UK Trip 2019

How many total days/nights will you be in the UK? You've outlined your first 7 days. Where do you need to end up for your flight home, and on what date?

Related to that question, I wonder why you have a rental car for only two days. Outside of the major cities, it's very useful to have a car in Great Britain. Your description sounds like you're very keenly interested in country roads and the scenic routes they run, and a car is pretty much the key to enjoying them.

You can assess how much time a given route will take by using the mileage and time estimates on Google Maps, and then adding something 50% to 100% to allow for enjoying the scenery, stopping to take photos or other activities, and taking a wrong turn here and there. (Even with GPS -- or, as it's called in the UK, SatNav -- wrong turns do happen.)

I could easily spend 2 weeks between Edinburgh and York. One of the highlights for me is Holy Island- there is a good circular walk to the Castle, the lime kilns and round to the north.

The beaches on this stretch of coast are stunning and there are some interesting castles to explore.

Hexham to York is about 2.5 hours by motorway. Plus navigating York could take 30 minutes. The Dales would be my choice of route. Durham Cathedral is worth a look, but the city itself is disappointing. Malham, Masham, Bolton Abbey, Ripon and Harrogate are all worth a visit. Obviously you won’t have time to see all of these places.

The North York Moors are much bleaker and more windswept than the Dales. There is a good walk between Whitby and Robin Hoods Bay.

In York the Rail Museum is worth seeing along with the walls, The Shambles and of course the Minster.

I too recommend renting an auto for most of your visit. Time is money and a car will allow to come and go as you please. There is not much big city traffic to worry about. Auto traffic is limited in the wall portion of York. Look at the National Trust UK web site for some great places to visit. A Tourist Pass is available on line and is available to pick up at the first place you visit. You will save a lot of money on admissions.

We did 28 days in Wales and England last October and didn't have time to go to Scotland.
We spent three nights in York, then drove to Castle Howard, the Yorkshire Moors to Whitby. Then up to Durham for two nights and another night at Haltwhistle for Hadrian's Wall. Also, we went over the Pennines (it was foggy and we didn't see much) then three nights in The Lake District.

York, Whitby and Durham were the highlights of our N. England tour.

Here is my detailed story of our trip:
28 days in Britain and Celebrity Eclipse home
https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=599139

What you’ve outlined is a good idea -the only difficulty is: do you have enough time?

Driving from Edinburgh down to Bamburgh is good, as is the walk from Craster to Dunstanburgh Castle.

The best bits of the Wall are west of Hexham so will take a while to get there. Go via Rothbury to see more of Northumberland. On the plus side, by the end of May the days will be long, so you’ll have plenty of daylight.

And yes, a drive from Hexham to York via the North Pennines and the Dales is wonderful. From Hexham head to Blanchland, Forest-in-Teesdale, Barnard Castle; then cut though Bowes to Reeth.

You’ll need to keep an eye on the clock if you're running out of time for your 17:15 drop-off in York - so just get on the A68 or A1(M) asap.

Thank you for all of the replies. I see a lot of great information and excellent ideas.

@epltd - After 3 nights in York we are going to train to London for 3 nights before flying home from LHR

@Jennifer - I would love to make it onto Holy Island and if the tide permits I think we will be heading there before Bamburgh.

@Geovagriffith - Thank you for that link, sounds like you had an excellent trip!

@ramblin' on - Looks like an excellent route, thank you very much!

Cam

Near Bamburgh and Dunstanburgh castles is Alnwick castle. If you’re a Harry Potter fan, parts of the first couple movies were filmed there.

If you go to Craster, make time to go in the Jolly Fisherman. An excellent pub which does really good food. Try especially the crab soup. The walk to Dunstanburgh is really nice.