
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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Salisbury Cathedral
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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Bath

Roman Baths

Assembly Rooms

Bath Abbey

Glastonbury
Train from Salisbury
Stay at Henrietta House
It's a Radisson Individuals now ...
Get around by walking
Day 4: Oxford
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Oxford
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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Stratford-upon-Avon

Warwick Castle
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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Chipping Campden

Hidcote Manor Garden
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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Chester
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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Plockton

Plockton Walk
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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York

York Minster
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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London

London Bus Tour

Thames River Cruise

Hampton Court

Tower of London

Kew Gardens

British Museum

Westminster Abbey

London Shopping

Windsor Castle
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.