Visas

Not sure why you headed this topic "visa". You don't need a visa for these countries. Also, the UK and Ireland are not part of the Schengen treaty (spelling?) so they do not count towards the time rule. Hope this helps.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schengen_Area 'could I go to france for about 2 months, england/scotland for 2 months and the Ireland for 2 months?' - yes, as your only involvment with Schengen is France and 60 odd days of your permitted 90 and you will not be staying in the Republic of Ireland greater than 3 months - http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1145.html But you say initially 180 days (90 and 90) - be sure you have your head around all this :-)

Providing you are a US Citizen, I do not see any issues with your plan. No formal visa is required for any of these countries for US Passport holders, each allows a period of time in country with just a passport for entry. Specifically, The UK allows you up to Six Months of stay, need not be consecutive days, you can do multiple entries. Ireland assesses your need on entry, allowing up to 90 days with each stay, with limits applied possibly with multiple entries. France is part of the Schengen Agreement, which sets you stay to essentially a limit of 90 days in any 180 day cycle for all countries combined that are party to the Schengen agreement. Multiple entries are allowed.