London to Edinburgh day trip - crazy??

That was how I got hubby hooked on Scotland. I talked him into doing a day trip up by train. It was 5 hours up,we got there about 11:00, and left around 6:30. That was before the high speed trains, though. You might fall in love with Scotland like we did. You'll have time to see the Royal Mile, the castle and maybe a bit of Holyrood House. If you can do the Real Mary's Kings Close tour.

I had a friend do this and I thought she was crazy, but she loved it. Of course, it just whetted her appetite for more Scotland. Look into tours. I think that there may be some that use rail. You have to leave early and won't have a lot of time, but you can get the flavor of Scotland and realize that, yes, it is different than England. PAm

Train times still about the same. Most trains Kings Cross to Edinburgh are about 5 hours, a few around 4 and a half. Of course that's just to the city. No time in the Scottish countryside, so can you really say you've been to Scotland?

Unfortunately the only true high speed trains in the UK are between London and the Channel Tunnel.

Yes, they go faster on the East Coast Main Line than the West Coast Main Line, which are both much faster than anything in the US or Canada, but next to the TGVs they are standing still.

Jennifer,
I found walking around Edinburgh to take much longer than I anticipated, and even in my 2.5 days there I didn't have time so see what I had planned. Hills, crooked streets, and the construction going on Princes Street kept adding extra minutes to each estimated travel time.
My first question to you is: Have you been to London before? I loved Edinburgh, but given your time constraints, I bet you'd be better served spending the full day in London unless you've seen much of it before.

Thanks everyone for your advice!

Nigel - I agree that seeing the countryside would be a much better use of my time, so I'll take that into account. I'm actually skipping Dublin for that reason while I travel in Ireland.

Matt - I have not been to London before, and from what I've heard I can easily fill my 4 days there. I'll give it a little more thought because it does sound like a day trip to Edinburgh is feasible, but I need to decide whether the short time I'd have there is worth it. I'd like to plan a trip to Scotland in the next few years, so maybe I'd be better off waiting.

If you've never been to London before, STAY THERE!!! With only 4-5 days, I'd suggest doing a trip over to Windsor (very easy by train from Paddinton station) as your one "outing". You could also include Kew Gardens and/or Greenwich for a break from the city- both of which can be reached by tube (or Greenwich by boat up the Thames).

Thanks, Toni - I'll have to check out those ideas. Perhaps it is in my best interest to stay in London and save Scotland for another trip when I can spend more time there. If only I had more vacation time!

My first trip to Edinburgh was a day trip from York with a train to London that night. We only had about 8 hours in Edinburgh. It was enough to fall in love with the city, and the next year we went to Scotland for two weeks with one whole week in Edinburg. Edinburgh is fabulous and it's not a totally crazy idea. But with such a short time in London and with such a long train ride, I would skip it in order to see as much as you can of London.

If you do decide to go to Edinburgh, do not do it on a Sunday as that is when they do track maintenance and the journey can be slow.

Thanks for the tip! I think I might have to pass Edinburgh this time around and plan another trip in the next couple of years. There's just so much to see and I'd love to fit everything in, but I'll probably enjoy my vacation more if I'm able to relax a bit.

York is a more reasonable day trip from London by train. Two hours up and two hours back. The city is fascinating and compact, thoroughly walkable. If you catch an early morning train up and a late night train back, you can spend 10-12 hours in the place.

That said, with 5 days for a debut visit to London, I'd stay put.

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