Ireland, Scotland & England: 3 wks (updated) suggestions?

In Edinburgh, we enjoyed the royal yacht easy bus ride from center of town to the harbor. Did not care for Palace at Holyrood. Loved Mary King's Close which is right by the castle. Ate at a chinese restaurant right in St. Andrew's Square across from McDonald's where you could fill up a container to the very top for a very cheap meal that actually fed two for reasonable price. Windsor is a day trip, or maybe half day trip from London. We always travel off season, but from other posters, you might want to get to some of the tourist sites first thing in the AM (such as newgrange outside Dublin and the Tower in London) or will have long wait. Good luck.

You've got a good start here. Inverness has LOTS of options. You can do a LONG day trip up to Orkney (it leaves from the main bus station- book with the TI office unless you book before you go), Clava Cairnes and Culloden battlefield can be reached by local bus but are included in many day trips offered by tour companies. A cruise up Loch Ness with a stop at Urquart Castle and the village of Drumnadrochit is nice- as is a cruise on the firth. There are day trips offered over to Isle of Skye that include a stop at Elliean Donnan castle and drives through some lovely glens (Glencoe, Great Glen, etc.). There are whisky tours, too. You could cut Edinburgh by 1 day in my opinion- and York by a day, too. Then add a stop in Aviemore (between Inverness and Edinburgh)- local microbrewery, some of the best whisky distilleries, funicular up Mt. Caringorm, lots of great walks, etc. York is very walkable- see the Minster, stroll the shambles and the market, walk on the wall, tour the microbrewery. Definietly do a day or 1/2 day out to Windsor, once in London. It is about my favorite caslte. Don't know if you can work in the Cotswolds- might be able to get a 1/2 day drive through from Bath (we did it from Stratford-upon-Avon). Do try to see some of the London Markets (Covent Garden, Borough, Camden Locks, etc.).

Four Seasons is a great B&B in Galway. About 10min walk from Eyre Sq & 15-20min to most of the pubs. Dingle is definitely not a day trip from Galway. So either plan to stay overnight there & add another night to Ireland leg or save it for another trip when you may consider exploring more of Ireland with a car & not with public transit. Trinity College should be done 1st thing in AM or you'll encounter a long wait. St. Michan's Church in Dublin has an awesome crypt underneath where you can get right up close to some mummies. Doesn't take long to tour at all. Some of the other things you list are really just walk-by, snap a photo. The museums are excellent in Dublin if you have any interest. If you prefer to be outside, maybe see what sporting events you may be able to see at Croke Park. The food hall in basement of Marks & Spencer on Grafton St is great place to get cheap food for picnic in Merrion Sq or St Stephens Green. Temple Bar is uber touristy music wise...bad covers of John Denver tunes, bars full of Americans & drunken stag & hen parties from other EU nations. Pubs outside of Temple Bar much nicer & cheaper. Galway has a way better music scene as far as big cities if you want to hear Trad. Evensong was way cooler at Westminster vs. St. Paul's. Stonehenge disappoints many due to it's proximity to the highway. So much to do in London that it's difficult to recommend even going outside it to places like the Cotswolds when you have a limited number of days there. English countryside may be left for a 2nd trip when you are more inclined to rent a car and maybe do a Spring shoulder season trip.

I would agree that you could take some time away from Edinburgh, unless you're thinking of doing some day trips. You mentioned Roslyn Chapel. That's a day trip and good way to explore the borders include the Abbey's, Floor's Castle, Sir Walter Scott's Home, Traquhair House etc. Other things that I like about Inverness include Cawdor Castle, boat trips out to Moray Firth, Fort George, and Hootenanny's in town for music. Also, The Mustard Seed is a great restaurant. Pam

Forgot to add London Eye is nice at sunset. Do not buy tickets in advance until you know what weather is going to be that evening. The lines are minimal, especially in late September! Don't forget to check out the buskers playing around Dublin & Galway. Some are great, some not so good, but always entertaining and you never know who might pop by to sing or play guitar. Glen Hansard & Bono both have been on some YouTube videos where they started singing on the streets.

Thanks for the great suggestions, I've added them to my itinerary (and added Aviemore) :) Some more questions: Ryanair flies from Dublin to Glasgow (not Inverness), so I'll be taking a train that gets in around either 1:30pm or 3:30pm; would that leave time for anything that day, or will the next two full days be enough to do most of those things? And do you guys have particularly favorite B&B's, pubs, live music venues, etc that you could recommend for any part of the trip? Thanks so much! I am sooo excited! :))

You can do Stonehenge, Salisbury and Bath, not sure about Glastonbury, on a day tour from London, but Tintern Abbey? Have you found a tour for that? Aren't you doing any museums or parks in London?

I think Tintern's too far out on the end of the stick. Plus, you'd have to drive right by Chepstow, and then there's the problem of the whole Wye Valley. You'd never get done.

Tintern Abbey: I'll take that off the list (I didn't check the geography... oops!) thanks! As for London museums, parks, etc... what would you recommend? I am also looking for recommendations for nice (and inexpensive?) B&B's in some places. Thanks! P.S. Every time I edit the "question" to my itinerary (to show you what I'm incorporating), I have to consolidate due to space... so I took off my original introduction... I'll repost it here, in case anyone would like to know who I am :) _________________________________________________________
Hi all, My name is Terry and I am a touring musician; I have been all over the US and Canada as well as a number of other countries, but always with a theater or music tour and never on a vacation; I am 43yo and have always wanted to go to England, Scotland and Ireland; I have three weeks (well, 18-20 days, actually) from Sept. 3 to the 22nd or 23rd (not confirmed yet); I will be flying out of Las Vegas and returning to Cinncinatti and will be using public transportation as well as hopefully staying at B&B's; I am on a budget, so I need help with how to do all of this, etc... I'd really like to see highlights of all three countries (I'll come back to see more!); thanks for any and all advice!

We've stayed in York...there are a ton of B & Bs...mostly outside the wall. The York Minster is reason to go there. World famous windows. Go on one of the city walks that includes the town wall. If you are a "Train Spotter" this is Mecca with the National Railway Museum. Skip the Jorvik Centre...it is aimed at a rather low level. If you have time I can reccomend Castle Howard and Fountains Abbey, maybe you can be there for the Chants. We've been to Culloden...very haunting if you are one of the clans buried here. Loch Ness and Urquart can be lonely. Unless you find a Music Scene to make it worth staying, Edinburgh is actually pretty small with most of the major tourist sights within walking distance. So you can do the tourist stuff in a Day. The Castle is worth a visit...as well as Lady Stairs House.
London: The Free Museums! The Flea Markets are where the action is. Check the London B & B Association for leads. Bon Voyage!

Tintern Abbey is a great place- but "impossible' to see in a day tour from London. The way to see it would be to rent a car in Bath or somewhere near South Wales. No public transport that I am ware of. Pity you had to take it off your itinereqry. (PS- Tintern Abbey is a ruin, so no evensong) York- walk the walls (can almost get completely around the inner town), York cathedral, "Shambles" and other medieval streets. If you have time and inclination, there are also the Viking and Railroad Museums and the Castle Museum (low on my priority list). Very nice places for lunch and tea in the centre. More days I would suggest exploring the countryside and the ruined Abbeys nearby Westminster Abbey, you need to visit it during the day, to roam around the memorial stones (Poets Corner etc) and the tombs of the old kings. Also the cloisters etc London- Definitely add Hampton Court, at least on a par with Windsor and chaging of Horse Guards. Covent Garden is disappointing- wall to wall (literally) tourists and tourist traps, nothing authentic any more- but at least walk through it, good Indian in the vicinity. It is no longer a "market" Not enough time to see London, let alone trying to do Salisbury/Stonehenge/Bath . Also need to allow time to just walk London and get the flavor

Thanks for the info on Tintern being a ruin (oops again, I was just scouting the forums for things to see); yeah, I know that I am trying to cram way too many things into too short a time (not Rick Steves way :-/ ) but I don't know when/ if I'll ever be able to do this again (although I will sure try!)... Thanks again so much!

In Aviemore we like to stay at the Caringorm Hotel. It is directly across from the train station (which is cute- with lots of wooden "ginerbread" trim). The hotel looks like a miniture castle outside and a Highlands hunting lodge inside. They also serve THE BEST FOOD IN SCOTLAND!!! And they often have a piper play before supper and sometimes have trad music in the "pub" section. In York we stay at the Royal York- attached to the station. Not a B&B- but usually reasonable rates for us. In Inverness we stay at the Royal Highland Hotel - also attached to the station. Very nice hotel- check the rates though you will probably find a b&b there. In Edinburgh we stay at the Royal British- across the street from Waverly Train station (see a pattern???- lol). Rather cheap- and excellent breakfasts. Persoanlly I'd give Edinburgh 1 day and York 1 day. Add time to Inverness or London. By the way- you can get to Dahlwhinnie Distillery form Aviemore by train or bus. Also a good distillery in Blari Athol (and a castle)- reachable by short train trip. Check out fancyapint for pubs in London. also- I forgot to mention that there is a nice restored steam train in Aviemore that does round trips -about an hour I think. You get to see the countryside and some other towns. It goes through the area where the BBC series "Monarch of the Glen" filmed.

Terry- One other idea (I'm sure you're getting tired of my posts by now). You could save Ireland for another trip (you WILL get back). Add time to London and Inverness (maybe Aviemore) and keep Edinburgh at 2 days.

Toni, First off: I am sooo not tired of your posts! Keep'em coming! :)) And I love the Royal housing thing! :) I am probably going more for the B&B route, for chatting and price. And I am really going to try to keep Ireland in, although I definitely understand where you are coming from... this isn't going to be a very relaxing vacation, is it? haha! Next time (hopefully), I will spend more time in London and Inverness, I promise! :)) Thanks so much!

London Museums: well, the biggie, of course, is the British Museum. Personally I prefer the V&A, which is arts and crafts, or decorative arts. If you're a musician you should definitely visit the British Library which has some original music manuscripts. The National Gallery and National Portrait Gallery are for people who are into pictures, plus Tate Modern for those who like contemporary art. There are loads more - the Cabinet War Rooms and Churchill Museum are popular. I keep meaning to visit the Design Museum. I love Sir John Soame's House, and the Geffrye (furniture). If you're in London on a Monday evening this is a special experience: http://www.dennissevershouse.co.uk/

Thanks, Kathy! I will definitely try to get to the British Museum & Library! :)