London and Edinboro - quick 4 nights and 5 days.

If you book your tickets far enough in advance fares can be as low as £25.80 per person(www.eastcoast.co.uk). In Edinburgh I've stayed at the Mingalar B&B(www.mingalar.eu) it's about a 15 minute walk from Waverly station.

Sounds goofey to me. You can only scratch the surface of London in three days - - four or maybe even five might be about right. The train ride from London to Edinburgh must be four or five hours (I've never done it). Add the time to get from one hotel to the station, travel, and get to the next hotel, and you've shot most of a day - - each way. At best, that would give you a full day in Edinburgh - - again, not nearly enough unless you just want to walk the main drag up to the castle and back. Focus on some place closer to London if you want a break - - there's a slew that you can do in one day.

Hey Dean, Ed has a point, but that said, I do know of people who have done an shorter visit to Edinburgh (note the spelling by the way, Edinboro is in Pennsylvania, a slightly longer trip from London. ; ) ). The trip is about 4 hours. If you catch an early train and stay in the City Centre you will have time to explore the Castle, the Royal Mile and a bit of New Town. You'll just want to be ive. There are lots of hotels and B&B's that are within walking distance or very quick cab ride from Waverly Station. I stayed at The Walton this summer with a single at 54 pounds for one night. It's in New Town and about a 10-15 minute walk with luggage. Pam

Ed is right. You've got only five days. Why would you want to spend a big portion of two of them on a train. I love Edinburgh, but save it for when you have more time. If you feel like you have to get out of London, go someplace closer like Windsor or Bath. Or just enjoy London for five days. There is an incredible amount to do there.

Dean, With only 5 days, I'd save Edinburgh for another trip (and realize I LOVE Scotland). There are lots of good day trips by train form London. Windsor can be a 1/2 day or whole day (aobut a 25 min. train ride from Paddington station). Bath is also easy and interesting. Canterburry, Dover, Winchester, Cambridge, Oxford, Stratford-upon-Avon, Brighton, even York all make good day trips. You might find this article interesting and helpful (I wrote it for AAA Carolina's "Go!" magazine a few years ago http://www.aaacarolinas.com/Magazine/2008/Jan-Feb/britain.htm?zip=28105&stateprov=nc&city=matthews It is about doing day trips out of London by train.
While in London you could also see Kew Gardens (again 1/2 to whole day), Greenwich (aobut 1/2 to 3/4 day), and lots of other less city-oriented stuff.

5 days- stick to London and day trips. Add Salisbury to Toni's list. if you insist on squeezing in Edinburgh, consider an overnight sleeper train from london to Edinburgh- arrives about 7 am; and then you could even do a sleeper back again.

We agree with everyone above who recommend staying in London the entire time. As an American, what is difficult to understand how much more history there is and, as a result, how much time you will want to spend. For example, my wife and I and our 2 sons went to the Tower of London expecting to stay between 2 and 3 hours. There was so much that we stayed almost all day and had to "drag" the children out. Suggestions: Purchase a 5-day Tube pass as soon as you can. Take the train from Paddington to the town of Windsor and visit Windsor Castle. Take a ferry from London down the river to Greenwich. You can take a Dockland Light Rail (DLR) train back into London and DLR accepts a Tube pass. Take in one or two plays. You can purchase tickets on the day of the show, often at a discount. Sometimes there are shows at the Globe theater. Eat at some pubs. Spend most of a day the British Museum. Go to the Winston-Churchill museum in Westminster, only about a block from Westminster Abbey. If you are in London on or after 15 July 2011, go to the Harry Potter movie. We watched a Harry Potter movie in London and then again in the states and we surprised that the British audience laughed and responded much differently than the American audience. You will not run out of things to do in London.

As far as I can see, by using that scion of modern technology, Wikipedia (which all know to be infallible) there are only two places called "Edinboro" in the world - one is in the Caribbean Sea (hard to get to by train), and the other is not far from whence you come in Pennsylvania. I don't know if you can get there by train. Either way, it seems a long way to go for a quick 2 nights out of London. You wouldn't by any chance be referring to Edinburgh would you?

You can also do Edinburgh as a day trip. It's a long day, but I caught an early morning train, caught a hop on-hop off bus in Edinburgh, walked around afterwards, and caught a late evening train back to London. I wished I could have stayed longer, but I really enjoyed the short time I was able to spend there. I understand why people are telling you to skip Edinburgh and stay in London and its environs. I love London, and never run out of things to do no matter how many times I visit. However, I also understand your wanting to see as much as you can in a short period of time. If you really want to see Edinburgh, and don't know when you will have another opportunity to do so, it's certainly doable in your timeframe. Rushed, but doable.

Want to thank all of you for your help. It looks like we will stay in the London area and will check out all the information given to me. There should be enough there for us to visit. Any suggestions on a short day trip out of the city?
Dean

Short trips (by train): Windsor, Hampton Court; slightly longer(also by train): Canterbury, Winchester, Salisbury- all with great cathderals; Little longer; Bath; Also many organized day tours to Cotswolds, Blemheim, Oxford, Cambridge:

I wrote an article about day trips by train out of London few years ago for AAA Carolina's "Go!" magazine. Here is the webaddress
http://www.aaacarolinas.com/Magazine/2008/Jan-Feb/britain.htm?zip=28105&stateprov=nc&city=matthews If it doesn't work, send me a private message with your email, and I'll send you a copy. There are lots of easy places!!!!!

Stay in London the whole time! We were there last year for 9 days and still didn't get to do all that we wanted! Loved the Churchill Museum and Westminster and St. Paul's! I could go on and on...