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Three weeks in England and Ireland itinerary advice

This is a bit last minute and we are scrambling to put together an itinerary for our upcoming trip in September. Unless absolutely essential, we won't rent a car and rely on public transport with local tours. We have driven all over the world, but do find it stressful to have the combination of narrow roads and driving on the left side stressful. Interested in nature, architecture, history, food and local culture. We do like a mix of towns/cities and nature to add variety. Thank you all for any advice on the following itinerary. We have visited London multiple times and seen the main attractions, but never visited Ireland.

Three nights in London
Day 0 - Land in London before noon, relaxed day to get bearing
Day 1, 2 - Combination of visiting an iconic sports place (will pick one of Wimbledon, Lord's cricket or a Premier League stadium), Borough market, explore other food places. We love desserts, coffee, seafood, international food.
Three nights in Bath
Day 3 - Train to Bath, ancient Roman baths, architecture
Day 4- Cotswolds, Stonehenge
Day 5 - daytrip to Oxford
Three nights in Belfast
Day 6 - Flight from Bristol or London to Belfast in the morning. Leisurely exploration of Belfast in the afternoon
Day 7 - Causeway coast tour, coastal landscapes (Giant's causeway, Carrick-a-Rede, Carrickfergus, Dunluce castle). Likely won't include all, but will pick based on tours.
Day 8 - Political Black cab tour, Titanic Belfast stadium, anything else?
Four nights in Galway
Day 9 - Train to Galway via Dublin
Day 10 Cliffs of Moher and Burren
Day 11 Connemara region
Day 12 Slow day to relax, specialty coffee, artisan bakery, seafood and more
Three nights in Killarney
Day 13: Train/coach to Killarney in the morning. Rest undefined but relaxed day
Day 14: Dingle Peninsula
Day 15: Ring of Kerry - possible? Worth it with a tour?, anything else?
Three nights in Cork
Day 16-18: Explore city after arrival. English market, anything else?
Blarney castle, Fresh Atlantic fish restaurants, day trip to Kinsale
Four nights in Dublin
Day 19-22: After arrival by train, general city exploration, could be hop-on hop-off, or just walk
Prehistoric burial mound excursion on one day
Trinity College, Book of Kells, Guinness storehouse on another day
Kilmainham Gaol, live traditional music, relax, shop
Day 23: Fly back to US in the afternoon

Thank you!

Posted by
395 posts

presumably Day 4 means "Cotswolds OR Stonehenge ?" They are in opposite directions from Bath and you won't be seeing both in a sensible day.

Day 6. Have you checked flight schedules? I've done a quick scan allowing for travel from Bath and can't see anything from Heathrow or Bristol that doesn't require a VERY early start from Bath if you want a clear afternoon in Belfast. I've not bothered checking other than Heathrow for London departures because the journey from Bath to the other so called London airports is so long. Cardiff has a noon flight direct to Belfast which would be easy from Bath but you won't be in the city until after 14:00

Posted by
845 posts

While London is certainly worth a lifetime of multiple visits, you’ve seen the major sights and don’t have much you say you want to do there — just a sports stadium and eating, which you can do pretty much anywhere— while your Bath days are so overpacked, you might want to consider just going straight to Bath on arrival and skipping London, or at least giving Bath one of your London days. Not sure what you mean by “Titanic Belfast stadium.” Do you mean the Titanic Belfast attraction (which is well worth visiting), and/or a stadium somewhere in Belfast?

Posted by
1979 posts

In Cork, I would add a day trip to Cobh as a follow-up to the Titanic in Belfast. The train ride is very scenic. The bus to Blarney is easy and quick. Sin é for traditional music. https://corkheritagepubs.com/sin-e/
Check on which Dublin attractions require advance reservations (probably Book of Kells, Guinness and Kilmainham).
The HOHO bus in Dublin isn't very useful, as the traffic is crazy and things are generally quite close.
Paddywagon offers day tours from Belfast, Galway and Killarney. https://www.paddywagontours.com
You might want something smaller for the Ring of Kerry. I can't help with that, but search the forum, as it comes up quite often.

Posted by
5367 posts

Mad Max has a day tour from Bath that goes to both Cotswolds and Stonehenge.

Posted by
5972 posts

I hope you report back regarding which sports venue you choose to tour, that's right up my alley as well. I did it often when I was visiting US cities and I've seriously considered it several times in London but haven't pulled the trigger yet.

I wasn't a fan of Borough Market. We were there on a cool, windy day on a weekday of the 3rd week of November last year and it was still shoulder to shoulder people. My wife is only 5' tall and was miserable.

Consider the sunrise tour of Stonehenge, it allows you to walk within the stones which I thought enhanced the experience. On the way back you took take the bus that stops at Old Sarum which is where the original Salisbury was located. I'd also seriously consider spending the day in Salisbury and taking the Tower tour of the cathedral.

Posted by
1557 posts

Some thoughts from me:

-If thinking of visiting a sports-related place, I would also consider the Oval- there are still matches you can attend in September and it's such great atmosphere. If you're thinking of seeing a football match I would also recommend considering Craven Cottage (Fulham)- they are not quite as famous as some of the other London teams but they have such a unique stadium right on the river, and it's also a really good atmosphere. And it should be easier to get tickets than some of the bigger names.

-I agree Cotswolds and Stonehenge are too much for one day- I would select just one. You can combine Stonehenge with Salisbury which has a very beautiful cathedral.

-Most of the Causeway Coast tours include everything you mention, altho I've heard they no longer stop at Carrick-a-Rede so you may need to check that.

-When you say Titanic Belfast Stadium, do you mean the SSE arena? If you want to see an iconic Belfast sports location I would consider Windsor Park instead.

Good luck with your planning!