help w/ itinerary for England in March 2012

Lisa, Normally I would recommend three full days to see Edinburgh, although with your limited time you may need to reduce it to two days. I would suggest two nights in Bath, with one full day to see the sites there and a second day spent on a Mad Max tour of Stonehenge and other sites (either the full day tour, or my preference: the 1/2 day Stonehenge and village of Laycock, followed by another 1/2 in Bath). I've not been to Leeds Castle or Dover (saving that for the next trip, #5) but they can logically be grouped together, but how long? I don't know. You could do Windsor as a full day trip from London or perhaps an overnight (maybe on the way to Bath?) The real question is the matter of order of visit. Try to make a logical path and avoid backtracking. Fly into one city and out the other. Just my itinerary above brings you to 7 days and you haven't even seen London, the greatest city in the world as far as I am concerned. If you really can only get away 7 days, I suggest you save Scotland for another trip. If 10 days, you might just squeeze Edinburgh in (with only 2-3 days for London). If you can somehow manage to get up to two full weeks, add a day or two more to London, or try to fit a day and night in York on your way up to Edinburgh. EDIT: I haven't been to the UK in March, but expect the days to be short. This will limit what you can see in a day, so factor that into your planning.

Can't comment on Scotland so I won't but you can easily see and ride the London Eye, visit Westminster Abbey and watch the changing of the Guard at the Palace in a day. If you wanted to tour the Palace you could do that as well provided it's open in March. Check the website for that info. Try to get tickets to the Ceremony of the Keys at the Tower of London, spend the next morning exploring Borough Market and Southwark, visit the Tate Modern, then a late afternoon/early evening tour of the Tower, dinner in a nearby pub and then The Ceremony of the Keys in the evening. Days will be shorter in March so sunset is earlier. BTW, use Google maps satellite view, type in Big Ben, City of London, United Kingdom. When the image comes up, zoom out slowly and you'll see how close sites are in London. Very easy to see a great deal in a short amount of time if you've got the stamina, patience and a plan. GREAT city!

I'd suggest you book a cheap flight to Edinburgh immediatly after arriving in London. Spend 2-days there. Then train to York- 1 night. Train to London. From London you can do Bath as a day trip. If Stonehenge is a must (I'm iffy on that- there are better stone circles in Scotland), then do a Mad Maxx trip from Bath (and maybe spend 1 night in Bath- in which case go there from York, then on to London). Dover is also a nice day trip, though I don''t think you could combine with Leeds castle, you could combine with Canterburry. Buckinham Palace is a walk-by in March (you can only tour inside in late August/Sept. when the Queen is in Scotland). Westminster Abbey can be a walk-by or a tour- you can walk there from Buckingham Palace via Pall Mall. Then "do" the Lodon Eye.. Tower of London should be the 1st item on one of your London days. You will have to spend much less (maybe no) time waiting in line - and see the Crown Jewels first, then the Beefeater tour. Maybe this would work Day 1-Fly into London and catch flight to Edinburgh Day2( and possibly day 3)- Edinburgh Day3- train to York, time in York , sleep there Day 4- train to Bath- do Mad Maxx trip to Stonehenge that afternoon Day 5- spend morning in Bath, take late afternoon train to London
Day 6-9 London with day trips to Dover/Canterburry, Leeds??, Windsor (full or half day) as possibilities Places I'd suggest you consider seeing in/around (in addition to York and Windsor)- Kew Gardens, Camden Locks Markets, Covent Garden market, other markets, Leciester square for people watching, at least one night of theatre, British museum, possibly 1 or more art museums

A key concern for traveling to the UK in March is that the Weather can often times be quite miserable. The average London high shows to be 52 and low 39 (plus many windy and rainy days). Edinburgh is usually about 4 degrees lower than London. I'd suggest saving Edinburgh (and York) for a future trip in a warmer month. Group your sightseeing between days where good weather is a priority (Leeds Castle & Dover, Bath & Stonehenge, etc.) and those where bad weather won't matter much. Weather.com gives very good forecasts up to 10 days in advance to help your final planning.

We were in Scotland in April...it snowed. Don't worry you can buy some nice wool sweaters and drink whiskey if you're old enough. London Eye..good view. Tower of London...well worth it. Windsor Castle...not really that much to see. Buckingham Palace...don't miss changing of the guards. Westminster Abbey...I think you must schedule your tour. Leeds could be bleak on rainy day. Cliffs of Dover: wait to see when you leave for Paris. Bath...fun town...be sure to see Museum of Costume (History of Clothing). You can see Stonehenge on your way to Bath. I would skip Windsor and Leeds and go to Oxford and Blenhiem Palace instead...these can also be seen on the way to Bath. You can take the Train and short public or tour buses from train stations.
Be sure to check when places you want to visit are open; especially in the North...some aren't open until April or are open just a few days a week with shorter hours.