England and Scotland map

England and Scotland

I lived in London for a couple of years in the 80s but didn’t do much traveling in Great Britain for one reason or another. So I’ve been planning a comprehensive trip (at least in my head) ever since. In 2012 I was finally able to take enough time off to make the three-week trip. It was a lot to cover and we didn’t have time to do justice to everywhere we went, but it was a great trip. 

  • 24 days
  • 2012 Fall

Food and Beverage $22 per day*

Average per person per day. Breakfast was included everywhere we stayed, and since it was an English breakfast, we typically only needed one more meal per day!

Lodging $113 per night*

Average per night. London was our most expensive stay, of course. Breakfast was included everywhere we stayed. We stayed primarily at B&Bs

Transportation $524 per person*

Transportation includes our train, bus, and ferry fares plus a week's local transportation in the London area. We saved a couple hundred dollars over the cost of railpasses by buying tickets ahead of time.

Entertainment $389 per person*

We went to three plays, which are included, plus entrance fees to all the various sights. We bought most tickets in advance, except for WIndsor Castle. We would have saved hours in line had we bought those in advance!

* Costs in US dollars at time of trip

Day 1: Salisbury

Planned Activities

  • Stonehenge
  • Salisbury Cathedral

Actual Activities

  • Stonehenge
  • Salisbury Cathedral

The Plan: Two reasons: Stonehenge and the cathedral.

The Reality: We got to see both but thanks to delays in getting there we had a very brief time at the cathedral. 

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Fly from home

Stay at the New Inn

The oldest place we've ever stayed

Get around by walking

Days 2-3: Bath

Planned Activities

  • Bath Abbey
  • Roman Baths
  • Glastonbury
  • Assembly Rooms

Actual Activities

  • Bath Abbey
  • Roman Baths
  • Glastonbury
  • Assembly Rooms

The Plan: We wanted to start with a smaller English city, not London, and Bath worked well for that. There were lots of sights in Bath itself and it was a decent base for a day trip to Glastonbury.

The Reality: It worked as planned, though ideally we could have used at least one more day in Bath itself to feel less rushed. 

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Train from Salisbury

Stay at Henrietta House

It's a Radisson Individuals now ...

Get around by walking

Day 4: Oxford

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Planned Activities

  • Walking around the colleges

Actual Activities

  • Walking around the colleges

The Plan: I’ve been to Cambridge and wanted to see Oxford too. And wanted to stay in a dorm and have breakfast in a dining hall. Because we could.

The Reality: We had a great day wandering the city and seeing the sights and while the dorm room wasn’t much it wasn’t bad, and breakfast in the dining hall was everything we hoped for. 

Train from Bath

Stay at Keble College

The one ensuite room we could find

Get around by walking

Day 5: Stratford-upon-Avon

Planned Activities

  • Warwick Castle
  • Shakespearean play

Actual Activities

  • Warwick Castle
  • Shakespearean play
  • Shakespeare’s burial place

The Plan: We wanted to see Warwick Castle and probably could have done that from Oxford. But we also wanted to see a play so we spent a night in Stratford to make that easier.

The Reality: Everyone said you need a full day at Warwick Castle. We had an afternoon and it was enough time for us. And the play was great! 

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Train from Oxford

Stay at Hamlet House

Wins our most creative ensuite award

Get around by walking

Days 6-7: Chipping Campden

Planned Activities

  • Walking
  • Viewing cottages
  • Hidcote Manor Garden

Actual Activities

  • Walking
  • Viewing cottages
  • Hidcote Manor Garden

The Plan: The Cotswolds weren’t originally on my list of places to stop but after reading more about them we added them in.

The Reality: It was worth the additional effort to get here and in fact we’d like to come back. Even though we missed our bus connection. 

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Bus from Stratford-upon-Avon

Stay at The Chance

It appears to have closed or changed hands

Get around by walking

Day 8: Chester

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Planned Activities

  • Exploring the town

Actual Activities

  • Exploring the town (a little)

The Plan: Chester was a quick way stop between the Cotswolds and the Highlands. We wanted a stop that we thought we could do justice to in half a day.

The Reality: We had a pleasant afternoon in Chester even though it was cut short thanks to a change in our transportation getting there. 

Train from Chipping Campden

Stay at the Chester Town House

Sadly it's closed

Get around by walking

Days 9-11: Fort William

Planned Activities

  • Climb Ben Nevis
  • Hike Glen Coe

Actual Activities

  • Hiked on Ben Nevis
  • Hiked around lochan at Glencoe

The Plan: Our time in the Highlands was planned around scenic train trips through the area. We also wanted to do some hiking and stayed here for proximity to Ben Nevis and Glencoe as well as train connections.

The Reality: We did fit in some hiking, though some of it was on the way to Ben Nevis rather than Nevis itself. We still got out and enjoyed the scenery, if not quite the scenery originally planned. 

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Train from Chester

Stay at Gill's View

Sadly it's closed

Get around by walking

Day 12: Plockton

Planned Activities

  • Scenic train from Fort William and bus around the Isle of Skye

Actual Activities

  • Scenic train from Fort William and bus around the Isle of Skye
  • Beautiful local walk in Plockton

The Plan: They had me at palm trees in Scotland. It also made a nice break between the train out to the west coast of Scotland and then back across to the east coast.

The Reality: It was everything we expected and more, since we were recommended a local walk that is one of the prettiest we’ve been on. We enjoyed it so much we did it twice! 

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Train from Fort William

Stay at An Caladh

Airy sea-view room and welcoming hosts

Get around by walking

Days 13-15: Edinburgh

Planned Activities

  • Royal Mile and Oldtown
  • Edinburgh Castle
  • Hop-on hop-off bus focusing on New Town. 
  • Calton Hill for views
  • Arthur’s Seat, or more New Town
  • Leith for dinner and drinks

Actual Activities

  • Royal Mile and Oldtown
  • Edinburgh Castle
  • Holyrood House
  • National Museum of Scotland
  • Calton Hill for views
  • Arthur’s Seat

The Plan: We went for the city and the hallmark sights.

The Reality: We didn’t get to see as much of the New Town as we would have liked but we did enjoy those activities we did have time for. 

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Train from Plockton

Stay at Edinburgh's Grouse House

Sadly it's closed

Get around by walking

Days 16-17: York

Planned Activities

  • York Minster
  • Shambles
  • City Walls
  • Castle Howard?

Actual Activities

  • York Minster
  • Shambles
  • City Walls

The Plan: The Shambles and York Minster were the big draws here.

The Reality: We enjoyed York and found it a good place to just wander. And it had one of most unique pubs we’ve been to.  

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Train from Edinburgh

Stay at Bronte House

Charming, comfortable, and convenient.

Get around by walking

Days 18-24: London

Planned Activities

  • Hop-on-hop-off bus tour
  • British Museum
  • Tower of London
  • St Paul’s Cathedral
  • Westminster Abbey
  • Hampton Court
  • Kew Gardens
  • Street markets and other shopping
  • Places from my past
  • Theatre
  • Live music
  • A food hall
  • Art museums 
  • A cab ride

Actual Activities

  • Hop-on-hop-off bus tour
  • Thames River Cruise
  • British Museum
  • Tower of London
  • St Paul’s Cathedral
  • Westminster Abbey
  • Hampton Court
  • Kew Gardens
  • Street markets and Oxford Street
  • Theatre
  • Places from my past
  • Windsor Castle
  • A few minutes at the National Gallery

The Plan: I lived in London for a couple of years and have wanted to go back ever since. We wanted to see some of the typical tourist sights and also some of the places I lived and visited as a local.

The Reality: There is NEVER enough time in London for me. So much to see and do. We packed a lot in and still missed out on live music, art museums, a food hall, and a cab ride. Guess we’ll have to go back!

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Train from York

Stay at Ridgemount Hotel

Clean, well-priced, and an excellent location.

Get around by public transportation

We got an Oyster card with weekly travelpass and topped up with extra for local trains.

Resources

We used Lonely Plant England and the Rough Guide to Scotland as our main resources.