Is our itinerary worth it?

There is nothing wrong with your plan, but I think it could be better. I guess I agree with Ed about Dover and Calais. If it were me, I would do Dover and Canterbury as a day trip from London, which will give you more time in London. There is so much to see in London, I would want more time there. Also, if you are going to drive, you could stop at Stonehenge and go on to Bath and spend the night there. Then you could move on to the Cotswolds and spend one less day there.

To me it looks like: three nights in London three in the Cotswolds two in Dover one in London Not bad, but here's a couple of comments: Bath will probably take most of the day, nothing else will fit on that outing. You can catch both Avebury and Stonehenge on the way to Dover since it's only about a five-hour drive and two will do for Avebury and one for Stonehenge. Why you'd want to go to Dover is beyond me (unless for the castle and it's not really that great). The same for Calais, unless you have a hankering for mussels. On the way back from Dover you have time for Canterbury. It'll work.

I have to agree that dover is best as a day trip (you can even combine it with Canterburyy for a LONG day trip if you take the train from Victoria Station and not the express one from Charing Cross). We saw a bit of the Cotswolds as a 1/2 day trip from Stratford-upon-Avon and that was enough for me. You can do similar trips from Bath, I think. Persoanlly, I'd try to get more time in London- and I think you'll want to spend at least a few hours in Windsor. It is a great town and the castle and its gardens are just about my favorites!

So much to see, so little time Go straight from Heathrow west- should be able to get to Cotswolds comfortably. We drive at least that far on our arrival day after long flight from California I would do three full days in Cotswolds (including drive to Stonehenge and Avebury. You could also do either Blenheim or Bath from Cotswolds (Bath doesnt appeal yo me as much as other choices ) but be sure to spend enough time lazing around the Cotswolds- its the epitome of what we are looking for in Englih countryside. Also sleeping in a Cotswold village appeals to me more than in a large town You could then drive via Salisbury (cathedral and surrounds are abslutely wondeful), Winchester Cathedral to Canterbury and Rye (skip Dover and Calais), back to London for at least three full days.
(Salisbury, Winchester and Canterbury are among the classic cathedrals in England). many other things to see in this area if you get tredd of cathedrals I would try and avoid two Sundays in London, less to see on sundays (eg the City is closed down and Westminster and St Pauls have restricted hours). Sundays are fine in Cotswolds and at Blenheim If you had more time i would have suggested train to Yorl, but that needs an overnight stay

I failed to mention that we are flying in to Gatwick and I kept London at the top of our trip because we want to attend worship services at Westminster Abbey. We are planning on walking through parks, along the river, picnicking, and attending the evening organ concert that night at Westminster on Sunday. The second Sunday of our trip, we fly back home at 9am. I had begun to get that feeling about Dover that seems to be shared by so many responders. I guess I've just always heard about "the white cliffs of Dover!" :) I also wanted some time on the English coast. A day trip suits fine. Would the Lake District or York be more worthwhile for our first England trip, or what about some time in Wales instead of Dover? What part of the English coast would you recommend? Thanks so much for the replies!

The lake district and York are good but a long drive north or north east, next trip. How about one of the old seaside resorts such as Brighton or Hastings. Check out the giant chalk man and horse, or go to Portsmouth and tour HMS Victory. I've read lot of novels that take place along the channel coast, great area to explore by car. Salisbury Cathedral in my opinion should not be missed, the most elegant of all English Cathedrals.

You're starting to get a lot of suggestions about what everybody's personal favorites are, but, especially with the Lake District and York, you're thinking further afield that you have time for. If you drop Dover/Calais (being able to see the cliffs on a specific day is iffy due to fog/squalls/etc, anyway), you can catch Stonehenge and Avebury on the way to the Cotswolds since you're only looking at about three hours of road time. You won't have time to do anything else that day and you would have to catch Windsor on the way back in to London. Since you've already got one castle that's more of a stately home than a defensive structure, an excursion into Wales might work. Cheptstow is the perfect example of what a pre-artillery castle should be and it's small enough to see how a castle should work. It's about an hour from the central Cotswolds and you could spend the rest of the day in the village or working up the Wye Valley a ways before heading home. You don't have time for Cardiff or Caerphilly. I can't jump up and down about the beaches from Winchester to Kent. You can spend a day in Portsmouth easily, but it's a good ways from the Cotswolds for a day trip.

I'll preach heresy just to put in a few different ideas for you to consider. If your desire to attend a service at Westminster Abbey is overwhelming, you'll not go with my first suggestion. I'll also assume you haven't bought your plan tickets yet.... Suggestion A..... Land in either Heathrow or Gatwick (Fri am - prefer Heathrow for proximity to Windsor) and drive to Bath via Windsor and either Stonehenge or Avebury. Trying to see both would not likely work if you give Windsor Castle its due. You can spend two nights there (Fri/Sat). You can attend service at the cathedral in Wells for a good dose of High Episcopal. You then drive to Oxford but see Blenheim Palace before you drop off the car if time allows. Four hours is about minimum for this. If you go to Wells, you won't. Take the train to London and spend 3 nights (Sun/Mon/Tues). Take the train to York that would have you arrive before noon. Spend two nights (Wed/Thur). Take the train to Edinburgh and spend your last 2 nights (Fri/Sat). Fly home out of Edinburgh Sunday morning. Suggestion B (if Westminster Abbey service is not optional).... Stay in London (Fri/Sat/Sun) as originally planned but add a day trip to Bath/Stonehenge/Avebury. Then do a day trip to Windsor Castle if a high priority. This has you spending two extra nights in London (Mon/Tue). Catch up with the itinerary I've shown above for the rest of your trip. The Cotswolds should probably wait until you can give them at least two nights. York and Edinburgh are really not to miss highlights on a busy trip. For another cathedral, you could stop off in Durham for a couple of hours on your way from York to Edinburgh. You could see a wonderful cathedral town but you'd miss a bit of Edinburgh. You can't see it all in one trip. With only a week, you really have to prioritize.

Not a bad itineray, but I'd tweak it a bit: Assuming that you are arriving early on Friday, I'd do London until early Monday morning (London can be exhausting, so it's best done is spurts), then train to Bath. Spend the night in Bath - walk the canal path and have dinner at the George - excellent pub/restaurant with great atmosphere. Walk the canal path back to Bath after dark (totally safe). Get a car and head to the cotswolds tuesday, and spend two nights exploring the region. Quaint and beautiful. Perfect location for anniversary. Savor the evenings in these tiny hamlets.
I'd head to york on Thursday for two nights (drop the car), then train it back to London on Saturday to finish up your london visit. Dover's not worth more than a daytrip from London, and Calais takes a TON of time, so I recommend visiting France and it's coast on a separate trip. Keep this one streamlined. Alternately, you could skip York, spend an extra day in Bath (day trip to Wells and Stonhenge) and spend an extra day in London at the end to daytrip to Canterbury and Dover.