England

Thanks to all. We have not been to England yet but have traveled to Ireland, Italy and a river cruise in Europe. We know we want to spend 4-5 days in London and then were thinking of Bath, the Cotswalds, north Wales, York and try to also get a taste of Scotland. Too ambitious?

A lot depends on what you want to see. And your mode of travel, train, car, etc. You should look into flying into London, say maybe four or five days there with some day trips say to Windsor and Hampton Court all easy to do, then maybe train to Bath, explore that area by car and then drive up into Scotland ending in Edinburgh, leaving car outside Edinburgh and maybe three days there and fly home from there.

Michael, I'm not much into itinerary reviews but several others here are. But with such a vague question they will struggle to meet your needs unless you are more specific. For example: Is this a return trip or your first? Will you drive or train or fly? Have you traveled elsewhere before? Have you read the Rick Steves Great Britain book and looked at his 14 day itinerary? How do you feel about what you have read? Are you traveling alone? What sort of things interest you? Politics? Gardens? Motor Racing? Sports? Sailing? Horse riding? Castles? Ancient monuments? Ruins? Royaly? Museums? Food? You see what I am saying, I hope. What is your price point? By the way, is there some reason you are making the journey so far out of season?

Michael , Gail and Nigel make very good points . I'll venture a possibility you might consider given the limited information you have provided . Some of the areas you mention are best done with a car ie , The Cotswolds , In my opinion traveling by car in the UK is the best way to get off the beaten path. But I think that your proposal to bounce way west as far as Wales and even Bath and then back to York and Scotland is impractical . You will be doing a great deal of traveling and much less sight seeing . Consider this : 4-5 days in London ( perhaps include a day trip as Gail suggests ) train to York for several days , and on up to Edinburgh by rail . From Edinburgh you could explore several spots in Scotland ( by rail ) such as Pitlochry or Stirling . Fly home from Edinburgh . Only one way to skin a cat , and Absolutely provide more information as Nigel suggests .

There's alot to cover. Also- does the 14 days include arrival and departure days- if so you really only have 12 on the ground. You could consider something like this : Day 1- fly to London Day 2- 6 London- with any of the following as day trips by train Windsor, Cardiff Wales, Stratford-upon-Avon, Canterburry/Dover, Winchester, Oxford, Cambridge, Brighton, Bath Day 7 train to York Day 9 train to Edinburgh- Day 10 Edinburgh Day 11- train to Inverness Day 12 Inverness Day 13 train to Glasgow
Day 14 depart for home Lots of variations are possible.

After responses,am thinking of consolidating stays to London, York, and Edinburgh with day trips from these. May add train to Bath for two days, rent car there for a day in the Cotswolds. We will have 13 full days and would plan on trains to York and to Edinburgh. Our likes are historic sites and learning more about British culture. We also like seeing the countryside.
Thanks and would appreciate any more suggestions and ideas for day trips or tours from the towns above.

You might want to read an article I originally wrote for AAA Carolina's "Go!" magazine. I re-wrote it and posted it on TripAdvisor. It is about my favorite walks in London and my favorite day trips by train. http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g186338-c176673/London:United-Kingdom:London.And.Day.Trips.html