Very last minute Solo trip to England, Ireland, maybe scotland...need itinerary advice

Congratulations! You will have a wonderful trip! So you basically have a titch over 3 weeks, which is good. With regards to London, definitely don't skip it. It's the most wonderful city in the world, in my humble opinion. That said, you can decide whether you want to visit it at the beginning or at the end. Or both.

One of the advantages of staying in London for several days at the beginning of your trip is that it's very exciting and it really gets your travel juices flowing. There are so many places to see, and I would encourage you to borrow or buy a guidebook for each country you will be traveling to. Then after seeing London, you could head to your next destination. Stonehenge is easily doable as a day trip from London. Many people here love the Mad Max tours, which offer tours from London to places like the Cotswolds, Stonehenge, Salisbury (one of my favorite places) and so on. That would alleviate the need for you to have a car. https://www.madmaxtours.co.uk/ But you really need to book these tours as soon as possible as they do sell out.

You could conceivably do all 3 countries in 3 weeks, but again Ireland takes a bit of time and trouble to get to, so that's something to be aware of. But as you have found, you can fly over there. I have not been to Ireland so have no recommendations to offer there.

And as I mentioned on your other thread, many areas in Scotland have a shortage of tourist lodging, so when you get into the popular areas like Skye, it is very difficult to find last minute accommodations. Skye is also difficult to do by public transportation. Your best best is to probably base yourself in Edinburgh, and take one or more of the Rabbies tours, but you should try and book them ahead of time. If you wanted to go to one of the islands, I would recommend either Arran or Mull, both of which are far less touristed than Skye and easier to get to (especially Arran, which is really lovely). Arran also has very good public transportation, which works in your favor.

ETA: I spent 5 1/2 weeks in England this spring as a solo traveler, so you might want to check out my trip report, which has info on London and other places: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/england/wandering-around-england-in-38-days-march-to-april-2024

And I spent 3 weeks in Scotland last year, so here is a report from that trip (also solo), which included Arran, Mull and Skye: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/scotland/solo-in-scotland-trains-cars-and-ferries-and-a-wee-dram-or-two

I second Mardee's recommendations to do London first. It gives a bit of a cushion in case there are flight delays (as opposed to having a second flight scheduled soon after arriving).

I recommend visiting the Burren in Ireland. The perfumery in the middle (?) was a lovely little place for reflection and calm...well, it was in 2009! I'd prefer a return visit to the Burren over a return visit to someplace like the Cliffs (not a fan of crowds and heights...).
Clifden is a lovely little town in the Connemara region of Ireland. Oh, my, too many lovely places to visit. You must have a specific interest in Western Ireland already to help focus recommendations. What particularly draws you to Western Ireland?

I was thinking of you earlier and sacred places. You may find the British Pilgrimage Trust website useful- https://www.britishpilgrimage.org/

If you are arriving on Saturday evening I would stay at the airport overnight then go to Bath or Bristol next day, Sunday by train or bus.

Dump your luggage at your hotel, then train to Salisbury for the bus to Stonehenge- https://www.thestonehengetour.info/

Another day you can get to Glastonbury on the bus from Bristol - every half hour on routes 374 to 377 (train Bath to Bristol)- 45 minute journey, buses call at Bristol Temple Meads Station.

After whatever else you do in that area why not fly Ryanair from Bristol to Kerry (via Dublin) for your West of Ireland segment.

You could then fly Shannon to Edinburgh on Ryanair for the Scottish segment.

There is a direct bus every day from Edinburgh Airport to Oban at 1726, arrives at Oban 2100- run by Scottish Citylink.

Or go to Oban by train changing at Glasgow.

If you wanted to stay on Iona there are only 2 hotels- the Columba and the Argyll. The Columba is booked up for June. The Argyll has solo rooms only on 11 to 13 June as I write.

So maybe do Bath etc first, then up the east or west coast of England to Scotland, crafting your itinerary round one of those three available nights on Iona, then to Edinburgh to fly to Shannon for Ireland, then fly Shannon to London at the end of your stay.

HF have walks for all abilities so that is not a worry.
In the Lake District Coniston HF has a 3 night solo for 7 to 10 June which work well.

You can get from the Lake District to Oban and on to Iona in the day by train then ferry and bus across Mull via Glasgow with ease, so that would work well with staying on Iona on 11 and maybe 12 June.

With the spare day from Coniston (if you went there) you could do a Mountain Goat Tour.

Have a bit more time maybe on Mull or elsewhere in Western Scotland then on 14 June fly at 0855 from Edinburgh to Shannon. That would give you most of 14, and all of 15 to 18 June in Ireland, Fly back to London on 19 June on 1 of 4 flights, overnight in London before the flight home on 20 June.

I merely give HF Coniston as an example that meshes in well. Others in Northern England at Sedbergh (Yorkshire Dales) and Dovedale (Peak District) also have solo availability for the same dates.

When I have a round trip out of the same city, I split my time in that city. It is always lovely when I return at the end of the trip to a city I feel like I know and do the things I thought of during the rest of my trip. London, if you've never been there, deserves quite a few days, and there are so many day trips by train or bus. You don't really need a tour unless you want one. Either way is great.

Seems to me there is a trip report by someone who did Ireland without a car. It might require a deep search to find it.

It's lovely to travel last minute...so many options. If you can't decide, let the available hotels help your decision. I think many people here do tours which requires a long time ahead planning. I've done both, either works. For three weeks, I'd visit all three: England, Scotland and Ireland. For two, I'd drop one. That's just me. Sounds like a great vacation!

PS, for my favorite village, I love Grassington (and nice walks to and from) but it is not in the direction you are going. My SIL's favorite (he's British) is Whitby/Robin's Bay, I've not been there yet. But again, the wrong side for you. Public transportation gets us there. I started rambling on...so many great options for you. It's making me want to head back to the UK...sigh.

I like Wray's idea of spending time in London at the start and end of the trip. It will give you a chance to acclimate after a long flight. It will also eliminate the stress of having to rush back to make your flight home. With regard to Stonhenge, Salisbury in quite close and you can access the stones on your own using public transit. There is also the cathedral there along with the best preserved copy of The Manga Carta if you're interested in history. Old Sarum is also nearby so there are things other than the stones. Anothe place to consider is Bath which is close to Glastonbury and also has many other attractions. Just food for thought.

Julie, here are links to some threads (one may be the one that Wray was referring to). It should give you some helpful info on traveling to and around Ireland using public transportation.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/ireland/traveling-without-a-car-in-early-july
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/ireland/a-week-in-ireland-without-a-car
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/ireland/ireland-itinerary-without-car
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/ireland/ireland-itinerary-without-a-car
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/ireland/two-weeks-in-ireland-without-a-car

Also, do you have Rick's books with suggested itineraries? It doesn't sound like you do.

I'm so grateful for everyone's replies!!! Wish I knew how to reply to certain people. Gosh I am not technologically savvy in some ways LOL

I'm reading and rereading all the advice and looking forward to spending my weekend doing some planning.

I'm SUCH a "planner" which is sort of one of my problems. Part of me wants to totally wing it, which never in a million years would I tell anyone to do...but perhaps, that's a lesson for me? haha

I'm grateful for a supportive hubby encouraging me to have the time of my life! We love to travel together too. But we also enjoy our own personal time. Yay.

I'm going to download some of Rick's books right now to my ipad. I've used him for France and Italy and have had wonderful experiences!

You will have a great trip, I am sure. I am currently "planning" a last minute solo trip departing on Sunday to LHR.

May I suggest that you get your London hotel arrangements locked in as soon as possible, either at the start or end of your trip, or both? I found that to be far more difficult on short notice than in previous years (in part I am sure due to my target budget of $250US / night). I've read that tourism in London is absolutely hopping this year!

So secure some nights with free cancellation in London, relax, breathe deeply, and have fun planning.

If you do want to go to and stay overnight on Iona that is your key thing to lock in that hotel (I would do that today your time or ASAP over the weekend), then book your EDI- Shannon flight + the previous night in Edinburgh then work everything else round that.

Next to me would be to book your foot passenger crossing on the CalMac ferry.

If you did want a HF that would be my next priority to book, actually before booking CalMac.

Everything else can then fall into place around that.