Driving from Edinburgh to London

Seven hours...if there are no big traffic jams...that's all go go go.

Greetings

I would plan to spend at least one night along the way, as it can be a VERY long drive, especially since December days are very short (sun sets by 4pm) and can be very nasty weather-wise. Seven hours would be doing it without stopping in perfect weather without any hitches along the way and sticking to boring motorways.

Also, the major road from the Borders to Edinburgh is just one lane each way for much of the distance, so your speed can be much reduced by sheep/cow crossings, slow lorries, poor visibility etc. and it's not a great place to be drive for the first time in the dark.

The road to Glasgow is much bigger, but then you have to deal with the horrid roads between Edinburgh and Glasgow. Not at all fun, especially at rush hour.

There are many wonderful places to stop along the way, so split the drive up, enjoy the scenery and save the stress. Cheshire, Leeds, Newcastle, Durham, Yorkshire etc. are all are worth a stop and a sleep in a cozy B&B.

Have fun
Kate

You should seriously consider NOT driving. Take the train!!! The trip to London is less than 5 hours. If you want to break it up, York is the ideal stop. We have done it both ways. The train ride is very enjoyable, with great views and you don't have to work about the price of gas, parking, etc., etc., etc. My husband listens to his MP3 files and I draw. Very relaxing.

We drove from Edinburgh zigzaging across England to see as much as possible. Straford-upon-Avon is great. We stopped to see Anne Hathaway's Cottage (Shakespeare's wife) and Shakespeare's Birthplace. All around the latter are great souvenir shops. Stop at the Christmas shop across the street. I only wish we'd had more time. York is also wonderful with grand York abbey, it's old town wall you can actually walk on and glorious shops, mostly souvenirs. There is also Hadrian's Wall, which was built by the Romans in 122 AD to cross all of England. It is so peaceful and fun to follow it by road. There are many forts and ruins left. Let us know how it went.

Greetings
The train is a great option, though if you can take a couple days, it can be worth driving so you can go off the beaten path. My mum and I had a wonderful drive through the lake district up across to Edinburgh.

But be well aware of potential road conditions - I'm not joking about cattle/sheep crossings and even major roads can be very narrow and twisty. And outside urban areas, roads other than motorways may not be lit.

Also, if you do go with driving, I would advise renting well in advance if you need an automatic, since most rental cars are stick. Also, opt for a smaller car - they are well made here, get much better mileage (petrol being upwards of $6-7 per gallon here) and will be much less stressful on narrow roads and fitting into parking spots.

We drove from London to Edinburgh and back. We were four of us with a lot of luggage, and somehow, I calcualted that it was cheaper to rent a big car and drive then to take the train.

I definitely agree that the smaller road between Edinburgh and the M6 is windy and not one to be navigated at night. We drove up the M6 (actually we left from Oxford and went to Edinburgh) and stopped at several rest stops. We drove back down to London on the A1. The A1 was a little more scenic (we saw the beach in Scotland) but it took forever. We stopped in Newcastle on the way back along the A1. Looking back, the train would have been less stressful.

One trip I took the train. It was relaxing and saw some beautiful scenery especially as you get more north. I dreamt of what it might be like to see York, the moors, Hadrian's wall etc. Met alot of nice people on the train and it took a little over 4 hours. We got to do another trip to England a few years latter and those places became part of a 2 week driving trip. I am not sure if I would ever try to do a driving trip in one day for all the reasons others have mentioned above. It is really not like driving in the US. Things take longer and you Roud-abouts (traffic circles), small beautiful country roads that look like they would be one way roads at home. Driving on those roads can get tricky after nightfall.
If you only have one day to make the trip down, maybe you could plan to get off the train in a place like York and do a little sightseeing there and then get back on another train and finish your trip to London. We always rent a car at the airport and not try to drive in London.

Thanks for all the suggestions and cautions. I probably should have specified that we're not driving into London--too far. We'd planned on dropping the car at Heathrow. The reason we're thinking car is the price of the train ticket.--$183 each! Oh, and no reason for one day. We've rented an apartment in London, so it will be there whenever we arrive.

Keep the pointers coming. Kate--we'll watch out for the cows and sheep. I believe you.

At current availability you can still pick up a couple of early morning flights in December from EDI to LHR for GBP125.00 for the pair. That's cheaper than either car hire or train fare.

$183? That seems really high... Have you searched on NetworkRail?

GNER was offering £5 tickets to any location in the UK recently and for a 2nd class seat you should be able to do £40-50 round trip unless your times are really high demand. So I think $183 might be the highest class of ticket, not the best price for the route

I would check NetworkRail again and play a bit with the times - a difference of an hour or two (i.e. avoiding rush hour near commuter areas) can make a huge difference. Two one way ticket can also often be cheaper than a return ticket.

Kate

Check out a rail pass- well worth it and a savings!

For trips between Edinburgh and London a RailPass is just a hassle and probably costs more than buying separate tickets.

The big issue with RailPasses is that if you don't book a specific train, you aren't guaranteed a seat. And a booked seat can be a lifesaver on a crowded train when there are more people than seats.

Kate

eek. dropping the car at Heathrow...what a treat...that should really spoil a wonderful trip...think downtown Detroit, at rush hour 24 hours a day!

Seriously, reconsider trying to do too much between the Scottish Borders and mid-England. These countries have been here for eons. They deserve another trip...for all the headaches you may encounter [December is like St. Clair Shores..frozen lakes, dark misty, and the days end close to 4pm]. If it was even September...but ice and ice and ice.
Think it over...call the folks at Budget Europe I posted above...they travel extensively and are a small family owned company. [we discovered them on this site 4 years ago].

Best of luck on your journey...don't forget a wee trip to Stirling...and maybe a hop out to Portobello Beach for a stroll on the promonade.

Aye.

Why not consider the train...particulary the GNER that runs along the coast. When you order tickets ALWAYS request the left side window seat [towards London ] the opposite to Edinburgh. Easy, relaxing, very clean and can see or stop at your will. We used www.budgeteuropetravel.com out of Ann Arbor Michigan. They can help you will all your maps, tickets, etc.

You will hate to leave Edinburgh...so even consider the overnight train back to London. Old style sleeper includes breakfast and 'morning fresh'n up kit' upon arrival. Will leave Waverly close to Midnight and arrive London 7am next day...leaving another full day and evening in Edinburgh!

ps. don't miss tea at the Howard Hotel off Dundas...beats the Balmoral by miles. aye.

I took the train from Gatwick to Edinburgh and it was a wonderful ride. If you book your train tickets in advance they're MUCH cheaper than last minute. I booked mine a month in advance (which took some doing as the website doesn't work well with addresses outside the UK) but I only paid 24 pounds for my ticket.

It will be exhausting!!! consider train.

Unless you want to stop for sightseeing along the way, take the train. Faster and less chance of delays due to traffic or weather.

Driving from London to Edinburgh - I took the M25 - M1 and the A1(M) started off at 2AM and by sunrise 6:30AM I was in yorkshire where the beauty starts.

The drive is about 7 hours in total non stop, be sure to have a good car with orthopaedic seats, my saab was perfect for it, takes a full tank of fuel either way cruising at 75-80 mph

If you plan to drive to Lake district from Scotland sans motorways you should be a rally driver or the like as the roads are blind, twisted and incredibly mistaking, but the AWESOME beauty is priceless..

My husband and I had the same dilemma this past October. Since time and money were both an issue we took everything into consideration, researched extensively, and decided to fly one way from Edinburgh to Heathrow. We flew British Airways and for about $215 USD we got to London in about an hour, hopped on the tube and were dropping our bags off at our hotel by 1 pm and starting to explore the city. We are so glad we did it this way!

I along with my wife and daughter planning to drive to Edinburgh from 12 Aug, 2010. Any driving tips and places to stop enroute to Edinburgh? I have a VW Saloon Car.

Shall be grateful for tips.

Rebecca - If you can book train travel early enough(90 days I believe) fares for 2 can be as low as £26.00. Here is a link to EastCoast Rail. Have fun looking around the site. cheers

Rebecca: Just noticed that you are from Michigan. Perhaps you have enough experience to drive in the blowing sleet to pass over the border in the barren Cheviot Hills. Maybe you might make it as far as Yorkshire where you can get snowed in for 3 days like one of my friends did a couple of winters ago. Please look at the latitude of Edinburgh. The days are very short. I drove this area a couple of times: but in April (it snowed) & September (crisp sweater weather). Save the drive for when you have time. Take the train...I'm sure you can find a better fare.