Traveling from Edinburgh to Keswick

Driving into and out of Edinburgh on my first trip to the UK in 1993 was unremarkable. That is, I can't remember anything about it, so certainly nothing went wrong. One nice thing about city streets is that the speed limit is generally slow and signage pretty good. You might find this part easier than some narrow country roads.

If you pick up a car near Edinburgh Waverly Rail Station, assuming that's convenient, the main road there turns straight onto the A1 highway, which Google Maps does suggest among the fastest routes for driving to Haltwhistle or the general neighborhood of Hadrian's wall. The A7 also looks like a pretty straight shot southbound. I would not be worried about either route. www.viamichelin.com is another handy site for planning or Brits might more often use www.theaa.com/travel/roadwatch.

We had no special trouble driving from the Dalkeith area (a little south of central Edinburgh) to Keswick. I wouldn't want to depend on a car for sightseeing in Edinburgh, we kept ours parked at our B&B. But it's easier than driving in London or other really big cities.

We visited Keswick as well as Haltwhistle (for Hadrian's Wall) in our 4 week drive tour of Wales and England.

There are several places along the wall to see it, but we picked Haltwhistle because of the proximity to two museums and the ancient Roman fort of Vindolanda. The Wydon Farm B and B was great.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g616269-d665943-Reviews-Wydon_Farm_B_B-Haltwhistle_Northumberland_England.html

Check out my detailed review of our trip:

28 days in Britain and Celebrity Eclipse home
https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=599139

Be sure to give yourself a full day at Hadrian's Wall (or even two if you like to hike). If you are looking for a local guide, Peter Carney is fantastic.

Thanks everyone for your advice and really helpful links and resources! I'm feeling a little better about navigating out of the city by car (it's driving on the left side that's worrying me). I've checked out the Wydon Farm B&B but there is no availability, so mabey we'll stay in Keswick, and I'm going to contact Peter Carney about arranging half day walking tour.