My cousin recently got married in Peak District of England, so my family decided to make a trip out of it. We spent almost two weeks traveling all over the UK by train and here is where we went:
Day 1:
As soon as we landed in London, we met up with our driver from British Heritage Chauffeur Tours (BHCT). He picked us up from Heathrow Airport, took us to Stonehenge, drove us to The Jack Russell for lunch, and took us to Highclere Castle. British Heritage Chauffeur Tours is an amazing company to book with because they handle everything! We only had the Highclere Castle tour booked, but BHCT suggested other places to stop along the way and even booked the Stonehenge tickets for us. At every stop, our driver, Graham, walked us up to where we needed to be (he even brought umbrellas so we wouldn't get wet) and he checked us in to our tours. We were able to sit back and relax while Graham handled everything. It was such a wonderful day!
Day 2 & 3:
We originally planned on spending three and a half days in London, but decided to only spend two days there and travel somewhere else before we went to the wedding. We were able to see so much in two days! Check out my article "Best Way to Spend 2 Days in London".
Day 4:
Instead of spending this day in London, we decided to travel to Warwick and stay there for a night. We arrived in Warwick around lunch time and we were able to tour the castle and the dungeons in the afternoon. We also walked around town right before dinner (most stores were closed at the time we were walking).
Day 5, 6, 7:
We hopped on another train to Peak District to prepare for the wedding. I looove Peak District, but it can be difficult to travel around. There are bus routes that stop all around Peak District and some trains pass through. There are taxi companies that will drive you from one place to the other, but it can be hard finding a last minute taxi. If you'd like to travel to Peak District, I'd suggest staying in one of the larger cities right outside or staying in a town with a train station. On the last night, take the train into Edinburgh.
Day 8:
We spent this day walking around town and getting familiar with everything. We were able to see the Royal Mile, St. Giles' Cathedral, Palace of Holyroodhouse/Holyrood Abbey, Calton Hill, and Mary King's Close, which were all worth visiting!
Day 9:
We took a Rabbie's Tour to the Highland lochs, glens, and a distillery and it was so good! Rabbie's has so many different tours, from one-day tours to multi-day tours leaving from many different cities around the UK.
Day 10:
We toured Edinburgh Castle on this day. The castle was really cool, but it wasn't exactly what we expected. Even though we were able to see everything, it was very crowded. Also, we expected the castle to be set up like it would have been a long time ago. Instead, they had exhibits (mostly military exhibits) set up in the different buildings. Learning about the castle was really neat though!
Day 11:
We spent half a day at the National Museum of Scotland, which could have easily taken us more than a day to see. I'm pretty sure we didn't even see half of the museum because it was so big and there were so many cool exhibits. We also rode a hop on hop off bus and learned more about Edinburgh. In the evening, we took the train out to North Berwick and walked around. It was suuuuper windy, but beautiful!!
Day 12:
I hiked up Arthur's Seat with my dad on this day. We went in the morning so we could start the day fresh with a hike. The views were amazing! We then met up with the rest of my family and took the train out to Stirling. We toured the castle, which was also really cool, and walked around town. For lunch we ate at a cafe called Mint and I got a sandwich, baklava, and shortbread. We all loved our meals!
Day 13:
After visiting North Berwick on our 11th day, we decided to spend half a day there. We got there in the morning and just walked around town. There are some really cool shops and restaurants that are just a block away from the beach!
Of course, this was our itinerary and it can be used as a guide, but make sure to change things to tailor it more towards your style of travel. We didn't have everything planned day-by-day, as a matter of fact, the last few days in Scotland were not planned at all. They were actually last minute trips! Everyone has their own way of traveling and sometimes it's best to just go with the flow and let the trip plan itself!
PS: Check out my blog posts "48 Hours in London" and "6 Things to Do in Edinburgh" for some tips on what to see in London & Edinburgh and how to plan your time in those two cities.
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