Ten days in the UK by train

Bath, Salisbury, and York are no problem - all three cities are easily accessible by train and compact enough to get around on foot. The Cotswolds are best seen by car, but some of the towns and villages are accessible by train.

What worries me is the addition of the highlands. That's a lot of added travel time (York to Inverness is a six-hour train ride one way) on a trip that's already going to be fairly rushed. Consider skipping either London (if you've been there before, do you really need any days there on this trip), the highlands, or both.

I haven't done this yet but Mad Max seems to have some nice tours from Bath to Cotswolds. salisbury is 1 easy hr from Bath.

We have done a fair amount of train travel in the UK ( England, Scotland and Wales) in our last two trips and really enjoy it. You can do a nice loop up through York Nd Edinburgh and back through Bath and Salisbury. The Cotswolds are not easy by train but since your time is limited I would omit them! especially in November. And the Highlands would also not be a good choice. Remember that the weather is likely to be cold and cloudy, and the days are very short. Best to spend your time in the cities.

Yes, definitely take the short days into account. In northern Scotland in November, you're looking about about 8 hours of daylight (and even less than that as you get later into the month) with sunrises around 8:00 AM and sunsets around 4:00 PM. That's not a lot of time for scenic train riding.

I'm considering a similar itinerary, also in November. I fly a red eye into London. My tentative plan is 2.5 days in London (hopefully with a day trip to Windsor/Blenheim/Stonehenge/Oxford), train to Edinburgh on Day 3, Train to York on day 5, back to London day 7, complete sightseeing there on Day 8, and fly out early Day 9.

I've never been to the UK before and sadly probably won't ever go again, so I welcome suggestions on whether I have too many or too few days allocated to different spots, and if there's anything I haven't included that I really shouldn't miss. Ought I cut a day somewhere and tack on a night in Oxford?

(I'm not interested in Bath, and I'd love to do the Highlands but have read that November is not a good time to go. My main interests are historic architecture (castles/cathedrals) and the countryside/villages, which seems like it's going to get shortchanged.)

Since the map printed on the BritRail pass is small, see better maps at http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations_destinations/maps.aspx. But an actual train schedule is the best way to find the fastest connection points; you can't always assume from the map. Schedules through the same link or through the DB link at How to Look Up Train Schedules and Routes Online.

Definitely doable by train are Edinburgh and surrounds by train. Dirleton and Tantallon Castles by bus were great ruined castles outside of Edinburgh, and Craig Miller and Roslyn Chapel within city limits were good too. Might have to miss the highlandsin November though.

Since you're pressed for time, you may want to investigate flying from Southampton airport to somewhere north, then taking trains back down towards Southampton for your next ship.

Here's a list of destinations from Southampton airport: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southampton_Airport#Airlines_and_destinations

Per that list, FlyBe goes to Edinburgh and Glasgow, and Eastern Airways goes to Aberdeen. You can check schedules and prices at Skyscanner: http://www.skyscanner.com/

You have direct trains along this route from Southampton to ...
Salisbury (1nt)
Bath (1nt)
Cheltenham (2nts) for a day to Cotswolds
York (2nts)
Edinburgh (2nts)
London (1nt)
... then back to Southampton on Day 10