Title says it all. We are planning a trip to the UK next fall. I’m looking for the best things to see and do in Scotland. Ireland too.
If you’re at all into gardening, the gardens at Inverewe are magnificent.
There’s said to be good wildlife watching there too, including on a boat tour.
London is the best answer. So much to do there. Even just walking around the town is so nice. In York, you can go to the Royal Armories Museum in Leeds. Very cool if you’re into weapons and armor from all over the world. Portsmouth is great too if you like historic naval stuff.
British Museum
Bath
Stonehenge
Sissinghurst (garden/castle)
I mean, it depends what you’re interested in.
A lot of people do the same route, visting the same few sites and that’s fine I guess, but there’s quite a lot of stuff in the UK, and Ireland, and though they’re small by US standards it takes a while to get around. There’s still plenty of bits I’ve never visited and I grew up in the UK and have probably travelled more than average.
Are you planning on driving? How long is the trip? Do you have any specific interests? Are you planning on visiting the whole UK or primarily Scotland (which is part of the UK, while the country of Ireland is very much not)?
Still in the planning stages but I think I might drive a car and we plan on 2 weeks.
Driving a car down UK back roads is an adventure in itself if you’re not used to it.
Under no circumstances rent a car in London. Get the train to a destination outside the city and arrange to pick it up there.
Wouldn’t bother with Stonehenge personally. It’s famous, but you can’t get near the actual rocks and honestly there’s neolithic stuff everywhere over here. My workplace accidentally dug up a neolithic settlement building an extension.
Can’t swing a cat in Scotland without hitting a castle of some sort either. Stirling castle is one that gets a lot of recommendations, over Edinburgh, but there are so many historical castles it’s really hard to pick any out.
My brother and his wife just came back from a long trip to London, Iceland and Scandinavia. They only stayed a few days in London, having lived there for quite a while many years ago. He was telling me over Christmas how disappointed they were that they booked so little time in London. It was far, far better than they remembered and they are going back for an extended holiday this year.
Don’t skip the highlands. At the very least catch a glimpse of Glencoe. If I had to do it over again, I’d go for a hike around there (although I’m not sure how hospitable it would be in the Fall—cruel is the snow the sweeps Glencoe).
Have you picked the dates yet? September and sometimes early October can be very nice, but November is typically awful in Scotland. It doesn’t matter so much in London, but if you want to tour the Scottish highlands, and it’s dark from around 4pm to after 8am, with a grey gloom in between, it doesn’t leave very much time at all for hiking or seeing the scenery. Add the wind and rain to that and it’s no fun at all, plus some places will just be closed.
Most of the tours visit Edinburgh, Glen Coe, Loch Ness, Isle of Skye, often Glasgow (Glasgow botanic gardens glasshouses are a great way to spend a wet dreary afternoon btw, they’re a proper maze of plants and also free to visit). In peak season, the well known spots can be absolutely packed and there’s trails of caravans and buses up the roads. They’re all interesting places, but -aside from the cities- most of the locals avoid going near them in peak season. Edinburgh is insane for the whole month of August due to the Fringe festival, but is just normal city busy by September, so that shouldn’t impact you.
Speaking for myself, I would avoid the most popular bits in the highlands especially if you are planning on driving. The splendid windswept desolation is somewhat impeded by the bus loads of other people and the level of infrastructure required to cope with it all. There will probably be somewhere 95% as attractive a few miles away with 5% of the visitors.
A lot depends on your interests and how long you have but I would try to avoid spending most of your time travelling rather than seeing things.
Pick a few areas you want to go and then choose places to visit in those areas reather than try to visit 6 places in completely different areas.
For city based things to do London has the most places to go and the biggest tourist draws, it is expensive but you will want to spend some time there. From there you could fly to Edinbrough or Glasgow spend a day (maybe two) in the city then hire a car to explore Scotland, I would recommend Stirling (Castle, Bannockburn) and the Western Highlands (Glencoe, and the Coastal Sea Lochs). An alternative to flying is taking a sleeper train, it cost more than a flight but you save a nights accomodation and you don’t spend hours getting to the airport, waiting for your flight etc. You get on late in the evening and arrive first thing in the morning, you can also get the Sleeper to the Highlands (somewhere like Fort William).
What sort of things do you enjoy? Do you wan’t to spend more time in the countryside or the cities? Are you interested in histroical sites, museums, experiencing Uk life (e.g. attend a soccer match), any particular activies you enjoy that you want to do while in the UK (eg Sports, walking, culture)?
I’m reading specifically Scotland (and Ireland). Is that right?
j
I took a train from London to Edinburgh. It was, like, 4.5 hours. I see that there is a sleeper train as well, but seems unnecessary…
Joke: A tourist driving in hedgerow country at a blind corner has to suddenly dodge around a car on the wrong side of road. As she careens by the driver of the other car sticks her head out the window and shouts, “Pig!”
“Old cow,” the tourist fires back, rounds the corner and runs smack into the biggest sow he ever saw.
Going by train during the day is definately doable, from city centre to city centre probably takes a similar time to flying but is usually more expensive.
The sleepers are slower taking 9.5 to 10 hours allowing time for a nights sleep.
Scotland: Edinburgh at least.
England: London. Museums, parks. Covent Garden, Chinatown and the East End, esp. if you want to see a play.
If you want to see old rock circles (older than Stonehenge) quite a bit easier to drive to Avebury and you can walk right up to the rocks for free. Stonehenge, IMO, is way overrated and traffic in the area can be slow. Plus, it’s money to take a bus to the fenced-in Stonehenge, which I believe they rebuild every couple of years.
Tough to say what else on a drive. It may look small, yet driving can take quite some time. Ireland would be easier to ring around.
Dunno how you plan to get to Edinburgh, yet it’s a very hilly city with little parking. A train would be a good way - even if you start at York, which is nice to see as well.
I spent an extraordinary amount of time in the Edinburgh National Gallery, and I am not even into art!
Same for Tate Modern in London
My biggest recommendation for London, is walk as much as you are able. Sure the tube is faster, taxis will get you anywhere, but that city (and especially “The City” is so packed with history, and half-forgotten places from literature.
I passed by Scotland Yard one day - no sign of Sherlock, and I happened by the College of Arms, where I learnt my traditional family Coat of Arms was completely faked by an ancestor who probably wanted to impress some girl…
It is just so interesting. The tourist stuff is good, but also the off-beat is wonderful.
Don’t take a “booze cruise” style trip on the Thames, how those things pass health & safety inspections I do not know, and I worked on them. I’ve seen some - and cleaned some - pretty gross stuff.
Final advice: go to Neal’s Yard in Covent Garden. It is a small, easily accessible group of very different shops, but go for the cheese shop. You probably can’t take cheese home, but it is so worthwhile. Literally hundreds of British cheeses, and you can taste them all.
Somehow duplicated my post… removed the copy
Stonehenge would be the waste of an entire day. Even if not a golfer, St. Andrews, the town/city is of interest.
How long have you got? Don’t rely on Google’s travelling directions, they notoriously underestimate how long car journeys in the UK can be.
I second the advice about cars above. They’d be a hindrance in the big cities. You could look at hiring a car locally for touring scenic country but trains will be quicker and more convenient to get there from the big cities.