are day tours who visit, but not necessarily visit the Highclere Castle itself. Some of the tours just visit the studio where it was filmed. A family actually lives at the castle most of the year.

Why not miss out the tourist honeypots in the Westcountry and north and east from London? You could see East Anglia & Norwich, Stamford & Lincoln and then think about York and the north-east coast. That'd be my preference.

Why not miss out the tourist honeypots in the Westcountry and go north and east from London? You could see East Anglia & Norwich, Stamford & Lincoln and then think about York and the north-east coast. That'd be my preference.

Let me stress again that Highclere is only open to the public a few days per year and tickets sell out in advance very fast. I'm not that interested or knowledgable on the subject but if you do a search you will find several threads on this forum discussing the issue in depth.