Ireland/Scotland/England--planning a summer trip

Ireland: Cliffs of Moher, Newgrange, Rock of Cashel

England~~~London, Cotwolds and York

Ireland - Dingle Town & peninsula, Cliffs of Moher.

The weather in these countries is one of the biggest unpredictables and will be a coin flip. You can do some searching on this website (follow the instructions that appear at the beginning of each area), or you can manually peruse through some of the threads for prior discussions/comments. You can probably rule out "hotterthan" and chilly, unless you're prone to being chilled easily.

As for things to see, while you're waiting for suggestions here, check into some of RS books or others for ideas if you don't already have some. Most replies here will probably be the "biggies" mixed with some lesser-known places. There is nothing wrong about the "biggies" either. It's part of traveling.

We (my wife and I) can relate to your "type", 60ish & no pub crawling. As for "3 things", all I can say is "the people, the people, the people". Everything else is a bonus. In my personal opinion, I don't think you can do wrong whatever you do/see.

You will have a wonderful time.

Personally, I'd skip Ireland this trip. You would spend less time moving between destinations and you could add Wales if you wanted. This way you could use public transportation (trains and buses) and not worry about renting a car and paying very high gas prices, finding almost non-existing parking, driving on the left, etc. In England, I'd base in London for about 5 days and do day trips to Windsor, Stratford-upon-Avon, and Cardiff Wales (unless you do add Wales). Then take the train to York and spend 2 days there. Then train to Edinburgh and spend 2 or 3 days. Then train to Aviemore and spend 3 days. Then train to Inverness for about 5 days with day trips to Isle of Skye, and possibly Orkney. You could pick up a 3 day tour to Orkney instead. Then if you like, do Oban and/or Iona. Then train back to Glasgow for 2 days. Then train to Snowdonia area of Wales or mid-lands of England and slowly make you way back to London for 2-3 more days. If you really want Ireland, start there then ferry over to Scotland and work your way down to London by train allowing at least 2-3 days in each stop.

Can't skip Ireland this trip--it's now or never.
I appreciate your ideas about the itinerary, tho--hadn't thought about doing it that way.

Make sure to bring a waterproof jacket with a hood. Rain is always a possibility in the British isles. So is wind near the coast. It could be hot in the southern parts, but is more likely to be warm or pleasant.

England -- Spend most of your time in London - great place if you like history. See Westminster Abbey, the Tower of London, Cabinet War Rooms and British Museum for sure. The parks are beautiful, especially Regents Park. Consider a day trip to Bath, stopping at Stonehenge and or Avebury, if you like history that goes that far back. Windsor is also an easy side trip. Stop in York for a day or two on the way to Scotland.

Scotland -- Edinburgh, Inverness and Skye. Orkney is fantastic, but will take up too much time for such a short trip, assuming you will devote one week to each country.

Ireland -- I would stick to the west coast and southwest and do the Dingle Peninsula, the Burren and a day trip to the Aran Islands. The Cliffs of Moher would be easy to see as well.

I hope you have a fantastic trip; don't see how you can miss no matter what you choose.

Margaret,
60ish was some time ago for me. Let me offer some ideas. For 21 days, on a once and done basis, I would probably skip Wales, and skip Scotland (difficult, because I really like Edinburgh), and do approx 10 days in England. Carroll has good ideas about England but I think she omitted the Cotswolds which you could include with 10 days as well as Stonehenge, Bath and York. The remaining 10 or 11 days I would spend in Ireland with a focus on the southwestern part. You can include Dingle, possibly Kinsale, Cliffs of Moher and the Burren. If you can, try to include Newgrange which is (to me) very special.

One other note. As someone mentioned, in Ireland you need to meet the people. Be on the lookout for their music. The locals often give small concerts. We love their music and also learning about their instruments. Another great way to meet the locals and hear their music is in the pubs, so consider a visit or two. Finally, you'll meet the folks when you stay in small B&Bs. Consider it.

Margaret,

Only you can decide if Ireland is the right place for you to visit. But I wouldn't worry about driving in Ireland, and I certainly wouldn't worry about parking, which is quite plentiful outside of the cities.

Ireland has lot of history to offer, but as others have noted, one of the best parts of trip there is the chance to interact with the Irish people. They love a good craic (conversation).