York or Edinburgh: Which city deserves another full day on our tight trip?

Ouch. I agree here with Rick. Both Edinburgh and York are jewels of cities. Both are historic, both are vibrant living cities, both have much to recommend them.

My recommendation would be York rather than Edinburgh, only because I am in commuter distance from Edinburgh and cannot see the capital as others see it in visiting it. And then you would not be spending enough time in Edinburgh,

In certain regards it depends what you want to see.

I can't compare the two because I've not been to York, but I can say that Edinburgh definitely deserves 3 nights and two full days. There's so much to see and do there and since you have a car you can also see some things in the surrounding area - Rosslyn Chapel comes to mind based on reading your other posts and knowing you like 'piles of old stones' and it's really interesting.

David,

That's a tough choice as both cities are beautiful and have many attractions. However, I'd also be leaning towards York. It's a smaller city and has a lot of interesting sites. While there you could......

• Visit the incredible Railway Museum (free as I recall).
• Take a walking tour from the T.I. to get a sense of the history (Vikings and all that).
• Visit the Shambles (used to be the area where butchers had their shops). Watch for the plaque commemorating Saint Margaret Clitherow.
• Climb the tower at the impressive York Minster and also attend an Evensong service.
• Visit the Jorvik Viking Centre
• If you're interested in WW-II history, visit Eden Camp, which is a short distance from York. It's only about a 30 minute drive, but I believe there are Buses that travel to that area. It used to be a POW camp for German and Italian prisoners. The ~33 huts show a variety of aspects of life during the war.

Everything Ken says about York is spot on and worth putting York on the list.

So this is me attempting to answer for Edinburgh.

Edinburgh is Scotland's capital.
It is the home of its crown jewels (the Honours of Scotland)
The Scottish national galleries
Edinburgh Castle looming across the city
The masked difference between the Mound and the New Town below.
Dynamic Earth
the Scottish Parliament and Holyrood Palace.
Mary King's Close.

OK, problem solved.

I cut out our day in the Cotswolds (gasp!). Now we have 3 nights and 2 full days each in both York and in Edinburgh. :)

My rationale is this: trip planning is all about priorities and trade-offs. I have chosen an ambitious overall plan, including quick jaunts out to both the Isle of Lewis and Orkney (gotta get my standing stones in on this trip), and a few other high priority items. Given that (and the way I've strung together our top priorities), that only allows us a handful of other options. Some of those which are geographically outside our primary routes, have to fall by the wayside. The Cotswolds were one of those casualties (there were others).

So the Cotswolds may be cute, but we won't have a day or two there to savor them (we MIGHT do a drive-through, just to take a peek - we'll see). But that buys us 2 full days and 3 nights each in both York and Edinburgh, and - perhaps more importantly - reduces our number of one-night stands.

I know many love the Cotswolds, but I figure "we shall return". This is (for us) a longer trip (3 weeks). It's our chance to see some of Scotland (before we need a separate visa for that ;) ). Southern England has a number of places that were on the edge for this trip. We can come back for a shorter trip another time and can include the Cotswolds, along with Cornwall, and other places that had to be cut from this trip. Those places are geographically easier to put together on a shorter trip that focuses there.

So, 2 days and 3 nights each for York and Edinburgh it shall be. I need to confirm a couple other minor details but will post my overall proposed plan in a few hours (which I assume will have holes poked in it - but "not enough time in York or Edinburgh" won't be on the list of shortcomings).

Thanks again for the advice.

You won't be sorry. To add to the York list: they have an amazing museum there (I forget the name - it's in Rick's book) and a Ghost Walk. We did several, they were so much fun. We were there for 4 nights - and didn't want to leave.

If you are just travelling from London to York & Edinburgh - it might be best to go by train. See www.nationalrail.co.uk but book with https://www.virgintrainseastcoast.com (Cheapest fares can be had by pre-booking ahead). You could then hire your car in Edinburgh for the journey north & west.

If you are driving between York & Edinburgh, I would suggest you detour to see > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bamburgh_Castle
Also consider:> http://www.alnwickcastle.com

It's not just a straight shot for us from London to York to Edinburgh (if it were, yes, we would definitely take the train). We will wander about on the way. Definitely plan a stop at Bamburgh. Not sure about Alnwick - will see how the day goes. Thanks for the tips!