In today’s post I’m going to share with you a 10 day itinerary for a UK trip, specifically covering England and Scotland, which will let you visit and travel around the UK entirely by public transport, and in particular by bus or train.
I have written a couple of posts giving detailed itineraries for the UK, but those are focused on self-drive trips. I’m often asked if they can be done by public transport, and whilst the answer is usually yes, it does come with caveats as the itineraries aren’t really designed around the public transport system in the UK.
With that in mind, I’ve put together the below itinerary for ten days in the UK that is designed to be done by public transport. The UK has an excellent public transport system, especially between the major cities, making it relatively easy to see quite a lot in a short space of time. So if you are interested in travelling the UK by train or bus, this itinerary is for you!
Let’s get started with my guide to taking a trip around the UK forb ten days by public transport.
Table of Contents:
A 10 Day UK Trip Itinerary
Here’s the detailed day by day itinerary for your 10 days in the UK
Days 1 & 2: London
I firmly believe that no trip to the UK is complete without spending some time in London, and that’s why this itinerary is kicking off with two days in the capital.
There is so much to do in London, and even if you have visited before, I guarantee you will find plenty to do. From classic sights like the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace to visiting the Tower of London, through to afternoon teas and shopping at iconic stores like Harrods – truly, everyone will find something they love to do in London.
We have visited London a number of times, and have put together a number of guides to the city to help you out. Our first tip for inspiration would be to check out our guide to spending two days in London, which should give you some ideas, and if you have more time to spend in London check out our detailed six day London itinerary.
We’ve also written a guide to getting into the city centre by public transport from all the major London airports, which you should find helpful for planning your arrival and departure if you are flying into the city.
Finally, if you’re planning on doing some sight-seeing, we definitely suggest checking out the London Pass, which will likely save you money. You can see our full review of the London Pass here.
For accommodation, London has options to suit every budget. Start your search by taking a look at the London listings on booking.com, which is our preferred way of booking accommodation when we travel. For apartments, we love the curated selection on Plum Guide.
Day 3: Oxford
From London, it’s about an hours train ride to Oxford, or around an hour and a half by bus. Oxford is a stunning small university city that has served as the inspiration for numerous novels and films, and was one of the locations that the Harry Potter films were shot at. It’s a definite must for any visit to the UK.
A day is enough to see the city as it’s quite small. We’d recommend taking a walking tour of the city and universities, dropping into one of the beautiful old pubs like the Turf Tavern, and perhaps trying your hand at a spot of punting. There are also several great museums to explore in Oxford.
Otherwise, we’re sure you’ll just enjoy wandering the gorgeous streets of this city. For a lovely view across said streets, take a walk up to the top of the University Church of St. Mary the Virgin, which is right next to the Radcliffe Camera.
For more inspiration, take a look at our guide to spending a day in Oxford, a city we love visiting so much that Jess also wrote her thoughts on visiting Oxford for a day!
For accommodation, see the options for Oxford on booking.com here.
Days 4 & 5: Bristol
From Oxford, it’s an hours train ride to the next city on our 10 day UK itinerary – the lovely port city of Bristol. Buses are also available from Oxford to Bristol, and the journey is around three hours by bus.
In Bristol you’ll find a rich history of ship-building and trade, as well as Victorian engineering marvels like the Clifton Suspension Bridge. There’s an old city center to explore, one of the most vibrant street art scenes in the UK, beautifully coloured houses to photograph and of course, a number of excellent museums.
One highlight not to miss is the SS Great Britain. Originally built in Bristol in 1845, this was the world’s first ship to boast both an iron hull and a screw propeller.
She’s been beautifully restored and is now Bristol’s top visitor attraction. Note that tickets are slightly cheaper if you book them online, which you can do online here.
If you visit in August, you’ll also be able to attend Europe’s largest annual Balloon Fiesta – the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta. This takes place over four days in early August every year, and is free to attend.
For more ideas for your visit to Bristol, take a look at our guide to things to do in Bristol, as well as our guide to visiting the Bristol Balloon Fiesta, should you be lucky enough to be in town during this epic event.
For accommodation in Bristol, take a look at the Bristol accommodation page of booking.com.
Days 6 & 7: Liverpool
From Bristol, it’s time to turn north and head up to the home of the Beatles – Liverpool! You’re looking at around a three hour ten minute train ride from Bristol, which includes a change of trains (usually at Birmingham or Stafford). There are also buses available, which take in the region of 5 to 7 hours.
There’s plenty to do in Liverpool to fill two days of your time. Fans of the Beatles will want to head to Liverpool’s most popular museum – the Beatles Story. This is the world’s largest permanent exhibition devoted to one of the UK’s most successful rock bands.
Liverpool has more than the Beatles though. Liverpool’s historic Albert Dock waterfront area has been revived, and turned from a 19th century dock complex to a modern thriving attraction with shops, accommodations, museums and attractions. As well as the Beatles Story, you’ll also find the Merseyside Maritime Museum, the Tate Liverpool, and the International Slavery Museum.
Finally, football fans might want to take a stadium tour of Anfield – the home of Liverpool FC.
For accommodation in Liverpool, see all the listings for Liverpool on booking.com here.
Day 8: York
Now we’re going to head north east across England, past Manchester and Leeds, to the beautiful historic city of York – just under three hours train ride away. Buses are also available, and these generally take between four and six hours.
The walled city of York was founded by the Romans nearly two thousand years ago, and has seen it’s fair share of history – for a time it was even ruled by the Vikings, and was known as Jórvík.
Today, there are still many reminders of the cities medieval past. A walk through “the Shambles” is a must – a winding medieval street overhung by old, timber framed houses and lined with pretty shops.
You’ll also want to check out the city walls – York has more miles of intact city wall than any other city in the UK. Originally built in Roman times, the surviving walls largely date from the 12th – 14th centuries, and you can see both the walls and their gatehouses, also known as “bars”.
Finally, no visit to York is complete without a visit to York Minster, York’s Cathedral. This is one of the most impressive religious buildings in the UK, built in the Gothic style, and with the present building dating from the 13th century. A highlight of any visit has to be a walk up to the top of the towers, from where you’ll get a gorgeous view.
For more information on your trip to York, see our guide to spending two days in York, which should give you lots of inspiration.
For your accommodation in York, check out the listings on booking.com here.
Days 9 & 10: Edinburgh
Our last stop on our ten day UK itinerary has you crossing the Scottish border and visiting the Scottish capital – Edinburgh.
From York, it’s around a 2.5 hour train ride to Edinburgh, or 5 – 8 hours by bus.
This is a fantastically beautiful medieval city which features a castle built atop a volcano, lovely old cobbled streets, a whole Georgian era town, quaint villages to explore and of course, all the things you would expect from Scotland – haggis, tartan, bagpipers, and whisky!
There is a lot to do in Edinburgh. We very much recommend a visit to Edinburgh Castle, a stroll down the Royal Mile and some whisky sampling at the Edinburgh Whisky Experience.
If you’re planning on visiting a number of the Royal sights in Edinburgh, including Edinburgh Castle, Holyrood Palace and the Royal Yacht Britannia, then you should consider a Royal Edinburgh Ticket. As well as giving you access to those three attractions, it also gives you a two day hop on hop off bus ticket for Edinburgh. See our full review of the Royal Edinburgh ticket to see if it might save you money.
For more ideas in Edinburgh, check out our suggestions for two days in Edinburgh, as well as our guide to some of Edinburgh’s hidden gems. For accommodation, see Edinburgh’s listings on booking.com.
For returning home after your UK tour is done, you have a number of options depending on where you are returning to. Edinburgh airport is just eight miles outside the city center, and offers a wide range of flights to both domestic and international destinations. To get to Edinburgh airport you can take the tram or AirLink Bus directly to and from the city centre.
If your return flight is from London, you have a number of options for returning to the capital city (including flying of course).
The main train station in Edinburgh (Edinburgh Waverley) is centrally located, and there are a number of train services that run directly to London, taking around 4 – 5.5 hours. There is also the option to take an overnight sleeper train from Edinburgh to London – read our experience doing that here. You can also take a bus from Edinburgh to London, which takes between 9 and 11 hours.
For more options, check out our detailed guide to getting between Edinburgh and London.
And that sums up our route for a ten day UK trip across England and Scotland! Now for some helpful hints and tips to help you plan your perfect adventure.
Map of Route for 10 Day UK itinerary
Here’s a map of the route to help you out with visualizing our 10 day UK trip itinerary, which you can see on Google Maps here.
10 Days in the UK: Summary Itinerary
Here’s a quick overview of this itinerary for reference:
- Days 1 & 2: London
- Day 3: Oxford
- Days 4 & 5: Bristol
- Days 6 & 7: Liverpool
- Day 8: York
- Days 9 & 10: Edinburgh
Tips for Using Public Transport in the UK
When it comes to taking public transit in the UK, you have two main options, the train or the bus, more commonly known as a coach.
By Train
As you can see from post, the train service in the UK is going to be the fastest way to get around for this public transport itinerary, especially between the major cities.
To get the best prices on trains, it’s essential that you book in advance. Tickets purchased on the day are nearly always going to be more expensive. Advance purchase tickets will save you money and usually come with a seat reservation.
There are a number of websites for booking UK train tickets online. We recommend the Trainline service, who have been around for a long time, and who we usually find to be the easiest for booking train tickets across the UK.
Opt to collect your ticket at the station to save on the ticket delivery fee – you will need the booking reference number and your credit card to pick up the ticket. Note that this will usually require a PIN enabled credit card. Alternatively, they usually allow you to print your tickets at home or use e-tickets.
They also let you book tickets for destinations all across Europe, and so are a handy one stop shop for all your ticket needs.
If you’d prefer not to have to worry about booking all the train tickets individually, or figuring out the pricing structure, another option is to invest in a UK rail pass. These are only available to UK visitors who don’t have a UK passport. If that’s you, you can likely save time and money by buying a UK Britrail pass.
For this itinerary, the best pass would likely be the 8 day consecutive pass, which would get you from London to Edinburgh through all the locations on this itinerary. These are available in first or second class, depending on your budget and travel style. Get yours here.
By Bus or Coach
You can also easily do this itinerary by taking long distance bus services (called coaches in the UK). Coach fares are often cheaper than train fairs, although as you can see from the itinerary, they usually take quite a bit longer. We therefore would only advise them if you are looking to save the maximum amount of money, or for the shorter legs like London to Oxford, or Oxford to Bristol.
They can also sometimes be a little easier, such as in the case of Bristol to Liverpool, as that route by train requires a change.
There are a number of long distance coach operators in the UK. The two we would recommend are National Express and Megabus, both of which offer a wide range of routes across the country.
From London to Oxford specifically, you have more choices, as well as the above options you can take the Oxford Tube. We’d suggest finding the route that departs from closest to your hotel to make it easier to get to it with your luggage.
As with the train, in most cases the best deals are available if you book as far in advance as possible for a specific bus time.
Is this UK Itinerary Achievable with Children?
So first, I have to say that Jess and I don’t have kids, so we don’t have first hand experience of travelling with children. However, a common question from readers is whether or not this UK itinerary can be done as a family.
Of course, every family is different, and there is no one size fits all answer. It will depend a lot on your individual family and travel style.
That said, speaking to friends with children and other family travel bloggers, as a general rule you will want to adjust your trip pace somewhat to suit the needs of your family. With this in mind, I would probably advise slowing the pace a little bit for the trip, and in this case of this itinerary, perhaps skipping one or two towns so you can travel a bit slower.
Obviously what you choose to leave out is up to you, but I would overall suggest focusing on Edinburgh, York, Oxford and London as an example, with 2 – 3 days in Edinburgh / London, and 1-2 days in York / Oxford.
Other Options for Touring the UK
If, having read all the above, you are feeling a bit overwhelmed at the idea of planning your UK trip yourself, don’t worry. We have a couple of other options for you to consider.
First, you could take a group tour of the UK. This will take you to a wide variety of sights, with someone else handling all the logistics, and letting you just relax and chill out.
We have used and can recommend Rabbie’s Trail Burners for this sort of thing – they’re a small group tour operator with lots of experience and great guides. As an example, they have an eight day tour that departs from London and goes to Edinburgh. Whilst the route isn’t quite the same, you will still see plenty of cool stuff.
Finally, you can also arrange a private tour. This will usually be a more expensive option, but will mean you can put something totally customised together. This is a service offered by a number of companies, we would again recommend Rabbie’s Trail Burners who offer a customised tour service.
Another option we are happy to recommend is a professional driver-guide. This website lists all the certified blue badge guides offering tours across the UK. We have taken tours with these guides and always had a good time.
Where to Stay in the UK
For accommodation, there are a great many options to choose from, ranging from cosy B&B’s through to upmarket hotels, and everything in between. We’re big fans of Plum Guide, but for shorter city stays like those outlined in this itinerary, you will probably find hotels to be more convenient.
- Our go-to choice to find the best deals on accommodation is with Booking.com. We find they usually have the best prices, they will price match if you happen to find a better deal, and they have a huge range of accommodation options – including apartments.
- If you prefer an apartment or more of a hosted stay, then we recommend Plum Guide. We’ve tried many options, and have found Plum Guide to have the most consistent experience in terms of quality places to stay.
- If you can’t find the room or apartment you want on Plum Guide, or you want some new options to try out, we have some alternatives we also use. We suggest trying Vrbo to start with. For even more ideas to help you save money and get the best choice, we wrote a whole post on the best holiday cottage and apartment rentals options in the UK.
Between these options, you should find the best prices and places to stay for your trip, as well as a good selection of reviews and feedback to help you make an informed decision.
When to Visit the UK
The UK is good to visit at any time of year, although for the best weather and longer daylight hours, we’d definitely suggest visiting in the warmer months – from May to September. May and September are probably our favourite times of year, the weather is usually quite reasonable but the tourist crowds are not too intense.
Christmas, and the period leading up to Christmas, can also be a wonderful time to visit, when the streets and shops are all brightly lit and decorated for the festive season.
For a good example of this, check out our guide to visiting Edinburgh at Christmas.
Further Reading for your 10 Day UK Trip
We’ve got lots of resources to help you plan your trip to the UK, both posts we’ve written ourselves based on our experiences travelling in the UK, through to third party content we’re happy to recommend. We think you’ll find them useful for planning your perfect UK trip:
- If you would prefer a self-drive trip, check out my one week UK itinerary and my two week UK itinerary, which are both self-drive trips.
- For budget planning, see our guide to how much it costs to travel in the UK
- We have guides to many of the cities and sights this itinerary visits for you to bookmark, including:
- A two day Edinburgh itinerary, 21 Highlights in Edinburgh and Getting off the beaten path in Edinburgh
- For London, we have some detailed itineraries and guides to help you plan your visit. These include a 1 Day London Itinerary, a Two Day London itinerary, a 3 Day London Itinerary and a Six Day London itinerary. We also have posts on The top Harry Potter sites in London and Tips on Buying and Using the London Pass
- For Oxford, we have a guide to spending A Day in Oxford
- In Bristol, check out our guide to things to do in Bristol, as well as our guide to the street art of Bristol
- Getting online when travelling in a foreign country can be daunting – check out our guide to getting online when travelling to help you figure out the best options for your trip
- If you’re interested in getting better photos when you travel, take a look at my online photography course, where I’ll teach you everything you need to know about getting better photos – whatever camera you have!
- If you want a physical (or digital!) book to accompany your travels, then Amazon do a good line in UK Travel Guides, and there is naturally a Lonely Planet and a Rough Guide to the UK available. We also think the Rick Steves guidebooks are excellent, and for our 10 day UK itinerary you should check out the Rick Steves Great Britain guide.
And that sums up our 10 day UK itinerary post! We hope you found it useful. If so, please share it on your favourite social media networks to spread the word. And, as always, if you have any questions or comments, feel free to pop them in the comments below!
Dana Marie Lykes says
Hi there! I loved reading your itinerary and can’t wait to follow it next year on our first trip to the UK!😁 (we live in Seattle, Washington US). We are very excited to get around mostly by rail. Do you have any general ideas on extending our time by a few more days to explore the highlands as well? Thanks in advance for any guidance, and for all that you do – so helpful!
Dana and Sid
Laurence Norah says
Hi Dana!
Thanks very much! So, the highlands are a little more tricky to get around by rail. You can definitely get to parts of the highlands, such as the Cairngorms National Park by train as there’s a rail station in Aviemore. However, much of north west Scotland is going to be challenging by rail (or even other forms of public transport, like bus).
If you want to explore the highlands but would really prefer not to drive then we’d probably recommend taking a tour with Rabbies. They’re a Scotland based company who do both day trips and multi-day trips. We’ve done a number of their tours and they are small group, small vehicles and excellent guides. I’d probably suggest their five day highland tour (you can see our review of that here). However they also have shorter tours if you are more time constrained.
The other option of course would be to rent a car and self-drive. But I’m not sure if that’s an option you were considering or not. Happy to provide some suggestions if so!
Have an amazing trip and do let me know if you have any more questions I’m more than happy to help 🙂
Laurence
Vittorio says
Hi Laurence,
Thank you very much for putting this itinerary together, it’s been really helpful and I’m actually thinking about following it quite closely.
To give you a little bit of context: I’m from Argentina and I’m 23. I’m traveling in end of September, and I’m gonna spend a couple of days in London, then go to Dublin and back to London due to certain events I’ll be attending. After that, I have two spare weeks.
I’m a little bit unsure about Bristol as a destination. I’m not exactly a museum-kind-of-guy so I’m actually afraid it might not be a destination for me?
In addition to that, I think I have exactly 13 days after I leave London. Do you think there’s any other place I should definitely add to my list? Bath? Cardiff?
Any advice you might have or any tweaks to this itinerary that you can think of will be greatly appreciated.
Once again, thank you for your work, you make planning so very much easier.
Best,
Vittorio
Laurence Norah says
Hi Vittorio,
Great to hear from you and it sounds like you have a fun time ahead 🙂 So Bristol definitely has a lot more to offer than museums, it’s one of the best places in the UK for street art, it has a vibrant student and arts culture and there is definitely plenty to see and do as you would expect from a medium sized city. It is hard to know if it is right for you specifically as I’m not sure what your interests are. Many city destinations are going to offer a range of attractions. Somewhere like Bath for example is known for its pretty Georgian architecture, and there is lovely walking in the area around. Oxford and Cambridge have lovely colleges you can explore. However all three of these are smaller than Bristol. Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham are larger cities with a bigger feel and more choice of things like dining etc. However, it really depends a lot on what you want to see and do. So if you could give me an idea of what you would love to do then I can perhaps offer some more specific advice 🙂
Best
Laurence
Vittorio says
Hi Laurence!
Thank you for such detailed answer, and sorry for the delay in getting back to you.
I hope I will have a good time in the UK, I’m super excited!
You asked me what I would love to do… I love sports, so finding cities with a sports culture and history is always amazing. When I travel, I really like walkable cities where you can wander around and get lost in the streets and find little places to have coffee or a couple of drinks, or maybe just snap a picture of a beautiful alley. I’m also really fond of street art and architecture. I love meeting new people, so if the community is friendly is always a plus. Music is one of my great passions as well, so if there are places where one can go and check out local bands with a beer in hand, that’s amazing. Shopping is not a must, to be honest.
Apart from that, I like nature so coastal cities or parks within big cities are usually places where I like to take a break from the hassle of the city.
I’m still young and discovering what I like to do when I travel, but that’s mostly what I like to do when I’m abroad. Get up early, have a good breakfast and walk until dawn 🙂
Thank you for your help. I really appreciate it.
Cheers!
Vittorio
Laurence Norah says
Hey Vittorio,
My pleasure, and there’s no rush! So in terms of sports obviously London has a rich history with multiple football teams, the Olympic Park and locations like Wimbledon. Manchester and Liverpool are also well known worldwide for their football teams. Most of these locations you can either go see a game (depending on schedules) or take a tour of the stadium. So definitely consider that.
If you like street art Bristol is probably one of the best cities in the UK for street art. It’s where Banksy started his career, and many of his originals can still be seen. Bristol also hosts a massive street art festival every year, and the street art around the city is really good. You can see my guide to street art in Bristol for more.
For live music, London is good for that for sure, just because the city is so big that there are so many venues. Check out the Camden area in particular. Liverpool is also good for this, it was the home of the Beatles after all! For parks, London also has excellent parks, but smaller cities like Bath and Oxford are surrounded by nature so it is easy to get out. Bath in particular has some lovely countryside around it and the six mile Bath Skyline walk is a lovely countryside walk you can do from the city centre on foot.
I would definitely include Edinburgh and York as well. York makes for a nice day of exploring, it’s small but the medieval streets are lovely. The same can be said for the old town of Edinburgh.
So I would probably say that this itinerary should overall work for you, every location has something a little bit different to offer. You could tweak it a bit in terms of how long you spend in each location, but overall I think it should be a good match!
Enjoy!
Laurence
Shemna says
Hello!
Thank you for this itinerary! My sister and I are planning to travel in 2 weeks time for 10 days. We were thinking of covering London extensively and york. We have already been to Edinburgh before so not doing Scotland this time. We’re more interested to spend time visiting quainter villages. So we were thinking of having London as a base and doing day trips from there to Cotswolds, bath, the Stonehenge – what other place wud you recommend? And would you suggest any other place to make base rather than London?
Thanks in advance!
Shemna
Laurence Norah says
Hi Shemna,
It’s my pleasure! I would say you have a good plan. London is probably the best base as you can either take a train to the locations you describe, or book a day trip. I’d suggest maybe adding Stratford Upon Avon, Oxford and or Cambridge to your list, they are all worth visiting and easy to do as a day trip from London. Bath makes a good base for the Cotswolds, but I’m not sure if there are many tours from Bath specifically. Let me know if I can be of any more help!
Laurence
Susan says
This is precisely what I am looking for, for my upcoming 2-week ‘milestone birthday’ tour of Great Britain. I don’t want to drive, rather wanted a train journey with stops and day tours. Thank you for providing such detailed information! You’ve saved me a great deal of planning time! Susan
Laurence Norah says
Our pleasure Susan! If you have any questions as you plan, feel free to get in touch 🙂 We also have a travel facebook group with lots of folk keen to help out, which you can see here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/travelloversandphotography/
Have a lovely trip!
Laurence
Tracy Lewis says
Hello, Just happened upon your website; can’t wait to share it. We are 4 seniors (2 married couples) planning a trip to Scotland, Ireland and Wales in mid to late Apr. 2020. We do not want to rent a car. I have a teacher friend in Welshpool Wales that I want to see. Please tell us the best way to visit these 3 places – train, ferry, plane? Which would you do first? We are leaving from NC in the USA. Thanks so much. I do have a concern that if we’re not with a tour group we’ll only be able to see the cities and not much of the countryside. I appreciate any help you can give. Thanks again!!
Tracy Lewis says
This is Tracy Lewis again. I think I forgot to mention that we can only be gone 16 days.
Laurence Norah says
Hi Tracy,
Thanks for your messages! So train is going to be the best way to get around England, Scotland and Wales. You can definitely get the train to Welshpool as I have done it myself many times as my grandparents used to live in that direction, you can get the train from Birmingham, which in turn you can reach easily from most of the rest of the UK.
In terms of seeing the countryside, certainly, you will be a little restricted without a car but all hope is not lost. If you combine the train with local buses you should be able to see quite a lot without needing a car. Of course, a tour is another good option, but obviously you have to go where the tour goes rather than at your own leisure. One option in this scenario is to base yourself in some of the cities and then take day trips out into the country. This can be a great way to get your countryside fix and see some of the sights that might be harder to see otherwise. In Scotland for example, there are a range of day trips from Edinburgh we’ve written about.
Between the UK and Ireland you can either fly or take a ferry. Without a car, I’d say flying from either Glasgow / Edinburgh to Belfast or Dublin would be easiest. From these two cities you can also take a number of day trips, or even 2 day tours. I think that would be what I would do – base myself in the city and then take the tours in the day, either day trips or two days tours.
I hope this helps a bit, let me know if I can offer any further advice and assistance 🙂
Have a great trip, and Happy New Year!
Laurence
Devo says
Hi there. This site is a great find. I will be travelling to the UK in May/June spending a week in London visiting family and sites, then possibly following your itinerary afterwards. Just wondering if taking an 8 day rail pass to all the locations you mention, after my week in London, whether I could manage a return trip from Edinburgh to London on that same pass? Also, do you recommend one direction over the other? That is, based on time of year, would starting in Edinburgh, or London be best? Thanks in advance….
Laurence Norah says
Hi Devo,
Thanks very much! So the rail pass will work for travel as long as you are within the 8 days of the passes validity. In terms of direction – I don’t think it matters too much! I would probably start in London as it’s the UK capital, but really it doesn’t make difference. The only difference would be around flights and where you want to fly to / from, and if this makes a difference to price. Don’t forget to check flight prices from Glasgow – it’s not far from Edinburgh and often has some good prices.
Have a great trip!
Laurence
Karen Street says
Hello,
First of all thank you for this information. I appreciate it. My husband and I are planning to travel december 2020 for our 10 year anniversary. (I know it’s a little bit early but planning ahead is good for us.?)This is our first UK trip and planning for 10 days. Public transport or car? We are debating with that and we have experienced left side of the road driving because we just got back from Ireland. With public transport less stress right?
Please advise for December season.
Thanks again.
Laurence Norah says
Hi Karen!
Our pleasure. So if you are used to driving on the “wrong” side of the road, you should be fine driving if you choose to. However, if you are happy sticking largely to the cities, as outlined in this itinerary, then public transport would be my preferred option. It’s usually quicker (especially the train), can be more affordable if you book in advance, and most UK cities are not really car friendly so you have to park the car and pay for parking. So yes, I’d go for public transport 🙂
Have a great trip and let me know if I can help any more!
Laurence
PS – it’s never too soon to plan!
karen street says
Hello Laurence,
Thank you for the reply. Can you give me an advice during Christmas time where to stay? Planning leaving LA on 12/16/2020 to 12/28/2020.
Help! Thanks 🙂
Laurence Norah says
Hi Karen,
It’s really up to you in terms of your budget and requirements. For that time of year I’d recommend booking in advance, and I link to the website for booking.com on each city section so you can search 🙂 I have recommendations for some of the cities specifically in some of our other posts, including our London, Edinburgh, Oxford and Bristol content, which should also give you some more specific ideas!
Kathy Jones says
Hi Laurence…..2 queries!!….we leave London ( staying in E Putney ) on train bound for Truro, with our luggage. Which station most practical to use please? Paddington the closest?
Hiring a car at Truro ( probably Enterprise…hoping they’re as good as their website!) driving around U.K. for 10 days and returning car to Edinburgh before catching train to London again. Some have advised to drop hire car off at airport as Edinburgh city driving is a nightmare?!…but I see Enterprise have a depot in Waverley, which makes more sense to me as we are staying in Great King St in the centre. Would we manage the city streets?! Really grateful again for your help.
Laurence Norah says
Hey Kathy!
So I’m not sure you have a choice of train stations, unless I’m misunderstanding the question. The train you are booked on will have a specific departure station, so that’s the one you’ll have to go to 🙂 It’s it departs from Paddington, that’s an easy tube ride from East Putney, direct on the district line.
It’s hard for me to comment exactly on driving in Edinburgh. Personally I drive in Edinburgh all the time and have no problems, but I know friends of mine visiting from the US did not enjoy it (although this was exacerbated a great deal by them accidentally hiring a manual car that they weren’t used to!). Given that you are already used to driving on the left hand side of the road in a manual car, I don’t think you’ll have any problems. Bear in mind that many people coming to drive in the UK are used to driving automatics on the other side of the road, which can make the whole process a lot more nerve wracking. So I think you should be fine. Just make sure you have Google Maps with Edinburgh downloaded so you can get navigation instructions 🙂
Hope this helps! Have a great trip – let me know if I can help any more!
Laurence
Linda says
What do you do with your luggage while you’re sightseeing? Thanks.
Laurence Norah says
Hi Linda,
We usually leave it with the hotel we are staying at. If that’s not an option, we try and find a secure storage locker. However, that’s not normally an issue, most hotels are happy to hold onto it 🙂
Best
Laurence
Panji says
Hi,
Thank you for sharing such a detailed information! I’m really interested to plan my trip in december based on your guides. However, I will also be travelling with a baby, do you think this guide will be doable while travelling with a baby around 9 months old?
What do you think I should adjust given the situation?
Cheers
Laurence Norah says
Hi Panji,
Thanks for your comment. I have to preface my response by saying that I don’t have children, so I don’t have any first hand experience. I know from speaking with other families who travel though, that it does tend to add a fair bit of overhead to the trip. I think with a 9 month old this may be reduced as they can sleep a lot, so you can take them to more places perhaps than a toddler who will need more consideration. But I would still suggest perhaps cutting the trip down a little bit and maybe skipping a couple of destinations. You can see a suggested reduction in the trip itinerary in this comment here:
https://www.findingtheuniverse.com/10-day-uk-itinerary-public-transport-train-bus/#comment-8660
Hope this helps!
Laurence
Alana Gaymon says
This is a great itinerary! We may need some modifications, but I love the idea of seeing the U.K. by rail. Thanks so much!
Laurence Norah says
Our pleasure! Thanks for stopping by and letting us know!
Puspita says
Hi! This is going to be our first trip to UK and we found your itinerary here is so helpful..very detail and interesting! However, is this itinerary doable with family with young children? I am concerned with the luggages too!
Lastly,.. Is it possible (& sensible to go to Edinburg straight from Gatwick airport and then following your itinerary backward all the way down to London ? Thanks a lot for your reply!
Laurence Norah says
Hi Puspita,
Delighted to have been able to help. So first, I have to say that Jess and I don’t have kids, so we don’t have first hand experience of travelling with children. That said, speaking to friends with children and other family travel bloggers, you certainly have to adjust your trip pace somewhat to suit their needs, which will vary individually of course. So I would probably advise slowing the pace a little bit, and in this case of this itinerary, perhaps skipping one or two towns so you can travel a bit slower.
Obviously what you choose to leave out is up to you, but you might perhaps focus on Edinburgh, York, Oxford and London as an example, with 2 – 3 days in Edinburgh / London, and 1-2 days in York / Oxford.
You can definitely go straight from Gatwick to Edinburgh. The easiest way is going to be to fly, although of course that is the mode of transport with the most restrictive luggage allowances. Other types of transport such as trains and coaches are less restrictive.
I hope this helps – have a great trip!
Laurence
DAle says
Hi guys, thanks for the fantastic info! My wife and I will be visiting Birtain from Canada for 10 days next month and will be virtually mirroring your itinerary. How do you suggest packing for a trip using public transportation? Suitcases or backpacks? And how do you deal with trinkets purchased along the way?
Laurence Norah says
Hi Dale!
Our pleasure 🙂 We usually travel with rolling luggage, specifically something like the Osprey Sojourn 60L. The UK is an easy place for rolling luggage, but luggage with slightly larger wheels will be easier to manage we think. We find backpacks are better in countries where there is less paving, but in the UK you can roll your bags pretty much everywhere, so it’s a lot easier. On trains there is nearly always a luggage area either at the end of the carriage or in the middle, whilst buses will have a dedicated luggage area under the passenger area. We’d advise having a smaller bags for your valuables (camera / passport etc), which you can keep with you.
For trinkets… we have two options. We usually try and leave enough space in our bags so they fit in as they go. Alternatively, for larger items it can just be easier to mail these back to yourself, but just be aware of any tax implications or import fees. But we generally try to avoid picking up anything too bulky (hence our extensive collection of fridge magnets)
I hope this helps – have a wonderful trip and do please check back in to let us know how it was!
Laurence
Richard says
Hello,
Thanks for the wonderful information. As a suggested show to see this summer at the Fringe, stop by the Bedlam Theatre to see Theatre Movement Bazaar’s “Grail Project”. Our son is performing in this play about the King Arther days. This will be his third time at the Fringe as a performer.
Your 2 week agenda of London -Edinburgh – Ireland – London is great. We can expand the time along the way to make it work for our 4 weeks. Big question though is it possible to make it work and see all the sites you mention by way of train or bus, or will we need to rent a car? I was hoping not to have to rent a car.
Laurence Norah says
Hi Richard! Thanks for the recommendation! We’ll do our best to look him up, we’re in Edinburgh the for festival this year 🙂
For the 10 day itinerary here, you can definitely do it by public transport.
For the 14 day itinerary, it is possible for most of it, but the more remote castles, stately homes and national parks would be more of a challenge. No problem though, there are loads of tour companies that run short 1 day or half day tours to many of the attractions listed, so you could take small group tours to some of the attractions and thus circumvent the need to either hire a car, or figure out the (sometimes, rather challenging!) rural public transport system!