Three weeks in England and Ireland itinerary advice

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

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?

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.

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

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.

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!

Rather thsn doing Oxford from Bath, Have you thought of doing it as a day trip from London on the train?

Thank you for the quick replies.

@me.crewe : Will check distances and feasibility regarding Cotswolds and Stonehenge on the same day. Had noticed a tour that covers both, but not sure how hectic it is. Someone below mentioned Max Max (Thank you @cala). Regarding flight schedules - Thank you for flagging it. I found an Easyjet flight from Bristol to Belfast at 7 am. Is that not doable if I prearrange a taxi? Yes, it is early and will keep looking.

@Slate: I guess just a sports stadium may be downplaying it a bit. Wimbledon and Lords are definitely World Class s symbols of the sports they represent. I do watch soccer/football but not necessary the English league, so that could be third in the list of priorities. Also we love the food diversity and quality in London, and would say that after you are done with the touristy attractions, food and just the atmosphere is a close second. The other factor is that wife can get a little bored if it is all small towns and nature (found that out in New Zealand!), so London is a wonderful start. In fact, that is the reason we added it to the trip to provide a mix. Having said all of that, I will think about reducing a day (or even half a day) from London and add to Bath.

@G3rryCee - Cobh looks interesting and will add to the list of things to do. Aware of Dublin attractions reservations and as soon as we lock in the schedule, we will book them. We were struggling on how to do the loop including North, West and South, as it looked like the path from North to West goes through Dublin.
Ring of Kerry was more of a nice to have, if we can fit in as it can be a long day to do justice.

@Allan - Currently leaning towards Wimbledon, with Lords being close second. Will have to check what they actually include in the tour. Do we have to dress a bit formal? If Borough market is too crowded, are there other similar spots. We always enjoy markets with access to all kinds of food to sample, watch people, hopefully strike a conversation, etc. For Stonehenge, I will look into that, but may be restricted on what the tours offer unless there is a way we can do this on our own using public transport/taxi. Thank you for suggesting the Salisbury option. If I do this, I suppose Cotswolds would be another day?

@cat VH - Will definitely look into your sports suggestions. Will have to go in depth to decide the sequence of things to do. Per a previous suggestion, we may take out a day from London and add to Bath. Have I added too many days to some other bases in Ireland that I can borrow :-)? Titanic Belfast (sorry, not Stadium) appears to be some kind of tour/museum about the Titanic. Will check out Windsor Park.

@wasleys Good catch. In a previous version of the itinerary, it was indeed a daytrip from London and will try to adjust. Is it practical to go from London to Oxford, leave the bags at the station and in the afternoon, go to Bath, rather than returning back to London? If we do it as a daytrip from London on our own, is it half day or one full day, typically.

Thank you all, again, for your suggestions!

We had a car so the sunrise tour of Stonehenge was easy. You'd probably need to book a taxi to get there. Salisbury could be 2-3 days deepening on your interest. I can't speak for tours to the Cotswolds, but I think a daytrip would be rushed, but could give you an idea if it's worth a longer look on a future trip.

Bath to Oxford is as easy by train, as it is from London, now there are the direct trains, taking 1 hour- example 0922 out, 1500, 1700, 1904 and 2103 back- £26.70 Off Peak Day Return

Bath to Bristol Airport there is a direct bus 24/7- so 0345 arrive 0448 for an 0700 flight- https://www.firstbus.co.uk/bristol-bath-and-west/plan-journey/timetables?search=A4%3A+Bath+-+Bristol+Airport+-via-+Newbridge%2C+Saltford%2C+Keynsham%2C+Brislington%2C+Hengrove%2C+Highridge

Cost £9.50

Sounds good, I didn’t mean to disparage visiting a sports stadium although that’s not my personal interest, rather, by “just” I meant that’s the only sight you mentioned for 2 1/2 days in London. I doubt it would work for this trip but I expect you’d enjoy a visit to Manchester with its stadiums and a museum of English football.

Is it practical to go from London to Oxford, leave the bags at the station and in the afternoon, go to Bath, rather than returning back to London?

Yes. Isn31c is the expert on rail times.

There aren't lugguge facitlities at Oxford Station, but Stasher and Bounce have a variety of places around the city, some within a few minutes walk of the station.

regarding a home of sport - I expect that you will have found this webpage

https://www.lords.org/lords/lord-s-experience/tours

If you do any of those - and some sound really juicy - you will see more of Lords than I ever have done. Going to a match it is pretty much the stands and the food counters.

My best was a tour of the Long Room with a Member - a relative who had been a key county cricket player for Kent - and watching the West Indies Test where Brian Lara got 6 sixes in an over from the Members Enclosure. Many years ago.

But I've never been to the Media Centre or many of the other behind the scenes things you'll see. Jealous? Me???

Thank you for the Lords link. As you guessed, I had found the links for Lords, Wimbledon and Wembley. Unfortunately, Wembley is not available as there are other things going on, so no tours. Deciding between Lords and Wimbledon as we may not have time for both. As they say, we can always come back :-)

Regarding Oxford, I think we will just keep it simple and not try to move with luggage and find storage. Daytrip from London or Bath sounds hassle-free.

Thank you for all your recommendations. The one weak part of the logistics is the long travel leg from Belfast to Galway, with a change in bus/train at Dublin. The bus change looks straightforward, but it is still a long day of travel. Wondering if it is better to change the sequence clockwise as. Belfast (3 nights), Bus/train to Dublin (3-4 nights), Cork (3 nights), Killarney (3-4 nights), Galway (4 nights). Our flight from Dublin is at around 3:30 pm, so we can even consider taking the bus/train in the morning directly from Galway to Dublin airport. Thoughts?