14 days in the United Kingdom

14 days would be fine. You can get a good feel for Ireland and Scotland in this time- neither have a "giant" site like London which can absorb a lot of ours. You need to do a lot of reading various guide books and web sites and see what interests you about these countries. There is not enough time to see everything there is to see in that time. Also probably not enough time to linger and absorb the atmosphere and the accents

Thanks,Brian. Ok, that being said, what would you suggest for absorbing the atmosphere and accents. I think that is a great way to express the way I like to travel, as well. I have done both ways in Europe a few times. Sometimes just staying put, other times seems like I am on a train every other day. But there will be 4 of us, easy travellers, and while we would love to "see it all", preferably would prefer to come away with a grand feeling of just having "lived it" for a couple of weeks. Thanks again, everyone.

I was hoping you would get other suggestions. However. If it were me, I would tend to do a circular tour in each Ireland. Aiming at trying to stay 2 nights at each location- one day to get there and then one day to drive around the area. That way you are not moving every night.
Scotland: I would aim at west Coast- to include Ullapool, and probably one day north from Ullapool. Trossachs are pretty, but I would avoid Glasgow (may be your airport of arrival), Inverness area is a good center to see the surrounding country, including the battlefields, and Noch Ness (possibly even three nights), ending in Edinburgh for at least one day. My dream would iinclude seeing tne Tattoo on my Edinburgh night. Also try and see some of the local Highland games and folk music nights. Also probably stay in smaller towns rather than in the larger places i named I would be tempted to try for Skye, but that is a commitment of time (depending on priorities). One day i want to make it all the way to the Shetlands. Ireland: Minimal time in Dublin (thats not what i want to experience), Arrive dublin or Shannon and then mostly down the west Coast. This is the perfect opportunity to stay in smaller communities. I would even go as far as Waterford at the extreme South East tip for one night- even though most people here avoid it (Had a great VIP tour of the waterford Crystal factory one year). And up in one day from Waterford to Dublin. In Ireland, i would read and stay either in cute villages (or more likely, hotels or castles ) that sounded interesting

Thanks, Brian-sounds like a relaxing plan

In October 2009 my nephew and me took a 1 week trip to Scotland and it turned out to be fantastic. Flew into Edinburgh, got our small rental car there and went to our really lovely (and cheap and very conveniently located) B&B. From there we took trips almost every day: - Smailholm Tower, Jedburgh/Melrose/Kelso abbey and Floors castle - Linlithgow palace, Blackness castle, Stirling castle, Falkirk wheel - St. Andrews, Hill of Tarvit, Falkland palace, Loch Leven
- Auchentoshan and Glengoyne distilleries, Loch Lomond and of course Edinburgh. Was not too hectic, but we had to make the most out of the week. Thanks to the sunny weather it was great. No time of course for the Highlands and Islands, unfortunately. But we were quite happy with the pace we traveled.

Do not neglect Edinburgh - I've been all over the UK, and Edinburgh is still my favorite. With a limited number of days, I'd have two in Edinburgh, one in Stirling, two in Inverness, two in Conwy (Wales - this is a great base for exploring Anglesey, Conwy, Swallow Falls, etc.). As far as Ireland, I wouldn't miss Galway (loved it!) but it might be two far out of the way. I think your best bet is to figure out how many nights you are allocating to each country.

Can you fly into one country and home from another? This would save back tracking. How are you getting around in each country and how are you going from one county to another? Also agree with post about Edinburgh, fabulous. Give us more details please.