weekend in scotland or ireland?

You're getting the York and Scotland fans answering here. I add my vote to the trip North. I have another recommendation for a place to stay in Edinburgh. I stay at the Invernleith near the Botanic Gardens. I like it because it is a bit away from the hustle and bustle, but very easy trip to the sites. It on the way down the hill to Leith and so I ride the bus up in the AM and tend to just walk down in the PM. If you've not been to Edinburgh, I want to recommend that you head first to the Castle. This will give you a beautiful view of the city. You can then walk down the royal mile toward Holyrood Palace. There are lots of things to see and do. Get a good guide book to figure out what piques your interest. I like Gladstones Land, St. Giles, and Holyrood Palace. A climb up Calton Hill gives you a great view of the castle and the city. Don't go at night. Make it a day trip. I traveled solo in Edinburgh many times. My sister and I went their together years ago when we were in our twenties and had a great time. BTW there's a good pub Sandy's Bells that is near the university that often has live traditional music. Actually, if you're young you might want to stay in that part of town. I think the Dalkeith Road hotels and B&Bs would be possibilities. Pam

I'd go York, its lovely.Make sure to go to evensong.
You might also though in the mix, flying up to Edinburgh with easyjet from stansted, about £40.
You could aslo check and see if there are any "bargin berths" on Scotrail to Edinburgh.
You might be able to use
http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_fares/promotions/pr45a3aec35ce74100df5de86cc66b24/details.html
to

I have to say do the York trip. If you leave London on the (roughly) 9:00am train, you will arrive in York with time to explore the Shambles, walk part of the wall and eat at my favorite resturant- Gert and Henery's. We like to stay at the Royal York which is actually attached to the rail station. It has a lovely garden also. Then take the early morning train to Edinburgh. We like to stay at the Royal British- which is across Princes St. from the rail station. You can catch the hop on/off bus at Waverly Bridge near the station. The train to Newcastle is also a good choice.

BEFORE!!! AMUST
Just walking up might be over £100 to edinburgh
traineasy is a good fare finder, but always book direct with the a train company not a agent.
If you are happy with bus to some degree, national express do £1 fun fares. If you firm up your dates, send them to moneysavingexperts travel section , someone might well find a very good deal

I think the first option will be much easier and less stressful. York and Edinburgh are fabulous cities with lots of history and beautiful buldings.

Okay, thanks for the feedback. A follow-up question: is it necessary/advisable to book my train tickets beforehand or just when I get to the station?

This might be a silly question, but does anybody know if you can use a French Carte 12-25 to get discounts in Britain? And if so, how?

Christine - I agree with Richard about getting your rail tickets in advance and through the company directly. The tickets can be as low as 16.00BPS from London to Edinburgh. We used National Express and purchased our tickets before we left the states. The ride up was a little over 4 hours and back was a little over 5 hours.

Can you fly out of Edinburgh to Paris? Saves a bit of time.

Have a great trip!