Road trip from Edinburgh ending in London

How many days do you have?

Bath, Stonehenge and Windsor are not en route between Edinburgh and London. Having a car in York, Bath and Windsor isn't recommended as parking is difficult.

Are the ages of your party relevant to any itinerary?

Early April is Easter school holidays and places are going to be busy.

Bath and Stonehenge are well west of London and not really on the route to London from Edinburgh. I would be tempted to take train to York and then pick up a car or continue on to London and then the car. I don't know if a drop fee would be involved with the rental from Edinburgh. I am sure it would be less if picked up in York.

Most car drop off locations in Bath are not super-convenient to the train station, so at least the driver might need a bus or taxi back to the station area, unless you go with Enterprise and they give you a lift. In the Windsor/Slough area, the Europcar location that's a half-mile from Burnham railway station is looking like one of the more convenient options. Or maybe you drop the car at Heathrow, but I had a lot of traffic the one time I drove from Windsor to Heathrow.

Look at the National Trust UK site to find great locations between York and London. You can buy a family membership that may save you money on admissions and parking. We enjoyed stopping at Hadrian's Wall and Durham Cathedral on our drive from Edinburgh and York. We loved going to Chatsworth after York. Check the "Treasure Houses of England" online. Some of these are on the National Trust list, too. English Heritage, Visit Scotland, Secret Scotland, Historic Scotland and World Heritage are more online sites you may find of use in your plans.

Thanks everyone. We have about 10 days, our kids are older 13-23, are great travelers and want to see as much as they can. We drove from the top to the bottom of Germany last year and it was their vote to drive through England in the same manner. Thanks for the website ideas! Any ideas for other or better stops and places to stay, restaurants to try along the way are welcome!

York is a wonderful place for all ages, I think. Walking around all the walls is a fascinating perspective. We also enjoyed a day trip from York to Durham (about a 45 minute train ride). It's a lovely city and with very stunning cathedral which is quite different from York Minster or Kings College in Cambridge.

Kielder Observatory is worth a look, we combined it with staying at Wildnorthumbrian.
We were staying up near Holy Island and called to Bamburgh Castle too.
Kielder puts you about 45 mins from Hadrians Wall the following day

Great, thanks!