Following on from my two week UK itinerary post, I wanted to put together a slightly shorter itinerary for those of you with less time, but who still wanted to explore more of the UK than the capital city. And so, I present, our suggested itinerary for one week in the UK.
The idea of this 1 week UK itinerary is to take in some of the essential highlights of the UK, but also throw in a few curveballs – spectacular places that you would find hard to visit without your own wheels.
If this is your first time driving in the UK, I can also recommend checking out our guide to driving in the UK for tips.
Without further ado, here’s my guide for an awesome:
Table of Contents
One Week UK Road Trip Itinerary
We’re going to kick off this itinerary in the UK’s capital, on the assumption that this is where you’re going to fly to when you arrive. There are flights from all over the world to London’s airports, so the chances are pretty high that this is where you’re going to be arriving.
Note that as with any itinerary, this one should be adjusted to your travel style. The itinerary as laid out is very busy, and has you moving quite quickly so as to take in the highlights. So feel free to adjust it to your specific preferences. It could easily be adjusted to accommodate a longer trip for example.
Days 1 & 2: London
In general, having a hire car in London is A Bad Idea. What with the congestion charge, antiquated road system, and the fact that the traffic moves slower now on average than it did when horses and carts plied the roads – well, you get the idea.
This isn’t to suggest writing it off though. You have two options – pick up a hire car after your time in London, or stay a little outside the centre in a hotel with parking near a public transport hub. Now, on to London itself.
For your first day of exploration in London, I’d suggest spending your day seeing the essential London sights. London is an eminently walkable city, and you’ll be able to take in the majority of the key highlights, from the Houses of Parliament and Buckingham Palace through to Tower Bridge and the Tower of London.
Then, on your second day, you can either continue to explore London, or you might consider heading out to some of the attractions outside of London.
Popular locations outside the city centre include Windsor Castle, or Hampton Court Palace – both eminently explorable, and easy to reach with a car or by public transport from the city centre.
If you want to save money on the above attractions, and will be visiting a few, then you should definitely consider investing in a London Pass. Available in 1, 3 and 6 day versions, the savings can really be quite impressive if you plan on visiting a few locations. You can read a full break down on if the London Pass is worth buying here, and buy one yourself here.
Finally, London has no shortage of accommodation options, something to suit pretty much every budget. Check out the options for London at booking.com, and here for Plum Guide if you’re looking for an apartment. We also have a guide to where to stay in London.
Day 3: Stonehenge, Bath and the Cotswolds
From London, I’m going to suggest you head west, and take in one of Britain’s most recognisable old monuments – the incredible Stonehenge. Visiting Stonehenge is a popular day trip from London, and I have a guide to visiting Stonehenge from London here.
Every year new evidence comes to light as to how these got here, and you can’t fail to be impressed at their massiveness, as well as their seeming impervious nature. Since the motorway was shifted a few years ago, and the fence around the stones moved, this has become a far more pleasant attraction to visit.
From Stonehenge, head along to the old town of Bath. A favourite of the Romans, this place has, as you would imagine, some baths to explore, where you can see how the Romans kept themselves clean, plus try some of the waters yourself.
It’s also worth taking the time to check out the Georgian architecture, including the Royal Crescent and the Circus.
You can either overnight in Bath, which might be preferable to driving any more today, or you can head into the Cotswolds. If you do the latter, find yourself a cosy little B&B in the countryside – somewhere you’d likely struggle to get to with public transport – and really take advantage of having your own wheels!
Days 4 & 5: Warwickshire, The Peak District & Yorkshire
After a pleasant overnight in Bath or the Cotswolds, it’s time to turn North, and head up towards Yorkshire. This will be a bit of a drive, but there are some highlights on the way that I’d recommend stopping at to break up the journey.
First, I’d suggest stopping off at Baddesley Clinton, a moated manor house just outside of Warwick. This is a spectacular property, over 500 years old, which will give you an insight as to how the British aristocracy lived in the middle ages.
Highlights include the glorious moat that surrounds the building, and the priest-holes in the house itself, where the Catholic priests of the time would hide from persecution and execution.
If you’d prefer to explore an interesting town, then I can recommend dropping in to Warwick. There’s enough to do here to fill a day (especially if you decide to visit the Castle!), but I’d suggest at least visiting the Lord Leycester Hospital, and St. Mary’s Church.
The former isn’t, and has never been, a hospital, instead, for over 400 years it has housed military veterans of Britain’s various wars. It’s a fascinating cluster of houses, dating from the 14th century, and is basically everything you could hope for in a medieval construction.
St Mary’s Church is one of the largest churches (I thought it was a cathedral when I first spotted it) in the UK, home to a gorgeous medieval chapel, a magnificent view from the top of its tower, and 1000 years of worshipping history.
Alternatively, you could also choose to visit Stratford-upon-Avon, the birthplace of Shakespeare.
Once you’re done with the above, it’s time to leave Warwickshire behind, and head on up to the Peak District, where I’m going to suggest you spend the night – there are some really fantastic accommodation options on hand, to suit every budget.
After your night in the Peak District, set aside a morning for visiting Chatsworth House. Often voted the UK’s favourite country house – if you’re going to take in a stately home on a spectacular scale, then this is an excellent choice.
Still home to the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, the property has 126 rooms, with a number of these open for public viewing. Surrounding the property itself are 105 acres of magnificent garden, constructed across six centuries, and reflecting changing times and fashions. You’ll easily be able to lose a morning at Chatsworth!
From Chatsworth, it’s a 2 hour blast up to the next stop on our itinerary – the gorgeous ruined remains of Fountains Abbey, a UNESCO World Heritage Site set in Studley Royal Park.
As well as the well preserved ruins of the giant 12th century Cistercian monastery, you’ll also find the rather impressive 18th century water garden, generally recognised as the most important in the UK.
If you can, I’d suggest exploring right through until the sun sets, which should afford you some wonderful photography opportunities. There’s lots of ground to cover, and if you find yourself tiring, there’s an excellent tea room.
When you’re done, find yourself somewhere to stay in the nearby area.
Day 6: Northumberland
You’ll be starting your sixth day of exploration bright and early in Yorkshire, and continuing northwards, this time to the country of Northumberland, home to the city of Newcastle, the island spanning Hadrian’s Wall, and some of England’s finest medieval castles.
It’s the latter that I’m going to suggest you focus on in Northumberland. You’re unlikely to be able to do all of the following in the time available, but I’d definitely suggest that you visit at least two of the following four sights when in Northumberland, starting with:
Alnwick Castle. Home to the Duke of Northumberland, and dating from 1036, this is the sort of castle that you probably think of when you think of medieval fortress castles.
It’s also the sort of castle you might think of if you’re a Harry Potter fan, as a number of the scenes from the earlier Harry Potter movies, including the Quidditch training scenes, were filmed here. If you’re more of a Downton Abbey fan, well, the last two Christmas specials of the show were filmed here.
It would be easy to spend a day here, particularly as the gardens are also very picturesque, so you’re welcome to do just that. But, if you’re keen to see some more of England’s incredible castles, head along to:
Bamburgh Castle. I absolutely love the coastal location of Bamburgh Castle, which is just perfect for photography, atop a rocky outcrop by a golden sand beach. The native Britons of the area thought so too – with a fort housing the original Kings of Britain located here. Of course, that all came to an end when the Vikings popped over in 993 and presumably burnt the place to the ground.
The castle that’s on the site today was built by the Normans, in the 11th century, and is another imposing fortress like construction, designed to withstand brutal assault and siege warfare.
Since you’re in the area for Bamburgh, you might also take the time to take a look at either Dunstanburgh castle, a few miles to the south, or Holy Island, a few miles to the north. The former was a 14th century fortification that fell into ruin by the 16th century – the latter is an island, accessible at low tide, and where you’ll find the still inhabited Lindisfarne Castle, which you can also tour.
If you’re more interested in Roman history than castles, then I’d suggest you visit Hadrian’s Wall. Built during the time of Emperor Hadrian (122AD if you’re not up to speed on Roman timelines), this wall stretched from one side of England to the other, and marked the northern limit of the Roman empire. The precise reason for building a 73 mile wall is still unclear, I suspect it was largely just because they could.
There are multiple locations where you can visit the wall, with my favourite being Sycamore Gap, near Housesteads Crag, where a lonely tree sits amongst the remains of the highest part of the wall.
From Hadrian’s Wall, head north, to the Scottish capital of Edinburgh, either overnighting in the Scottish Borders, or Edinburgh itself.
Day 7: Edinburgh
This trip finishes off in Edinburgh, one of my favourite cities in the UK, and where you’ll have no shortage of things to do. However, since you have a car, I have two suggestions that you might want to add to the list. First – head to the Pentland Hills. A few miles south of the city, these offer excellent walking, sheep spotting opportunities and iron age hill forts.
I’d also suggest you make the time to head out to an icon of the Edinburgh surrounds – the Firth of Forth bridges, and in particular, the UNESCO World Heritage Listed Firth of Forth Rail Bridge.
This is a mighty red cantilevered bridge construction spanning the Firth of Forth, opened in 1890, and still operational today. At it’s time of construction it was the longest single cantilever bridge in the world, and despite now being the second longest, is still mighty impressive.
Finally, of course, I’d recommend spending some time exploring Edinburgh, which has no shortage of attractions, fine dining, shopping and places to stay. Whether you’re into Harry Potter or festivals, you’re bound to find something to do.
Then – turn your car in, and head home – Edinburgh airport is easy to drive to, has all the main car hire operator’s, and you should be able to fly from here to anywhere you like. Whew! I hope you enjoyed that tour!
1 Week UK Itinerary Map
To help you visualise this driving route of the UK, we’ve put together this map of the route. You can also see this on Google Maps here.
1 Week UK Itinerary Summary
- Days 1 & 2: London
- Day 3: Stonehenge, Bath and the Cotswolds
- Days 4 & 5: Warwickshire, The Peak District & Yorkshire
- Day 6: Northumberland
- Day 7: Edinburgh
As mentioned at the start of the post, this itinerary is quite busy. If you have limited vacation time, then you can definitely do a lot in a short time and see the highlights, but be aware you will not be able to explore every location in great depth.
If you prefer to travel more slowly, you’ll definitely want to tweak this itinerary for your own travel style, either by adding more time, or changing the route.
How to Get Around the UK
Well, this one should be pretty obvious! I’m going to suggest a rental car of course. This itinerary is really only do-able if you drive yourself.
We’re big fans of Enterprise when it comes to car rental. Especially on a on a trip like this, where you pick up and drop off the car at different locations, you can incur a one way surcharge.
We’ve found that Enterprise Car Rental tend to have the best prices for one way rentals, and we’ve used them for road trips all around the world. We also recommend comparing car prices using a service like Rentalcars.com, which compares prices across a range of providers to help you find the best deal.
When To Visit the UK
The UK has what could best be described as “variable” weather. The good news is that you don’t really get extremes of weather. The bad news is that being surrounded by water, it tends to rain a lot, throughout the year.
Obviously, the summer period is likely to be warmer than the winter period, but the climate is generally mild, so whenever you visit, plan for the gamut of weather conditions, from rain to sunshine. Layers are key to your clothing, meaning you can adjust as the weather changes.
My main piece of advice for a trip like this is to avoid popular weekends and school holidays if you can. The UK has a number of public holidays throughout the year, when the roads (and attractions) get very crowded. If you can avoid these times, you’ll have a far more pleasant experience.
Time of year wise, there’s no “bad” time to visit, but I’d advise perhaps May / June might give you the best shot of decent weather, whilst avoiding the summer school holiday period.
Where to Stay in the UK
The UK has loads of accommodation options, from cosy B&B’s through to upscale hotels, as well as all the chains you’d expect.
- We’ve tried a lot of booking sites, and nearly always find ourselves using Booking.com. They have an extensive selection of properties, many with no-fee cancellation policies, and often run discounts and special offers. Click on each city title to see their listings: London, the Cotswolds, the Peak District, Yorkshire and Edinburgh,
- If you prefer an apartment or more of a hosted stay, then we recommend Plum Guide. We’ve tried all the others, and Plum Guide consistently has the best quality in all the locations we’ve used them in.
- If you can’t find what 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 alternatives to AirBnB, as well as a guide to our favourite holiday cottage accommodation in the UK, which you should check out!
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.
What about a Tour of the UK?
We’re often asked if a trip like this can be done as part of a tour instead of driving yourself. The answer is – yes it can, and you have a few options for doing so.
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 group tours – they’re a small group tour operator with lots of experience and great guides, and they have a wide range of tours of varying lengths covering many parts of the UK. This 8 day tour they offer for example runs from London to Edinburgh and gives you an idea of what can be done in that time period.
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 professional driver-guide Robina Brown, who is a blue-badge guide offering tours across the UK. See her website here.
Further reading for your UK trip
And that sums up our guide to the perfect 1 week UK itinerary. Before you go though, we’ve got lots of resources to help you plan your trip to the UK, from posts we’ve written ourselves to third party content we’re happy to recommend. Here it is:
- If you want a longer trip, taking in some more highlights of the UK including Wales and Ireland, check out this two week itinerary of the UK that I put together.
- As this is a self-drive trip, you should definitely check out our guide to driving in the UK for tips.
- For budget planning, see our guide to how much it costs to travel in the UK
- If you’d prefer not to drive, we also have an itinerary for 10 days in the UK by public transport.
- We have guides to many of the cities and sights in the UK for you to bookmark, including:
- A guide to driving Scotland’s epic North Coast 500, as well as accommodation options on the North Coast 500
- A Two Day Edinburgh Itinerary & 21 Highlights in Edinburgh
- Edinburgh: Getting off the beaten path
- If you like Royal themed attractions, Jess wrote a full post about the Royal Edinburgh Ticket here, which can help you save money on some of Edinburgh’s top attractions.
- A guide to 10 of the best Stately Homes in England, to give you some ideas as you plan your itinerary
- A Two Day London Itinerary
- A Six Day London Itinerary
- The Best Photography Locations in London
- Tips on Buying and Using the London Pass
- Eight Things to Do in Kensington
- The Highlights of Oxford
- Visiting Blenheim Palace and the Cotswolds
- 20 Things To Do in Dublin
- A Guide to Touring the Scottish Borders
- Our guide to things to do in Cambridge
- 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.
Sean says
Thank you for your blog. This is a trip for the future — just took my family to Venice and Paris for 10 nights. Anyway, as a note, I would estimate that your itinerary is too full (both of them). It’s very high paced without real time to stop and smell the roses. But, it’s a very, very solid starting point, well considered, and much better than anything I have. Thanks again!
Laurence Norah says
Hi Sean!
Our pleasure 🙂 We absolutely agree that this is a pretty full itinerary, and as you say, most of our itineraries are. The idea is to show what is possible (some people really like to pack it in!), but we highly recommend folks pare them back to what is suitable for them, as everyone has a different travel style. So we hope this works as a good basis for you to work from, and that you have a great trip in the future!
Laurence
Sean says
Awesome photography, too!
Laurence Norah says
Thank you!
Chiang Kok Weng says
Dear Laurence and Jessica, we are from Singapore. We are a family of 4 adults planning to do a one week tour of UK at the end of the year, just after Christmas and into the New Year. We saw your one week itinerary and it looks quite fun and exciting. We are wondering if this itinerary is doable with self-drive as we are not familiar with the crowd, weather and road condition during this period.
Thanks much!
Chiang
Laurence Norah says
Hi Chiang,
This should be fine even at Christmas and New Year. Snow is uncommon in the UK – usually it is just wet. Of course, it is possible that there will be snow and ice, but the roads are usually well treated so you should not have any problems. Just drive to the conditions of the road and you should be fine. Have a great trip and let me know if you have any more questions!
Laurence
Amber says
Hi, just wanted to say thanks for sharing all this! I know it is a ton of work but your posts are amazing!
Laurence Norah says
Thanks very much Amber, it’s appreciated 😀
Carole Cavers says
Dear Laurence and Jessica, My husband and I are from New Zealand and are planning a trip to the UK for the first time. We arrive at Heathrow on the 20 August 11.45am and leave from Heathrow 20 September. We have been looking at lots of options and have decided to rent a car to travel around England, Scotland and Wales. We intend to fly to Ireland and pick up another rental car (if you think that would be wise) to see the sights there. My question is, what would you recommend for an itenarary so we get to see some sights in each country, finishing our trip with 5 days in London for sightseeing. Your recommendations would be much appreciated.
Thanks, CC
Laurence Norah says
Hi Carole!
So my advice would be to essentially follow my two week UK itinerary (https://www.findingtheuniverse.com/two-weeks-in-ukmy-perfect-itinerary/), but to extend it to a month. I would also recommend flying across the Irish Sea rather than worrying about car rentals and ferries. It wouldn’t be heard to extend the itinerary as you could add in time in Wales, the Highlands, and much more time in Ireland. But it should give you a good basis for a trip that you can work on.
I hope this helps a bit!
Laurence
Kathy says
Hi Laurence…so many helpful hints on your site for us ignorant non Brits! I’d love your opinion on our September 4 wk visit from Aust. All accommodation booked – 3 nts Prague, 4 nts Paris, 10nts London, train to Bath, pick up hire car to Mevagissey 3 nts, 3 nts Cotswolds, 1nt York, 1 nt Ft William, 2 nts Plockton, Edinburgh 1 nt via Perth. Leave car.. Then we’d like to train from Edinburgh to Windsor as have 2 nts booked there before flying home – . It seems that we have to change trains at Piccadilly or Kings Cross to get the Windsor line..any suggestions please? ( picturing us 3 over 65 ers in peak hr with luggage climbing stairs at a train station ???? ( pretty stretch Edinburgh to York so not keen on flying )
Locals on other forums are horrified at us doing so much driving in that time but many OP here doing similar so don’t feel so bad!
Thanks so much for any thoughts you have on all of this!
Laurence Norah says
Hi Kathy!
Thanks very much. I’m happy to help out of course. It sounds like you have an amazing trip planned out!
Since everything is booked it sounds like the itinerary is fairly well arranged. My only feedback is that 10 days is quite a long time in London, although there is so much to see that you could easily fill more time than that. Our 6 day London itinerary is probably going to give you the most help in terms of planning. You can see that on our other blog here: https://independenttravelcats.com/london-itinerary-6-days-in-london/
For your first question, you are correct about needing to change trains. The majority of trains from Edinburgh arrive at Kings Cross, wheras trains to Windsor go from Paddington or Vauxhall. In either case, you are going to have to take the underground, and trust me, I know what carting luggage around down there is like!
The good news is that Kings Cross tube station is now fully accessible, which means that there are lifts from the platform to street level. I should warn you in advance though that you do have to take multiple lifts, there is not just one lift. There will be a lift map to help you figure this out. This is because the station was built a good long time ago, before such things as lifts to tube platforms were thought of as being handy, so they’ve had to put lift shafts where they can rather than necessarily where is totally logical.
At the other end, Vauxhall also has full lift access. Paddington has escalator access, so if you prefer a lift, the route from Vauxhall will be easier.
In terms of your itinerary, especially given that you are coming from Australia, I suspect you will not find the driving distances that long! After my year of travelling in Australia, my perspective of what makes for a “long drive” certainly changed a great deal! The longest drive you have is going to be between York and Fort William. That would be nearly a 6 hour drive without stops.
I hope this helps, don’t hesitate to let me know if you have any more questions 🙂
Laurence
Kathy Jones says
Hi again Laurence……do you think the scenery is worth taking the train (first class maybe) from Edinburgh to London please? ( I’ve read posts that it’s lovely especially Edinburgh to York). Otherwise we’d consider flying using Easyjet.
Also we wondered about train London to Truro or Bodmin ( sleeper?) to save a bit of driving! Good idea or not? Getting an idea how hire car versus train cost, for this trip is confusing …prices vary a lot. Thanks heaps.
Laurence Norah says
Hi Kathy 🙂
The view from Edinburgh to York on the train is really nice, I have done that journey many times, and the Northumberland coastline is just stunning. First class is going to be more comfortable, and if you book well in advance the prices are not that expensive either. Flying is another option, but to be honest, the time saving is a bit of a myth – by the time you’ve got to the airport at one end and from the airport at the other, as well as gone through security etc, it won’t really save you any time. Plus the train doesn’t require you to worry about bag weight and size.
Train prices vary a lot depending on the time of day, day of week and how far in advance you book. Going to Cornwall for example on a Friday afternoon will likely be more expensive as it’s popular time to return from London. Car hire might be cheaper, especially as you can split it between you, whereas you need individual train tickets. Note that cars are usually cheaper to hire from city centre locations rather than airports. The overnight train is a good option, but these are usually not budget options. However you do save a night in a hotel, which is another cost. I would definitely recommend having a car in Cornwall for sight seeing though.
Laurence
Kathy J says
Thanks again for your time Laurence. Sensible advice there…!! I spend too much time browsing your website ????
Laurence Norah says
My pleasure Kathy. Delighted to have been of help 😀
Greg n Ramona Willingham says
Laurence & Jessica,
I am so thrilled to have found y’all and your amazing website. My husband and I are from Alabama here in the States and are super excited for our upcoming trip. We are working together to plan an experience of as many sites as are reasonably possible, without stressing ourselves out, and doing a fair job at controlling our modest budget. We feel that experiences shouldn’t cost a fortune and responsible spending is doable without sacrificing quality. I have been doing research for almost 2 months and cannot believe it took that long to find all of this fantastic information! Thank you for sharing your experiences, guides and useful information.
My husband and I are planning our 20th anniversary trip to the UK; England/Wales/Scotland & Ireland for November 8-24, 2019. We will fly overnight on the 8th and return the 24th. I have researched public transport (coaches/trains), car hires, & even various flights from one main local to another. We are flying into London at approximately 10am November 9th and planned to nap after settling in and then exploring London. We will be flying out of Dublin the morning of the 24th back to London until our later afternoon flight that same day. We have considered doing a sail-rail pass to Dublin from Scotland or England, even though it’s a bit pricey. Many people have told us that it’s an unforgettable experience. We are strongly leaning towards a car hire for the UK portion and then returning the car for a flight to Dublin from Glasgow or the sail/rail pass over. While in Dublin, we plan on doing day trips from there. We feel having a base is more secure and comfortable than lugging around our packs….lol!!! ???? I have discovered that we can do 5 days of single day trips for about $550/each for those 5 days and have found that the price is relatively inexpensive due to the transport, entrance fees, tour guides, and the few meals included. This should also give us the opportunity to allow another to drive as we relax on the last leg of our trip. Those day trips will allow us to venture to all coasts and Belfast: 1-Aran Islands-2-Cork/Cobh-3-Wicklow/Avora Mill Village…(misspell I’m sure ????)-4-Belfast/Giants Causeway-5-Dublin itself. Respectively, that should place UAB in Dublin the night of the 18th or early the 19th. My husband wants to do the ferry but considering the cost and the time needed I am more inclined to fly over for a small fare and enjoy a day of settling in and exploring a bit for dinner and guiness rofl ????. However, I suggested we maybe do a ferry to Isle of Man. I think he would enjoy that area as an avid rock-climber. We would like to add Bath & Cardiff to our road trip out of London then maybe head to the car museum in the Coswolfs then off to Chester-York-Newcastle-then on into Scotland for Edinburgh-Pitlochry (probably spelt that wrong too ????)-Inverness-Maybe Skye-Definetly Glen Co-Glasgow-Then on to Dublin by ferry or flight; as stated prior. Stonehenge isn’t a top priority for us but we dont mind drive by for a photo or 2, then to Bath and on to Cardiff. Would this be doable with our travel time and driving ourselves or would we better served searching out daytrips or multiday trips from London on to Edinburgh, etc? If this is doable, is our planned route workable or should we modify our planned route? Oh, my husband would also like to visit Greta Green but I’m unsure how to make that happen. Could York to Greta Green before going on to Edinburgh be feasible? Thank you in advance for your time and information.
Greg & Ramona ????????????
Laurence Norah says
Hi Greg and Ramona!
Wow, sounds like you’ve done a great job of planning 🙂 I would say that your route is certainly do-able. Personally I’d fly from Glasgow to Dublin as you have mentioned, it will take a bit less time. For your trip, I think driving yourself is going to be your best option as it will give you the flexibility you will need, and you won’t have to keep returning to a base which will cost you time. I think your timetable is busy but certainly achievable, and your route looks sensible to me.
York -> Newcastle -> Gretna Green -> Edinburgh is possible. It’s a bit of a detour but not a major one 🙂
Let me know if I can be of any more help!
Laurence
Greg n Ramona Willingham says
Thank you for the quick reply Laurence. It’s great to hear we are on the right track with our plans and that the flight seems the most reasonable way to get to Dublin without a large amount of time wasted. Thank you again and have a blessed day. ????????????
Patt Snow says
I loved reading your itineraries! So very helpful! I will be traveling in May, 2 weeks with my hub and granddaughter recent high school graduate, she’s an avid reader, taught herself Welsh, wants to be a librarian. Here’s my conundrum: I rented a condo near Snowdonia NP for one week and cannot cancel without relinquishing my payment. What do you recommend for that week and then if I could extend our trip for an additional 8 days what path would you take? We will rent a car in London on our way of the city…I’m allowing 2 nights in London and then onto Snowdonia! Thank you so much for any input!
Laurence Norah says
Hi Patt!
Our pleasure. Snowdonia is a stunning part of the UK, and you won’t regret spending a week there. I spent a long time in this area as my grandparents used to live in the national park, and it is magnificent. There is plentiful hiking as well as lovely coastline, beaches, and cute villages and towns to visit. So don’t worry, you will have a wonderful time. It’s also the part of Wales where Welsh is quite commonly spoken, so your daughter will have ample opportunity to practice.
If you did want to extend, my advice would be to visit some of the towns and cities between London and Snowdonia, so as to have a balanced trip – Snowdonia is more countryside, so you might want to experience a bit of culture. So some ideas might be Oxford, Liverpool, Bristol or Bath, to give you a balanced trip!
I hope this helps – have a wonderful trip!
Laurence
Patt Snow says
Laurence, thank you for your prompt reply. We are definitely looking forward to our time in Snowdonia! I’m just not certain how to incorporate driving time. London to 2 nites Oxford, then onto Wales. Would a day trip from Snowdonia to Cardiff be crazy as far as drive time? Then, I’m thinking ferry to Dublin and driving north, reentering Great Britain in Scotland, visiting Highlands 1 day, driving to Edinburgh for two nights,and back to London for two nights???? Is two nights in Ireland enough time? Of course we want to kiss the Blarney stone! I’m all over the place????!
Laurence Norah says
Hi Patt,
No worries 😀 So I think you could do just one night on Oxford and still see plenty. Snowdonia to Cardiff would be a long drive – there are no motorways in Wales, so driving times are significantly increased compared to the rest of the country. So I wouldn’t personally do that trip, but it’s up to you of course.
Otherwise your itinerary looks pretty good. Of course, there’s never enough time and always more to see, and you will be driving a fair bit, but if you are happy with that then go for it!
Patt Snow says
Laurence! You are awesome! Thank you so much for your input! I love a good Roadtrip and am so very excited to visit these wonderful places I’ve always read about!! Your site has certainly given me a great guideline…I’m not feeling terribly overwhelmed at this moment!???? I think I can plan this! I thank you so very much and I look forward to reading about more of your travels!!!
Laurence Norah says
Thanks Patt, that’s brought a big smile to my face! Do let me know if we can help any more. If not, we always love to hear how trips go after the fact 😀
Sylvia says
Hello Laurence & Jessica, I am so glad to chance upon your site, So love your story sharing and the photographs. THANK YOU!
I am Sylvia from Singapore, have spent 2-yr in Newcastle in mid 90’s and have been to various parts of England & Scotland. My last trip was 15 yr ago (didn’t realize it’s been so long)! I am planning a 8.5-days trip in Dec with my family (arriving 3rd, departing night of 11th). My teenage daughter has never been to UK and I’d love to show her it’s really more than London. Anyway, this trip is really for her. 🙂
I’d like to get your advice.. here’s the must have.. London, Stonehenge, Bath, Manchester (to catch a match on 5-Dec), Newcastle. My hubby has very fond memories of Wales and be great if we could include a walk/hike in the region. A trip to York/Edinburgh or Ireland would be bonus but not sure if time permits. Is it better to start from London (3-4 Dec)? Would it be less crowded on Mon/Tue to weekend? Another crazy thought is include a day trip to Paris.
Also, would be great if you can recommend some places for best fish & chips, scones and a good pint of guinness.
Much thanks! Sylvia
Laurence Norah says
Hi Sylvia!
Thanks for your comment, it’s always appreciated! Let me try to help!
Your trip does sound do-able, but it depends on how rushed you wanted to be. We’d suggest at least two days in London, and from London it’s easy enough to do a day trip that includes Stonehenge and Bath. However, as you are doing Manchester on the 5th, you might need to do this after that, as you’ll want to get up to Manchester in time for the match on the 5th. A train to Manchester from London is easy enough, just book in advance for the best tickets. Then you can get a train from Manchester to Newcastle, and then back down to London.
If you wanted to visit Wales, I think the best option would be from Manchester. York could be done on the way from Manchester to Newcastle, either as a day stop or an overnight stop.
Personally, with the time you have I’d probably advise against adding Ireland or France, as it’s just going to involve more travel days and less time sight-seeing. For food and drink, to be honest, most pubs serve decent Guinness these days, just make sure you visit a popular one so that the barrels are regularly cleaned. We usually just check google reviews, and find a pub that does good fish and chips. London will generally be more expensive, other cities less so 🙂
Hope this helps!
Laurence
Sylvia says
Thank you Laurence! We plan to self-drive (outside of London) for greater flexibility. Will use your links to book car and accommodation. I will share with you how our trip goes. Regardless, I know it will be a blast!
Let me know if I can bring anything for you from Singapore. 🙂
Laurence Norah says
Hey Sylvia! Thanks so much 😀 We’ve not actually visited Singapore, so we don’t know what we would want, but that’s very kind of you to offer 🙂 Do let us know how your trip goes!
Miyako says
Hello, I would greatly appreciate some advice on our first 9D8N trip (last min) in early Nov to London. We will be flying into Gatwick and leaving from there. There are so many sight-seeings in London, however we are thinking if we could squeeze in a self-drive to see the countryside.
What would the weather be like in November? We are hoping to capture some gorgeous pics at the countryside. If the weather is bad, then perhaps we will just do London and one more city.
We would like to visit the following:
Windsor Castle
Bath
Stonehenge
Chelsea Stadium
Edinburgh
Westminister Abbey
St Paul’s Cathedral
Imperial War museum
Churchill War rooms
Tower Bridge
Shard skyscrapper
Big Ben
British museum
London Bridge experience
Sky Garden
Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre
Moulin Rouge
London eye
London zoo
Is it too ambitious? Could you help us plan a route that is most efficient? We would also like to catch a musical.
Many thanks in advance!
Laurence Norah says
Hi Miyako,
Your itinerary definitely looks achievable. I would suggest you need around three- four days in London to get all those things done. You would then want a day for Stonehenge and Bath, and half a day for Windsor. These are possible as day trips from London, or you can visit them independently. So with the amount of time you have, i think you should be fine.
My only feedback is around the Moulin Rouge – do you mean the musical? Because the actual Moulin Rouge is in Paris 🙂 For Edinburgh I would recommend at least two days. If you only visit Edinburgh, it will probably be quicker to fly or take the train.
I hope this helps – have a wonderful trip!
Laurence
Cass says
Hi Laurence,
Cass here from Malaysia 🙂 I’m doing some research to plan for a 5 days (11th -15th Sept) road trip from London to Edinburgh & back to London, and found that your article is really useful for me & the itinerary pretty fits to my itinerary!
Appreciate if you could advice on my 5 days itinerary if I’m driving with my family (6 of us)? Or would you suggest us to go with other transportation? If you recommend driving, where is good to rent a 7 seaters?
I think I would most likely follow 80% of your itinerary here but would be helpful if you could share some advice here as I have some concerns. I will skip London cz I’ve been there. Prefer to explore more of cities outside London especially Edinburgh 🙂 Not too keen on visiting churches or normal structure, but love experiencing, sightseeing., nice places for pictures haha! Of course if the church is a super historical one then we don’t mind. Just hope to visit as many places out of London as possible within these 5 days (**sorry abit greedy haha!) By the way, a lil confused on point 3 & 4.
Much apologies for the last minute enquiries as my schedule is kinda tight over here.
Looking forward to your reply! 😀
Thanks,
Cass.
Laurence Norah says
Hey Cass!
Great to hear from you. So to answer your question on car hire, we usually try Enterprise and Priceline. I just checked, and both have the option to specify how many passengers, and they both have options for 6 people 🙂 You can see links under our car hire suggestions here:
https://www.findingtheuniverse.com/travel-resources/#Car-Rental
For the itinerary in this post, a car is definitely going to work better than public transport. For six of you, a car will also be more cost effective, as tickets for six people, especially at this short notice, will definitely work out more expensive.
So for your trip, I would follow the itinerary pretty closely, but skipping London. Perhaps start with Stonehenge and the Cotwolds, then overnight in Oxford on your first night (https://www.findingtheuniverse.com/6-ways-spend-day-oxford/). Second day you could explore Oxford then head north to Warwick. Overnight at Warwick, see the sights, then head further north, perhaps to York for your third night. Then on again, maybe a night in Durham, before your last night in Edinburgh?
Should give you something to work from anyway, without too much driving every day!
Hope this works for you! Have a great trip 🙂
Laurence
Stella says
Thank you for providing such a great itinerary! My family and I are planning a trip for about 5 or 6 days total to the UK and the only set plan is to leave from London at the end of the trip. Now, we either want to go to Oxford and stay in that area for a few days, or go to Edinburgh and take a train directly to London. Which would you recommend? Thanks!
Laurence Norah says
Hey Stella! My pleasure 🙂
Well, it really depends on what you want to see. From Oxford you have access to the Cotswolds and highlights like the Roman city of Bath, and of course, Stonehenge. Edinburgh is a bit bigger than Oxford so there is a bit more to see and do in the city, and then of course there are a lot of great day trips you can do to places like Loch Lomond, the highlands – even Loch Ness. So I guess it depends on if you want more cute villages, or more dramatic medieval city / landscapes!
I love both cities, so it’s hard to pick, but as a city I think Edinburgh has a bit more to offer, just because of the size. Hope this helps – have a great trip!
Cherry Vanderhoek says
HI there,
I was originally going to do your one week itinerary starting in London and ending in Glasgow but now due to flights I have to start in Gatwick and end in Gatwick. I love everything on your itinerary. I want to see quant villages, Stonehenge, Castles (medieval if possible) and I do love the look of that one house where they were inspired for Lord of the Rings, beautiful. I also wouldn’t mind seeing a nice market and a couple local pubs along the way. By the looks of things, based on your one week itinerary, I could do:
London- Stonehendge/Bath/Cotswolds/- Warwickshire/Peak District/Yorkshire
but than after that I would need to start rounding back down towards Gatwick. What do you suggest and where can I fit in Cambridge and possibly a medieval castle and a market? Or should I spend more time in London at the end?
Keep in mind I have been to London before and have seen alot of the main sites but definitely not all of them. How is the driving there, I will be on my own?
Thank you 🙂
Laurence Norah says
Hi Cherry!
Well, Warwick has a castle, as does Oxford, so you might want to add in Oxford on your way out. You could do Cambridge on the way back to London from York, that would be quite easy. York is also home to a pile of medieval streets which should tick that box very nicely. Also, not to forget, London has a super old castle in the form of the Tower of London – although I suspect you might have been there already.
In terms of driving, the UK isn’t too bad once you get used to being on the left side (I have some tips for driving in the UK here: https://www.findingtheuniverse.com/tips-for-driving-in-the-uk/). I’d definitely avoid driving in London though, it’s really slow and inefficient, parking is hard to find, and the congestion charge makes it really expensive! So definitely avoid that if you can.
Otherwise, have a great trip, and let me know if I can help any more!
Laurence
Joe says
I would love to follow your itinerary and would love to add 2-3 more days in it. Will be a family of 5 with 3 preteens. Are there any special considerations. Would like to see Stonehenge from road and would like to drove through Stratford on Avon. Would also like to add York to our trop and see Sycamore gsp. Is it worth going to Edinburgh in August for festival or should we avoid it? Any thoughts on where to stay town-wize in the Cotswolds and where would be the best placd to make a run for York and still ser Chatworth, Baddesly and the ruins? Thanks.
Laurence Norah says
Hey Joe! I guess it depends on the stamina of your kids 🙂 If they are very young then usually we advise cutting back a fair bit, but if they’re closer to teenage then they probably have more energy than everyone else 😉
Edinburgh is great in August if you are into the festival, but it is very very busy (and accommodation is harder to come by and more expensive), so if you’re not that excited about the festival, you might want to visit another location. For the Cotswolds, you can try Burton on the Water, Burford or Stow on the Wold 🙂 – or you could stay in Stratford which would give you a good run up to York.
Rocksy says
Thank you so much..
Rocksy Vidiaty says
Hi Laurence, thank you so much for your article. It helps me a lot in planning our UK big family trip next June. There will be 7 adults and 6 kids in this trip. Where would you suggest us to stay? And do we need to be a member of EH or NT in order to cut off the cost of entrance fee?
Thank you for your advices..
regards,
RFV
Laurence Norah says
Hey Rocksy – my pleasure. Wow, that sounds like quite the trip 🙂 For the English Heritage and National Trust sites, if you’re a member then you get free admission. If you’re visiting from overseas, you can pick up the passes I link to which are cheaper than annual membership, and last for a shorter duration – normally long enough to cover a trip. My suggestion would be to look up the entry prices for the attractions you are interested in, add them up, and see if the pass would save you the money or not.
For accommodation, for such a large group my suggestion would be to look at larger apartment rentals as that will give you more flexibility as a larger group. Hotels are an option, but you would likely have to book quite a few rooms, so apartments might be a better option. I have a list of accommodation sites that specialise in apartment rentals that might be a good place to start, you can see that here: https://www.findingtheuniverse.com/alternatives-to-airbnb/
Have an amazing trip, and do let us know how it goes – and do feel free to send us any more questions of course 🙂
Rocksy Vidiaty says
Thanks Laurence.
We plan to rent 2 big cars and do our self-drive UK trip. We will follow some of your route and modify the rest. So our route will be Heathrow – Stonehenge – Bath – Cotswold (in one day) -Baddesley Clinton-Chatsworth (in one day). From here we have 2 options, either go to York (in one day) – Cambridge – Oxford (in one day) -Windsor -London (in 3 days), or go to Manchester-Liverpool-Snowdonia (in 2 days) -Oxford-Windsor-London (in 3 days). We have 8 days in total. Can you please give some advice? In our group there will be 80 years old lady to 2 years old boy..
Thanks in advance
Regards,
Rocksy
Laurence Norah says
Hi Rocksy,
Sounds like a great trip! Well, I don’t think you’ll have enough time in 2 days to do Manchester, Liverpool and Snowdonia, so my suggestion would be the first option you suggest, which will give you a bit more time. I’d also add that Cambridge and Oxford are fairly similar, so you might prefer to just pick one of the two 🙂
Crystal says
HI. I was wondering if you had a detailed map of this 1 week UK itinerary. Thank you
Laurence Norah says
Hi Crystal! That is an excellent point – I have been trying to add maps to my itineraries and seem to have missed this one. I’ll add one in as soon as I can and will respond to your comment again when I have done so – thanks for letting me know 🙂
Dylan Wright says
Thank you for the article. But I would like to ask a question. I want to rent a car, but I’m under 25. What is the UK policy for renting a car to students?
Laurence Norah says
Hi Dylan,
There’s no UK wide policy on age restrictions for car rentals – it’s varies from company to company. I would advise checking individual car rental services like Enterprise, Hertz, Sixt etc. and seeing what their policy is. Most companies will have a surcharge for drivers younger than 25, but it should still be possible to rent a car. I have more information on my driving in the UK post, which you can eee here: https://www.findingtheuniverse.com/tips-for-driving-in-the-uk/
Kathleen says
I’m so happy to have found this! My husband and I are planning a one week trip this June coming from the US and this sounds perfect. I am just trying to figure out how to fit everything in along with the driving. Several things don’t open until 10 or 11 am and then close early, which doesn’t leave much time. For example, you mention staying at Fountains Abbey through sunset, but the website says it closes at 18:00. Can you stay on the grounds past closing? I’m also trying to decide if it would be worth stopping for a night between Newcastle and Edinburgh if we have time which gives us more time in Edinburgh. Any suggestions?
Thanks
Laurence Norah says
Hi Kathleen!
I’m glad to have been able to help! Opening times can be a bit of a challenge for sure, and they vary by season – so you’ll definitely have to plan around them. It also depends what time of year you visit depending on the sunset – in June the sun won’t set until around 10pm, in December, it’s more like 4pm! With Fountains Abbey, when I spoke to the staff there they said you were fine to stay after official closing hours, there’s just no entry after those times. it’s a huge park, so they’d struggle to get everyone out anyway! For an overnight stop between Edinburgh and Newcastle, there are a few options, perhaps Alnwick would be a good option?
Have a great trip!
Kathleen says
Thank you so much for answering my questions! I have one more for you. My husband is very leery of trying to drive since we are used to driving on the other side of the road. If we plan on picking up a rental car at heathrow on our way out of London on day 3 and returning it either in Newcastle (to take the train to Edinburgh) or at the Edinburgh airport at our arrival there, how much city driving would there be? The thought of getting confused in a roundabout scare him 🙂
Thanks so. much!
Kathleen
Laurence Norah says
My pleasure Kathleen 😀 The remaining cities are not really that big (London is by far the worst to drive in), but I would say that the UK doesn’t have quite the interstate system of the USA, so there will still be the odd roundabout to deal with. But if you take your time (and make sure to hire an automatic if you’re not used to driving stick!) then you should be ok. I also have a guide to driving in the UK he might find helpful, which I wrote from the perspective of someone coming from the US in mind 🙂 You definitely won’t need a car in Edinburgh. I would also advise bringing a GPS – even google maps with an offline version of the UK downloaded onto it will make your travels a lot easier.
https://www.findingtheuniverse.com/tips-for-driving-in-the-uk/
Dora says
Dear Laurence and Jessica, this all sounds pretty amazing. I have lived in the UK for over ten years (Southampton and London) and I totally agree with the itinerary you’re suggesting. I was wondering if you can give me any ideas on the following: my fiance and I will be in York in June for work and then have about six days to travel around the country. We want to spend the two last days in London as we need to catch our plane back to Australia. We’ve been debating whether we should explore the Scottish Highlands or go down to Cornwall, both of which are places we haven’t visited before. Or are we missing out on a better itinerary for our timeframe? I admit I very much like your one week in the UK although I have visited most of these places before…Any ideas? Thank you!
Laurence Norah says
Hi Dora!
Thanks for your comment. Let me see if I can help 🙂 My personal preference would be to go to the Scottish Highlands. I’m not sure how you are travelling exactly, either by car or public transport, but your best option would be to take a car – either take the train to Inverness and hire one, or drive up from York. For scenery, my suggestion would be to head to the west coast – perhaps Glencoe, the Isle of Skye, and then up the west coast towards Durness. That part of the country is home to some of the most spectacular scenery in the UK. Definitely check out my North Coast 500 itinerary (https://www.findingtheuniverse.com/7-day-north-coast-500-camping-itinerary/) for pointers on that, as well as our Isle of Skye photography guide (https://www.findingtheuniverse.com/skye-photography-locations-scotland/).
One other option, I’m not sure if you’ve been to the Lake District, but if you didn’t want to drive so much then that’s also a good option from York 🙂
Have a great trip – let me know if you have any more questions!
Dora says
Dear Laurence,
Many thanks for your prompt response and apologies it took me forever to get back to you! We will be renting a car to do our travelling. Lake District is currently one of our options and we are also considering the Yorkshire moors as a closer option before heading down to London. Any preference between the two (Lake District vs Yorkshire moors)? Thank you!
Laurence Norah says
Hi Dora
No need to apologise! My personal preference would be the Lake District – it’s a really beautiful part of the UK. The only thing is it’s likely to be a bit busier than the Yorkshire moors, so if it’s peace and quiet you are after, the Yorkshire Moors are also very beautiful and likely to be a bit less busy! Hope this helps a bit 🙂
Have a great trip!
Laurence
H Singh says
Dear Laurence and Jessica, All of this is wonderful and very helpful info. What would you suggest to see and do in UK for a family of four on a net budget of around 1500 GBP. Tickets and Visa to UK I shall take care separately. We plan to visit in July and start the itinerary by travelling into London Please advise. Thanks. HS
Laurence Norah says
Dear HS,
Thanks for your message! You will be pleased to hear that I have just today published a detailed post that covers the cost of travel in the UK. This is based on two people, but you should be able to use the numbers to help inform your budget. You can see that here: https://www.findingtheuniverse.com/cost-travel-uk/
How long are you in the UK for and what are you interested in?
Thanks
Laurence
H Singh says
Dear Lawrence,
Thanks for your prompt reply. Your article related to the costs is very timely for me, I am looking forward to a short UK holiday in July with family (me, wife, teen son, pre-teen daughter) on a 1500 GBP budget (airfare, visas separate). Seeing the costs in the article, wondering how to make it possible!!! Any advice will be very useful to me!
Thanks
HS
Laurence Norah says
My advice would be to book as much in advance as you can – especially train tickets or plane tickets are much cheaper if you book them in advance. For accommodation, try some of the alternative lodging options (https://www.findingtheuniverse.com/alternatives-to-airbnb/) – which might help you save money, especially travelling as a family. I hope this helps a bit.
H Singh says
I’ll look into the link you provided for accommodation, as well as note your advice on advance bookings. Thank you Lawrence.