Travel Help: The British Isles

[fernweh]

H and I are trying to plan a trip next year and I’m looking for itinerary recommendations. We did Ireland a few years ago so we are most interested in Scotland and/or England. We will have probably 9 days including travel time from Detroit.

If it would be best to stick to just one country with that time I think I would prefer Scotland but I’m not 100% stuck to that so England only itineraries are welcome too.

[Vespasia]

We did 7 days in Scotland and were based in Edinburgh the whole time. MH isn't the type of traveler who likes to move around a lot and this was his birthday trip. It worked out really well.

We did 3 day trips,  one on our own and two with Heart of Scotland Tours. 
St. Andrews by train - Eden Mill distillery, golfing on the Lady's Putting Green
Stirling Castle, Lochs, and Whisky
Killiecrankie Gorge, Dunkeld Cathedral, Blair Castle


The tours were both excellent. We had two very different guides that gave them both a unique flavor.

We found plenty to do in Edinburgh the 3 full days we had in town.

With more time I would have liked to go up to Inverness and see Skye. 

[dish2501]

Are you willing to drive in Scotland? We did 7 nights flying into Edinburgh and out of Inverness. It was amazing and I’d return in a flash. I can share my itinerary if you want!

[dish2501]

We also did 6 nights in England another trip without having a car. That was amazing too! We saw the Tower of London, Stonehenge and Bath with a tour group, the British Museum, Highgate Cemetery (so so cool), a play, Camden Market. You can easily fill your days.

[fernweh]

Sept 4, 2024 9:17:32 GMT -5 dish2501 said:

Are you willing to drive in Scotland? We did 7 nights flying into Edinburgh and out of Inverness. It was amazing and I’d return in a flash. I can share my itinerary if you want!

Yes, I’m willing to drive! Please do share your itinerary.

[dish2501]

Sept 4, 2024 9:24:58 GMT -5 fernweh said:

Sept 4, 2024 9:17:32 GMT -5 dish2501 said:

Are you willing to drive in Scotland? We did 7 nights flying into Edinburgh and out of Inverness. It was amazing and I’d return in a flash. I can share my itinerary if you want!

Yes, I’m willing to drive! Please do share your itinerary.

I sent you a message!

We flew out of Chicago and had our flight from London to Edinburgh cancelled. We could not get a reasonable replacement flight so we took the train. It was beautiful.

[dancingnancy]

Sept 4, 2024 9:37:28 GMT -5 dish2501 said:

Sept 4, 2024 9:24:58 GMT -5 fernweh said:

Yes, I’m willing to drive! Please do share your itinerary.

I sent you a message!

We flew out of Chicago and had our flight from London to Edinburgh cancelled. We could not get a reasonable replacement flight so we took the train. It was beautiful.

Do you mind sending to me as well? Planning to do Scotland and England in 2026. Thank you!!

[joy]

We did Edinburgh and Inverness this summer. Visited Cairngorm and fed the reindeer. The Highlands are GORGEOUS. We have pictures from a random beach we stopped at in Nairn on the North Sea and an inlet north of Inverness where we saw wild dolphins.

My biggest regret and not going to Skye. Go to Skye. We’ll be back for that.

[dish2501]

Sept 4, 2024 11:04:32 GMT -5 dancingnancy said:

Sept 4, 2024 9:37:28 GMT -5 dish2501 said:

I sent you a message!

We flew out of Chicago and had our flight from London to Edinburgh cancelled. We could not get a reasonable replacement flight so we took the train. It was beautiful.

Do you mind sending to me as well? Planning to do Scotland and England in 2026. Thank you!!

Sent!

[sdlaura]

We went to that area 8 years ago for DH’s 40th bday. We flew into Edinburgh and spent one night (the castle was cool to see at night), then the next day we took the train to Inverness. There we rented a car and drove to Isle of Skye, stopping at castles on the way. We spent 3 night on Isle of Skye in an adorable inn and hiked, saw waterfalls, hung out with lots of sheep, tasted scotch. We had dinner at an incredible restaurant - just called Skye. Make reservations far in advance if you go.

Then we drove back to Inverness, flew to London, spent some time there with friends, then took the train through the Chunnel to Paris and spent the rest of our trip in coastal France near Cancale and Saint-Malo. Then flew home from Paris.

If we had had more time, it would have been nice to spend some more time in Edinburgh and Paris, but we had left our two toddlers with grandparents so couldn’t get away that long. But we live in a crowded place so tend to like to vacation in rural areas rather than cities.

[Deleted]

What time of year are you planning?

If sort of April - early October then I’d definitely recommend Scotland and drive around! It’s so pretty and there’s plenty to do. But late Oct - March the days are so short, I’d recommend further South, and maybe stick to cities where there’s more to do that doesn’t depend on daylight.

[fernweh]

Sept 4, 2024 17:44:34 GMT -5 @villainv said:

What time of year are you planning?

If sort of April - early October then I’d definitely recommend Scotland and drive around! It’s so pretty and there’s plenty to do. But late Oct - March the days are so short, I’d recommend further South, and maybe stick to cities where there’s more to do that doesn’t depend on daylight.

It’ll be late April or Early May

[Deleted]

Sept 4, 2024 18:31:40 GMT -5 fernweh said:

Sept 4, 2024 17:44:34 GMT -5 @villainv said:

What time of year are you planning?

If sort of April - early October then I’d definitely recommend Scotland and drive around! It’s so pretty and there’s plenty to do. But late Oct - March the days are so short, I’d recommend further South, and maybe stick to cities where there’s more to do that doesn’t depend on daylight.

It’ll be late April or Early May

Ooooh, yeah definitely Scotland.

[joy]

We blew two tires while driving around Inverness. Drive carefully on the left!

Uber does not work in the Highlands but Inverness City Taxis has an app that works the same. In case you also pop two of your rental car’s tires and are stuck on the side of a small road, too………

[sdlaura]

We were there late April/early May and it was good weather.

[ellipses84]

You can do both! It’s often cheaper to fly in/out of London so you could at least spend a day or two on each end of the trip to see the major sights, or take a day trip somewhere a short train ride from London, like Brighton (about 1 hour each way). Spend the rest of the time in Scotland.

We went Summer ‘23 but the primarily reason for London was to see family and Scotland was for DH’s bucket list to play golf at St. Andrews (He did, plus 2 other golf courses and it was amazing). The kids and I explored the lovely little town, ruins and beach for a couple days and took the train to Edinburgh for a day. Without the golf, we could have done St. Andrews in a day. I would have loved to spend a couple more days in Edinburgh.

I’d love to go to Glasgow and the west coast - Inverness, Loch Ness, Isle of Skye. That will take longer, but Scotland is only like the size of South Carolina so not unreasonable drives between places.

We stayed in different parts of London before/ after so we were walking distance to different things. We took the Chunnel train from Paris when we arrived and stayed near Paddington station on the last night so we could take the express train to Heathrow.