Itinerary help? Edinburgh/York/Southampton area before boarding ship?

Yes, you could do something like this, although it sounds like a lot of transportation for your first 8 nights. Do you already have your plane tickets? Train from Edinburgh to York works well. Train south, somewhere, works well. I'm not sure about the village for 2 nights. Villages are harder to visit by public transportation. But the basic framework, Edinburgh, York, something near Southampton would work. There is no shortage of villages, but what are you going to do when you get there without a car? You may be better off in a bigger place.

I personally would rather a trip where you didn't try to cover so much territory. See what you see more thoroughly. I would rethink London. I'm not sure what you plan to do during the day, but there are so many options in London. If you don't want to do London, I would think about doing places in southern England, maybe Salisbury (trip to Stonehenge), Winchester, Bath. Salisbury or Winchester are both close to Southampton. Can the 2 with mobility-impairments get on and off a bus? I have not done local tours, but know that others can help you out there. Do you have the budget to hire a private guide for the 6 of you to do some countryside tours? Or perhaps a regular tour would suit your purposes. Tours are good ways to get to out-of-the way places when you are using public transportation and may work for your group.

Do a little more research. How much time do you want to spend going place to place, vs. spending at the destination itself. Think about what you would do during the day. Museums, cathedrals, bus tours, etc. What will you do if it is chilly or rainy or windy? Will everyone be game for your original plan or will you need to revise?

I agree that you can do this. I would suggest that you plan your days as Edinburgh is amazingly hilly, so plan on taxi's or there is a decent bus service and you can get a day ticket. You buy it from the bus driver for £4 and you can ride the bus all day. It takes three rides to make it worthwhile. If walking is a real problem you might want to look into some of the accessible options. Look here for the Castle and here for the National Museum.

Shelley,

I understand wanting to see "villagey" England but London is surprisingly easy on those with mobility issues. I took my 80yo mother, who has mobility issues, to London last fall and it was quite easy on her.

• Buses are a snap and go almost everywhere.
• Transport For London (tfl.gov.uk) publishes a list of accessible tube stations and provides real-time advisories during outages.
• Taxis are relatively cheap when traveling as a group (even when getting two cabs).

As for Edinburgh, I would stay in New Town somewhere along the tram route. This will make getting into the city from the airport easier. If you stick close to Princes Street, you can walk to Waverly to pick up the HOHO buses and the train. Be advised, the Royal Mile is all incline with the castle being at the top and Holyrood at the bottom. This is where the HOHO buses may come in handy.

For being a suburb of London, I found Windsor to be a very charming "village" and I plan to go back to spend at least one night there. (But then again, I also find London to be more a collection of villages than one large monolithic city.)

Since transportation seems be an issue, have you thought about a multi-day escorted tour of the Cotswold’s or Cornwall?

My sister and I recently (last month) spent a few days in Southampton before a QM2 Atlantic crossing and we used Steve of Platinum Tours to tootle us around the New Forest one day. Your mother and father may enjoy that ... He is a very caring and lovely man. newforestplatinumtours.ca.uk

Sorry .... that address should be: newforestplatinumtours.co.uk NOT ca.uk

train from York to Southampton (avoiding London) and get yourself down to the New Forest

http://www.thenewforest.co.uk/#

and stay in Lymington http://www.lymington.org/

that should tick your English village requirements and is near Southampton. The Cotswolds aren't.