Help me with my agenda? I'm headed to England with my mom in June. Mom is in her 70s, but very capable. We are doing Bath and London, but I wanted to do a middle location. I was thinking Oxford and Blenheim palace. Or adding an extra day and heading up to Edinburgh, but since we are kind of doing this last minute, a lot of the mid priced places in Edinburgh are booked, but we could probably find a few more pennies to pay for a more expensive place. Lake district seems nice, but it takes a while to get there without a car. What do you guys think? Is Edinburgh a can't miss and worth the travel back and forth?
Posted by
Lake District, England
6012 posts
The Lake District is closer than Edinburgh from London- 3 hours to Penrith or Windermere by hourly train (quick cross platform change at Oxenholme for Windermere). Keswick is a 45 minute bus ride from Penrith. So 4 hours London to Keswick.
That is substantially less than it would take you to drive the distance. On a bad day in 3 hours from London driving you might be barely north of Birmingham.
Also the Lake District has plenty of places to stay, in all price brackets.
Even closer (via Manchester or Derby) you could also visit the Peak District- or the southern part of the Yorkshire Dales (around Grassington) is also very accessible- via trains to Leeds. Both areas have good public transport.
But Oxford and Blenheim are a far more obvious fit with Bath and London.
Posted by
Los Angeles
736 posts
Is Edinburgh a can't miss and worth the travel back and forth?
With the limited time you appear to have, it isn't worth it, especially when you consider the amount of travel time. Edinburgh deserves serious time.
Oxford and Blenheim make perfect sense.
Posted by
Lincolnshire, UK
1889 posts
With the time you have available scrap any idea of trying to cram Edinburgh in. There are better ways of spending your time! Oxford and Blenheim make sense, particulary as you won't have a car.
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
32921 posts
I agree in this case Oxford and Blenheim, but Blenheim involves a lot of walking, and Oxford, while compact, also uses the shoe leather. I say these because you mention the age of your mother so I expect it is important.
Posted by
Duluth 🛶
6582 posts
I would vote against Edinburgh and the Lake District for the reasons you named.
I loved Oxford and would have loved to have spent more time there. I think anyone would love this city and adding Blenheim palace to it sounds perfect. You definitely don't need a car there, and it's very walkable.