Ireland & London: when to go

I would rather go in April. It is shoulder season, not so many people about yet, cheaper flights, the wildflowers are in bloom, and there are lambs. June is the beginning of peak tourist season. Not sure what you mean by avoiding children. Do you mean you are trying to avoid taking your children by going in April? Or are you asking about local children on school holidays?

Trying to avoid too many children. I'm helping my daughter plan and she is leaving her kids with me :-) and just wanted to avoid times the school children are on holidays.

I live here and much prefer June to April. In April we tend to go to Holland to see the bulbs. Depending on the year and part of the country, April in England can much more wintery than springy. American children may be with their parents in June but you won't see or hear British children who will still be in school. British schools don't start the summer break until the third week (plus or minus) of July.

We also love touring Ireland and England in May or June. We were on a two week TAUCK tour of Ireland, in June, 2012. Our tour guide said it was the best month to visit there, due to all the flowers. London gets too crowded in late June, so we like end of May or early June. Then again, visiting London anytime sounds like a dream to me. We have been there four years in a row (2008 on) and would go back in a heartbeat. We will NEVER get tired of England or Ireland.

We have visited Ireland at both of those times - several visits in June, then April, 2012. We enjoyed April's cool weather. There were daffodils blooming everywhere along the roadsides. A few of the minor attractions weren't open yet; almost everything is closed on Good Friday, so try to avoid Ireland that day. In June, the roadsides are crowded with wild fuchsias and it tends to be a bit warmer. There weren't many school children at either time - their break comes later in the summer. Rainfall seemed to be about the same both times - have waterproof jacket and shoes, just flip up the hood as needed and carry on....Late April in London was just as crowded as June. We got a lot of April rain in London - I don't know if that's typical or not...Since we like cooler weather, April was our preference.

My wife and I are planning a week long trip to Ireland, most likely next September. A couple of questions - how is the weather? Also, is it easy to travel between Dublin and Belfast?