Traveling via train or bus through G.Britian...Help!!

Those are 6 destinations. You said 2 weeks, it will help if you count the full days you have, not including flying in and flying out days. If that's closer to 12 days than 14, and you have 6 destinations including London, Edinburgh, and N. Wales, that's a lot of miles to cover, once you take account of travel times. Suggest you go to Google Earth, do the free download, enable the train layer so you can see the rail map of the UK, and you'll notice that rail service to the Cotswolds and N. Wales is limited to certain areas. Buses can fill in the gaps but if you're trying to cover 6 destinations in something like 12 full days, buses will slow you down. Technically, you can do all of this, if you think you'll enjoy a rushed trip, but using public transportation for the Cotswolds and N. Wales will take careful planning. To get started on that careful planning, these two links will help:http://bahn.hafas.de/bin/query.exe/enhttp://www.ricksteves.com/plan/links_menu.htm#transport2nd link, scroll down to UK rail and coach (bus) schedules

I have always found it best to buy tickets at the RR office so I can ask questions about my itinerary. Suggest you do likewise. Doing that should eliminate your confusion.

I would not buy a railpass. You can buy your tickets a day or two in advance (as soon as you know you will use them,if there is a change of plans).

For a 2 week trip I would not consider the bus. You will need to move quickly in order to see all that you plan to see.

Go to the National Rail website and check out schedules and cost for point to point tickets to where you want to go. Once you have the total figure, compare it to the cost of the railpass....and go with the cheaper one.

Just because you have a railpass doesn't mean you can't ask questions at the rail stations.

You might also want to change your itinerary: London, Cotswalds, York, Edinburgh, North Wales, Bath...this is more of a circle route and possibly less backtracking. (BTW, very few trains in the UK need reservations.)

For two weeks, that is a very ambitious schedule.

Rail in Britain is more expensive than on the continent. Coach on the other hand is a cheap and comfortable alternative. When I take a ride on a bus, I usually swing by the bus station the day before and pick up tickets for the next morning. That is plenty of time to ensure you get a seat and save time standing in line when you need to catch your bus.

I've only done bus as point to point. It's so much cheaper than rail, I never thought about getting a pass (if they have one). I think there are busabout tours that run a regularly scheduled hop on/hop off route that sell passes.

As Kent says, you may find it will work best to travel by both train and coach (highway bus). For some of your routes (Bath to the Cotswolds, for example) a coach should be faster as well as cheaper than the train. Check train timetables and fares on the National Rail site. Check coach timetables and fares on the National Express site. Information on coach passes can be found on this page on the National Express site.

While seat reservations are required on many fast trains on the Continent, they are not required on UK trains. If you want one, they are free for the asking at the station.

Walk-up fares for longer routes on UK trains can be very expensive. If you can commit to specific dates and departure times well in advance, you can book tickets online and get discount fares. For example, the anytime walk-up 2nd class fare for York-Edinburgh is £72. Booked well in advance on the National Express East Coast site, the fare can be as low as £11. So if you want to travel by train and need flexibility in your departure dates and times for longer routes, a railpass may be cheaper than last-minute standard fares.