9 Days in Britain before France

There is so much to see in the south that I'd suggest saving Lake Dist/Edinburgh/York for your next trip. From the Cotswolds you could head toward your port of departure via Bath, Stonehenge, etc.

Good choices but IMO pick Cotswolds or Lake District and stay at one or the other for 2 nights. That will give you a full day to explore the area. Otherwise you are just arriving and then moving on. Edinburgh for 2 nights and then you should drive directly to York to have any time there. The distances may seem close but there is so much to see along these routes that you want to be able to stop and take advantage of having a car. That is the main reason for renting a vehicle. We choose to drive but others prefer rail or bus.

Yes, It's tempting to try to see it all. If we skipped Edinburgh and York, would you suggest including Southwest England? We like rugged coastline and dramatic scenery.

Personally, I'd stay in London and do day trips (by train). Windsor, Bath, Stratford-upon-Avon, York, (and lots of other places) are all possible day trips from London. You could rent an apartment and save some money that way. Also we prefer to use trains/buses because gas is VERY expensive, parking is a nightmare in many places and you have to drive on the left (plus most cars are straight drive, too and we don't do that either). You might find this helpful
http://www.aaacarolinas.com/Magazine/2008/Jan-Feb/britain.htm

Having a car is great if you want to get into the country- Cotswolds or Devon/Cornwall, but you really dont have time to do more than London plus one area. The joy of the English countryside is being able to potter about, lingering where you see interesting sights, going off on side roads etc. If you thiink you would like the rugged countryside, investigate taking a train to something like Wells (nice cathedral), renting a car and doing the moors (Dartmoor Exmoor), the Devon and Cornish coast- Penzance, Mousehole, St Ives, Looe, Lands End (must see) Clovelly, Tintagel, Dunster (nice large village), Selworthy. You dont have time to do them all , but that is the itinerary I would aim at. Or London (4 days) - train to Edinburgh and York (two days in each)

I'm with Toni. See if you can extend your London accommodations, or find others, and just do day trips out of the city. While a car is really necessary to see the Cotswolds and the Lake District, you haven't allotted enough time to do justice to either. Edinburgh is a large and beautiful city that, frankly, deserves at least two full days of your time. A full day in York is time well spent. It's a two hour trip train trip from King's Cross station, so it is do able as a day trip. Go up early in the morning, and come back after dinner. Trains run frequently.

Hello Nancy, Everyone here is telling you that you need to pick and choose. Having been to the UK several times, I can understand their viewpoint. However, if this is your "sampler" trip, I can see why you want to try several areas. If you don't see them all, how will you know which ones you want to revisit? So, here is my suggestion: After London, take an early train to Edinburgh. Walk the Royal Mile, enjoy the ambiance, spend the night. (The Caledonian Hilton has rooms with castle views, if you are willing to spend $$$ for memories!). Next morning, early train to York. Spend the day enjoying Yorkminster and St. Mary's Abbey, walk the city walls, spend the night. (Dean's Court Hotel, more $$$, has rooms with full views of Yorkminster.) Pick up your rental car at the train station, drive through the Dales over to the Lakes District. (Frankly, I would spend this time exploring the abbeys and castles in Yorkshire, but the sites are your choices!). Then, head down to the Cotswolds for a drive around. Finally, head to your ferry port and turn in your car...... Are you sure that the Cherbourg ferry takes foot passengers? Some don't. I know the Dover-Calais P and O ferry does take foot passengers, in case you need to rearrange the France portion of your itinerary.EDIT COMMENTS: not sure if you can take a rental car from UK to France, if you do, the steering wheel will be on the wrong side....

Awesome comments from all - and thank you! I was captivated by Edinburgh and York when I visited 30 years ago, and have always wanted to go back (especially Edinburgh). I did not make it to the Cotswolds way back then so I'd like to go there, and my husband has never been to Great Britain at all. Some of the southerly suggestions are intriguing and I will check them out. Regarding the ferry, I had envisioned taking the car from England to France since we will need one there (traveling to Normandy then we will be staying in the Dordogne for several days before ending the trip in Paris). It may make sense to arrange for 2 separate car rentals in England then France, which I will research (and we will get rid of the car before Paris!). My last question is this: if we don't make definite reservations for Edinburgh/York/Cotswolds, etc., now, will it still be possible to find a nice country B&B at the last minute for nights in early July? We like being flexible, but not at the expense of finding "no room at the Inn..." Thanks everyone for your input!

rental car: remember your British rental car is designed for driving on the left side of the road, while in Europe they drive on the right. Not a good plan to use the same car. Rent one car in England and another in France (Your british rental company may also have restrictions about taking their car to Europe). Driving in england without reservations: You may not get your first/second or third choice of places to stay. If I were going to a City: York/Edinburgh/London, i would reserve ahead. For the English countryside, I reserve at least friday and saturday nights (weekend break), or any particular hotel/inn/B&B I really want to stay in.
(I often plan these for the weekends)

Good point about the car and making reservations for accommodations in cities - thanks!

I see posts like this quite frequently and can never really get my head around why someone would want to pack so much into so little time. By doing so, you're simply not going to do any of the places justice. As someone who lives on the edge of the Lake District National Park, the idea that someone could "do" the Lake District with just a one night stay is laughable, really. It's arguably the most beautiful corner of England and, to my mind at least, would warrant at least a week in its own right. I've lived here for 25 years (holidayed here before that) and have still yet to see it all! Seriously, cut down the amount you are trying to. The way it is at the moment, not only will you be trying to pack too much in and not be able to appreciate any of it, but you'll also be spending much of your time travelling. On the subject of driving, some of the journeys you propose may be easier by train. London Euston to Oxenholme the Lake District can be done in 2h 38m by train. By car, the same journey would probably take double that, and could be considerably more if you hit traffic at places such as Birmingham. Ditto York heading south - there are some quite fast trains going back down. Re: accommodation. If travelling in June, definitely book in advance if you want to be assured of somewhere. The better places will all book up, if indeed they're not booked up already. We have a luxury holiday apartment up here - it's only been open a year but the earliest time we have a vacancy is not until well into July now... Whatever you do, good luck and enjoy the trip.

Hello Paul, Thank you for your insight. I wish I had all summer to do justice to the Lake District and the other areas I am interested in seeing. However, it has been 30 years from my first trip to England till now and I fear it may be yet another 30 before I can afford to travel again :) I haven't had a 3-week vacation since I was in high school and I am inclined to make the best of it and the 9 days I will be in England! That said, I appreciate your comments regarding the time it takes to drive from place to place. I have been trying to balance expenses between train travel v. rental car and it seemed that driving might be more economical, especially as there is a chance that my daughter will join us for part of the trip. As an update, it looks as if it will be better for us to drop the rental car in London and then fly to France (Dinard) and pick up a car there for us to begin this leg of our trip. I am sure that my intinerary sounds a bit like doing New York City, Washington DC, Florida and New Orleans all in 10 days (not recommended) but again, this may be my only chance to visit these places. Thank you!