UK Travel Planning (London and Edinburgh) Suggestion [closed]

Question

We want to take a 1-week trip to England with my wife in November. We will land at London STN airport on Monday and we have a flight from London STN airport the following week. It's our first time coming to the UK and we're a little confused about planning. We roughly made a plan like this, but I'm not sure about the efficiency.

We want to see the city of London, Oxford, Cambridge and Edinburgh. (If we have time, we want to tour Warner Bros. Studio.)

1. On weekdays, Wednesday-Thursday, there is a flight to Edinburgh at 8.40 in the morning. Does it make sense to go to Edinburgh with a morning flight and return with an evening flight (19.30)? Or should we stay in Edinburgh for 1 night? (In this case, we may need to bring our luggage as well.) Can options such as train or bus be preferred instead of air for Edinburgh?

2. Is it easy to reach airports in the early hours? And how much does it cost?

3. Does it make sense to rent a car to go to places like Oxford and Cambridge? When I check the train schedules, renting a car and taking the train from London are the same price. But traffic is bad for me. Also, I do not know issues such as parking rules, emission zones, etc. In this case, what method would you recommend?

As a plan, I plan to spend the 1st and 2nd days in London, the 3rd day in Edinburgh, the 4th day in Cambridge, the 5th day in Oxford, the 6th day in Warner Bros., the 7th day in London, and the 8th day back. Would you recommend a different, more logical route?

Also, are there any events you would recommend, such as Christmas Market between 10 Nov - 20 Nov?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for your time.

Answer 1

I think you are trying to cram too much into your visit. You will just spend most of your time travelling. A few hours in Edinburgh seems pointless to me. 3 days would be the minimum. If your schedule doesn't allow that I would skip the trip to Edinburgh.

If you fly from Stansted to Edinburgh, for an 08.40 flight you’ll need to get a train from London Liverpool St at 05.55 (arrives Stansted 06.47). Your flight will probably land in Edinburgh around 10.00 so you’ll be in Edinburgh city centre by around 11.00 (choice of bus or tram from the airport).

If instead, you took the train from London Kings Cross there is one on most weekdays at 07.00 which arrives in Edinburgh city centre at 11.20, so a little quicker than flying.

In general, trains from London to Edinburgh run every half hour for much of the day. You can take heavy luggage on most trains free, whereas hold luggage on most flights costs extra. Advance booking on the trains and a bit of flexibility over times may get you a cheaper fare.

In addition to Stansted, there are flights to Edinburgh from London Heathrow, London Gatwick, London Luton and London City. All have public transport access either via train or the tube. So you don’t have to go from Stansted.

Answer 2

As others have suggested the trip to Edinburgh is trying to do too much. In addition I would point out that you may be better to base yourself in London for the whole time and then make day trips to Oxford and Cambridge by train. In Oxford the train station is within walking distance of the centre, in Cambridge it is a longer walk and you may prefer to get the bus or a taxi into the centre. Basing yourself in London avoids having to take all your luggage with you on every trip. It also means that you avoid the journey from Oxford to Cambridge or vice versa which can be quite tedious as some of the railway was dismantled years ago.

Answer 3

I agree with others answers that you are trying to do too much in one week, but I propose leaving out Oxford.

Are you aware that London Stansted airport is a bit closer to Cambridge than it is to London? And that you can fly to Edinburgh from London Stansted and from London Heathrow?

And do you need to see Cambridge and Oxford (two similar university cities)? This site Should You Visit Cambridge or Oxford as a Day Trip From London compares the two from a tourist's view.

So you could start in Cambridge for couple of 2 days, then go to Edinburgh for a couple of days, and return to London.

You can also get to Edinburgh by train from Cambridge (change trains at Peterborough) and return to London by train direct. The average train journey time between London and Edinburgh is just under 5 hours (probably more from Cambridge because of the train change, and slower trains). The flight time is more than 1 hour, but you also have to get to and from the airports, and allow 2 hours for check in.

You'll get a good view from a train of the countryside and the 'back side' of urban areas you pass through – and a different view from the air. So my favourite would be:

• Train or taxi from Stansted to Cambridge

• Back to Stansted and fly to Edinburgh

• Train from Edinburgh to London

• Train to Stansted

I would not recommend hiring a car although if there are several people in you party, it may be cheaper than trains.

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Another option is to do single day trips to Oxford and/or Cambridge from London. It all depends on what you like. Many visitors to Cambridge ask "what do we do here after we look round the colleges and go punting?"

Answer 4

I would cut out at least one destination and as Edinburgh is the one that involves the most travel time I would only go there if it is an essential for you.

London alone is enough for a month, a year can be filled as well.

Renting a car at Stanstead to go to Cambridge and keeping that for Oxford makes sense, handing it in there before you go to London. Or the other way around for your last days.

Going to Edinburgh, I would not advice to drive as public transport from London does not take more time but will be more relaxed. You can fly but transport to and from airports does take a lot of time and extra time to make sure you do not miss your flight. As said, it does not make sense to include going all that distance for such a short visit.