London to Edinburgh Road Trip

[Denali]

Dont know if its of interest to you but I would do a side trip to Greenwich before heading north to see

The Prime Mederian line and The Queens House to see the Tulip Stairs.... but Im a bit weird

 

[jastel]

Done several times, though not normally directly...and going again soon.
Been from Lands End to John O Groats.

There are plenty of historic towns with castles, churches, car & plane museums along the way.
It just depends on what you want to see.
As said its not like driving in Australia, Motorways are good until you get an accident or a junction.
A roads are usually OK but slower, winding, intersections, towns etc.
B Roads are narrower than most footpaths we have here.
Go the wrong way and it might be 15 minutes before you can legally turn around.
Just because something is 60 miles away it does not follow that it is 1 hour away.
There are nice patches of road, especially up in Scotland but you just gotta get lucky re the traffic and weather.

I avoid the big cities with rental cars, if I want time there I train/fly and use public transport and/or do tours. Parking, navigating and congestion charges etc are a PITA.
Oxford, Bath and York (and most of England) are not meant for cars, its better to stay in a smaller places. I use my rental car for smaller towns and visiting relatives or places that are hard to get to by public transport. Even in these small towns there is usually only 1 public pay parking lot, free parking is nearly non existent during office hours. Toilets are often located here.

They are slowly converting to US style Motorway Services with fuel, food, restaurants and motels etc. These can be useful as if there is a tourist attraction nearby there will often be a bus to it. Park N Rides are another good thing to prevent you going into the cobbled mazes of older UK cities. You park on the outskirts in a big parking lot and buses take you into the town. There are usually toilets and food machines etc as well. You do have to pay a few pounds but it is cheaper than paying to park IN the town. Parking at a supermarket like Tesco/Aldi/Sainsbury etc can sometimes be free and you can explore the town for a bit.

Petrol is about A$3 a litre now, hire cars are not that cheap, if you want an Automatic double the price, and our dollar sucks...have a great trip! It sounds like I am trying to talk you out of it...but its just a warning. Like I said I am planning my trip now too.

 

[Scarlett]

Go and have dinner in a treehouse.
Really.

The Treehouse Restaurant - The Alnwick Garden

www.alnwickgarden.com

 

[kookaburra75]

Dont know if its of interest to you but I would do a side trip to Greenwich before heading north to see

The Prime Mederian line and The Queens House to see the Tulip Stairs.... but Im a bit weird

Greenwich is a great place to visit. Catch the river ferry from the city to go up to Greenwich for a free tour. And then hop a double decker bus to get back. Citymapper is a great app to give you all the info you need..

There are many marvellous buildings in the old navy headquarters. And for the ultimate geek factor, read Longitude by Dava Sobel, and then go into the observatory and watch the original clocks ticking away.

 

[Denali]

Go and have dinner in a treehouse.
Really.

The Treehouse Restaurant - The Alnwick Garden

www.alnwickgarden.com

Thanks, we're planning on seeing the Widows and Bairns of Eyemouth and this restaurant is 50mins south of Eyemouth so doable on our drive back south/to Manchester

 

[Scarlett]

Thanks, we're planning on seeing the Widows and Bairns of Eyemouth and this restaurant is 50mins south of Eyemouth so doable on our drive back south/to Manchester

Alnwick Castle, gardens and the treehouse are all worth the stop. Just make sure you correctly refer to the town as “Ann-ick”. Confusingly, if you go five miles down river to where the River Aln meets the North Sea, you’ll find the nice fishing village of Alnmouth, which is pronounced “Alan-mooth”. Because it’s the River Aln pronounced with two syllables as “Alan”.


Geordies.

(I do love them!)

 

[NM]

Geordies.

(I do love them!)

makes perfect sense to me. but it does explain why when my wife was first introduced to my father, she coo nout know what he's tork t'boot.

One time she must have asked 5 times what time we should arrive for dinner. And each time he replied she just looked at him strangely. Eventually I held up 4 fingers and said "o'clock". His Geordie pronunciation of the number 4 (Fo-err) had nee waned in the 35 years he has been living in Australia.

So do be prepared to just smile and nod when travelling "oop norff"

 

[brrmmm]

Chatgpt will work out an itinerary for you. Give it your request, a road trip from A to B for 5 days; no more than 5 hours driving each day; give me points of interest along the way. You get idea. Once you have it's itinerary, you can ask it for places to stay - 5* / B&B etc. You can also ask it for restaurant ideas! It's amazing.

 

[VPS]

In May we're arriving in Manchester (because I wanted to avoid Heathrowe) and doing a side trip to Chester before we head north to Scotland for 3 weeks. We're castle ruins & temple people and Mr Denali wants to see Hadrians Wall. I want to see Rossyln Chapel

Lanercost Priory - I had the best scone ever at the tea rooms there

Visit Vindolanda & the Roman Army Museum

The Vindolanda Trust is an independent charity that can only continue to excavate, conserve, research and educate with the money it raises from visitors to Vindolanda Roman and the Roman Army Museum

www.vindolanda.com

Corbridge Roman Town - Hadrian's Wall

Walk along a Roman high street, and see the famous Corbridge Hoard.

www.english-heritage.org.uk

All good near Hadrian's Wall

 

[VPS]

So small towns to stay in

Corbridge - lovely little town

Alwnick - can give you a recommendation for a Airbnb - also great bookshop in the old railway station - worth a visit

Bread Oven Cottage | 4* Self Catering Holiday Rental | Scotland - a bit remote but one of the best holiday places I stayed in

Holy Island didn't do it for me,

Cotswolds definitely - apart from Bibury I liked Morton in the Marsh and Stow in the Wold and Bourton on the water

Angel of the North definitely worth a visit.

I liked Durham and Newcastle and also consider Morpeth

York - Jarvik Museum is worth it

Chatsworth is outstanding

Chester

Avebury Manor is interesting

Sutton Bank - Wikipedia - one of the prettiest views in England - just driving through the Yorkshire moors is fascinating.

Lord Crewe Arms | Official Hotel Website | Northumberland - stayed here and loved it -

Culzean Castle

Robert Adam’s cliff-top masterpiece rises above a world of woods, beaches, secret follies and play parks

www.nts.org.uk

Dumfries House

dumfries-house.org.uk

Rosslyn chapel is great too

That's it for now

 

[Beano]

I did this journey regularly, mostly early evening or at night. I was focused on getting to Edinburgh.

I lived near London and had family in Edinburgh.. There is sometimes no point in stopping because the roads are good and the distance can be achieved in a few hours. The suggested stops can increase the journey time significantly and Loch Katrine is a significant digressions, like 2 hrs one way past Edinburgh!

If you do stop consider an overnight stay. The suggested stops are good.

 

[Beano]

The car journey is nearly 8 hours so stops can significantly increase the time. ( I can't believe it was that long). I did Brighton to Edinburgh in one go!

 

[TheRealTMA]

The car journey is nearly 8 hours so stops can significantly increase the time. ( I can't believe it was that long). I did Brighton to Edinburgh in one go!

Yes but don’t behave like an Australian. Unlike here there’s lots to see on the way. In the UK it’s the journey off motorways and small towns that are the real treat and point of the travel. Recommend 5-6 days with stops.

 

[Beano]

Yes but don’t behave like an Australian. Unlike here there’s lots to see on the way. In the UK it’s the journey off motorways and small towns that are the real treat and point of the travel. Recommend 5-6 days with stops.

Remember service stations on the way. There's a whole tourist route between the two. Ripon and Fountains abbey are a good stop.

 

[TheRealTMA]

Remember service stations on the way. There's a whole tourist route between the two. Ripon and Fountains abbey are a good stop.

Unfortunately, unlike Italy, where it’s fabulous, food at English service stations dire. I remember many Little Chefs!

 

[Beano]

Unfortunately, unlike Italy, where it’s fabulous, food at English service stations dire. I remember many Little Chefs!

Please, don't remind me.

 

[RooFlyer]

Bread Oven Cottage | 4* Self Catering Holiday Rental | Scotland - a bit remote but one of the best holiday places I stayed in

I'm staying in Melrose in August . Bread Oven 2 night minimum, unfortunately.

 

[Beano]

Melrose, my country. Born a "Braw Lad"!

 

[RooFlyer]

Melrose, my country. Born a "Braw Lad"!

I'm checking out some 18th century family locations, for a friend (Amos).