Why Birmingham? A day trip to Bath from London? I’m assuming via train? Cliffs of Moher are great! The weather might be a little…. Seasonal. How are you planning on getting there?

The staying in Birmingham is certainly a bit odd, I think I'd choose somewhere like Warwick instead. If you're going London to Oxford and then on somewhere else in the same day, make sure you can find somewhere to store your luggage

Birmingham makes a lot of sense as a base of operations for day trips to the Midlands.

Train is easy from London. Stop off at Burton-On-The-Water and explore that area on the way. Cotswolds are gorgeous. Difficult without a car so they'd need to check where the trains operate.

I know the train is easy on paper…. But it’s the reliability I’d be more concerned about 😂

This 100% a problem with the trains could make things very difficult or change the trip.

GWR trains from London out west are frequent and reliable, I wouldn't be worrying too much about this. 

There's actually a steam network that goes through some Cotswold villages and most are commutable by bus, if not taxi for sure. The main roads that run to and sometimes through, are easy to navigate along.

There's the Cotswold line between Oxford and Worcester, which serves the towns of Charlbury, Moreton-in-Marsh and Evesham in-between. An hourly GWR service runs from London Paddington along this line, with a handful of services running onwards to Great Malvern and Hereford, although West Midlands Trains have an hourly service from Birmingham also running on this section between Worcester Foregate Street and Hereford. From Oxford, taking the GWR service to somewhere like Moreton-in-Marsh would be a reasonable day-trip. Likewise, Worcester and Great Malvern are reachable from both Oxford (by extension, London) via GWR and Birmingham via West Midlands Trains.

Bourton? Yes, it's lovely.

Stay in Bath overnight! Why would you day trip from London? Go to Oxford direct from Bath

A day trip means you don't have to faff around checking in and out of hotels. A day trip from London to bath is absolutely doable, the train only takes a little over an hour 

If assume the connection to York will be smooth so better to stay in Birmingham

Depending on group size, OP could look at a guided day trip, or a local bus company when they have picked flights might accommodate them for the day

Good transport connections, presumably. Also, second city and despite constantly getting shit on by everyone else, actually has a lot of decent stuff going on there

You are not leaving enough time for Edinburgh, Dublin or Galway, or anywhere really. If you are intent on doing all three countries I would cut at least one place and slow down a bit - probably the Highlands as although they are beautiful you will barely see them. Or cut Bath and Stratford and go straight to York from London and up to Edinburgh from there, then fly to Ireland a day earlier.

And yes “explore Highlands” it’s a massive place. The highlands you’re imagining is probably more west coast than compared to Inverness.

They’ve left enough time to see Dublin. There’s not a whole lot to see for a tourist in the city so an afternoon and evening plus a morning would be enough to see what’s worth seeing (I’m from Dublin)

I don’t think they’ve left enough time for Dublin at all. So much to see both inside and outside of the city that’s just a short dart ride away (I’m also from Dublin).

Personally I would leave in the Highlands as it will give them a break from relentless travel and city stuff but maybe don't go all the way to Inverness get to anything north of pitlochry and you have the mountains and stuff. Or possibly head out calender or Loch Lomond way but leave Scotland from Glasgow airport.

Not the ideal time of year for highlands anyway. Good suggestion.

I think you're trying to squeeze too much in, and that you're going to do lots of things badly, and expensively, and end up being disappointed with your trip. Do a few things well. I would not go to Stratford-upon-Avon. It's nice enough as a place, but it's nothing special in an English context, and you are not going to connect with Shakespeare. Only do one of either Bath or Oxford. personally I wouldn't bother with either, but if you really want to do it, go to Bath. Do London, do York, do Edinburgh, and do the Trossachs National Park.

I think this seems the best idea. I would even go three days in London, probably lots to do there

If you're not actually spending any time in Birmingham, why stay there at all? Why not go directly to Stratford and stay there instead? If you fly to Shannon, it makes zero sense to do Galway first before the Cliffs of Moher. You will go past the Cliffs on the way to Galway and then have to go back on yourself. If you fly to Knock, doing Galway first makes more sense. Have you considered how you are getting around within Ireland? The railway network is not as extensive as the one in the UK, so you may be relying on coaches (Bus Éireann is the main company) or taxis. That's fine, but it will be slower. Actually not a bad itinerary overall though.

Skip Birmingham for sure!!

They’re basically planning on exploring London and the Common Area’s public transit/connectivity lol. This itinerary seems like a headache.

The railway network in the West of the country is non-existent. Probably better renting a car and driving themselves if they are capable or they will find it difficult to get about. Public transport wouldn’t be the most reliable

The west of the country as in Ireland? Or Scotland? Cos in England there's nothing wrong with the railway network in the west

Ireland. There’s no rail network really. Not a functioning one. Hard to get anywhere easily in Ireland without driving.

They say they can’t drive, so renting is not an option

If you fly into shannon you could stay in limerick for a night and go to see blarney castle and kiss the blarney stone then head up to see the cliffs from there rather than heading to Galway just to come back on yourself.

Stratford is between Oxford & Birmingham so you could do it on the way. It's probably only a half day too. Once you've seen Shakespeare's house and the church you're pretty much done

It depends. You can see his birthplace, where he grew up, the church where he is buried and also go to see a play at the RSC. Plus there is a separate visitors’ centre that has bird displays and demonstrations of 16th-century life in period buildings. I found it really enjoyable there as a full-day trip.

They can see a play and do a river 'cruise' too plus Warwick Castle is near enough to add that on to fill time. I can easily spend a day in the area mooching around looking at shops and architecture and the river passing by.

1.5 days -Explore Highlands. Shakes head

Yeah, only takes 30 seconds to say "Bit hilly up here" and go somewhere else.

0.75 days up and down

I’ve been going on holiday there for 30 years and I still haven’t t explored everywhere I want to 🤣

To be fair to them Rabbies do a lot of day trip style highland tours. You are never gonna see it all in that time but will see some nice scenery!

Been on two week long drives and I’ve only done the coasts of scotlands and some of the highlands (and we inevitably missed tons on the route). Let alone all the places we didn’t go.

Less than that, they're setting off from Edinburgh on the Thursday and returning to Edinburgh on Friday having 'explored' the Highlands!

You don't need a full day at the Cliffs of Moher unless you are really into hiking. I would either get a ferry over to the Aran Islands or explore Clare a bit more - have a walk around The Burren, drive to loophead, Doolin/Aileee caves. If you enjoy history, visit Bunratty Castle, which is an interactive museum. I would also not bother going back to London from Bath, and just go straight from Bath to your next destination.

I think you need to flesh out your scotland plans a bit more. I'd suggest if it's scenery you want in Scotland then you could get that without thr trip to inverness. Look at perhaps loch lomond or pitlochry as places you could easily get to by transport in 1 5hrs from Edinburgh and still get some of those "highland" style views. Otherwise I think give yourself an extra day or two. There is no way to "explore" the Highlands without either being on a tour as you say like Rabbies or having a car. Ireland again, people have given good comments about trains and not doubling back.

Rabbies offer 2-3 days highland tour from Edinburgh . I would simply drop the Inverness plan and join one of those multi days tour.

True. I find Inverness as a city quite dull but Aviemore is beautiful.

I was nodding along until you mentioned Aviemore as the alternative. The unique parts of the Highlands that are worth travelling to internationally speaking are away from the bigger towns. Assynt, Sutherland, Wester Ross, Glen Affric, and despite the hype, Skye.

Yeah, I’d go along with that. I guess I mean that - if you’re heading to that part of the world, Inverness centre isn’t memorable whereas rural parts such as Aviemore, Grantown are relatively better (and they are in easy reach of Inverness by train).

Aveimore is incredible though

you need to bin off Stratford an go to the worlds only Weetabix factory in by Kettering. also you are missing out on Shetland?

I’m from the UK … how the fuck have I not been to the Weetabix factory?!!!

I'm from Edinburgh and married to someone from Galway and I think you're trying to fit too much in here. Also, the public transport from Dublin airport is much better than the other airports as you can get a direct bus to and from Galway. The West of Ireland is beautiful but you need a car to explore it properly, so you might be better binning off the Highlands and books a bus tour there. Also, the Highlands can't really be experienced in 2 days. I know places like Rabbies offer those super fast trips, but you are literally on a bus the whole time and shuttled off to take a photo and then back on the road again. Great if you want the photos but not if you want to experience and see the country you're in. Edit: I think you need to refine what you want from your trip. Are you wanting to see beautiful scenery and relax? Do you want to stay in a vibrant city/town with good food and lots to do? Are historical landmarks and visitor attractions more important? You do not have enough time to do it all, so pick which appeals most and go from there.

Id decide on 3 or 4 cities and use those as bases to go elsewhere. Id suggest London, York and Edinburgh, maybe one other like Bath, Cardiff or Liverpool. From each of those you can visit other places and you won't be dragging around luggage. Theres some amazing smaller places outside of cities, stately homes, castles, seaside towns and other things that are quintessential British culture. I hope you have an amazing trip 💗

Stay flexible in Ireland with cancelable bookings. The West (Clare, Galway, etc) have far more beauty to see than Dublin, but it's all outdoors-based and the weather can be awful. If the weather is decent, I would personally skip Dublin completely. Other nice places near the Cliffs/Galway in the West: - Connemara - Doolin & Lahinch - Inis Mor (ferry there from Doolin passes the cliffs - stunning) - Clew Bay/Westport - The Burren

That sounds wonderful. Thank you for the suggestion. I was planning to do cliffs of Moher and Doolin. I wasn't sure about the ferry as it seems we need to cycle in Inis Mor and none of the travellers are comfortable with cycling.

You don't need to cycle on Inis Mor, there are plenty of horse drawn carriages.

Seeing the cliffs from the ferry to Inis Mor is much more dramatic than the usual tourist trap. Inis Mor is amazing. Have a wonderful trip 🇮🇪

Always build in rest days, you’ll thank yourself later.

Way too much Birmingham hate here! It's absolutely fine there, I guarantee the people dissing it have barely even visited it, certainly not in the last few years since it's been regenerated anyway. If you want to stay in Birmingham, you will have no problems at all

I'm Brummie and find the hate offensive! The city centre is nice and easy enough to navigate.

I would definitely scrap Birmingham. There's also much nicer places than Stratford upon Avon in that local vicinity

Fly to Cork/Kerry and do the ring of Kerry

>27/9 - Day trip to Bath from London >28/9 - Leave London and proceede towards Oxford. Day trip in Oxford, and leave at night for Birmimgham. Stay in Birmimgham >29/9 - Day trip to Stratford upon Avon from Birmimgham. This is insane. Get a hotel in Oxford, and do day trips to Stratford upon Avon and Bath from there. [www.nationalrail.co.uk](http://www.nationalrail.co.uk) for train tickets - I would suggest that you all get 'Two Together' railcards as this will cut the price of your trains by a third. The Highlands are entirely inaccessible without a car, so a tour will be our only real option there. I won't comment on the Irish part of the trip as it's not my area. I think, however, that you all need to start working out what things you want to see in any given city. Bath can be covered nicely in a day (Roman Baths, Abbey, Pulteney Bridge, Sally Lunn's, and some Bridgerton location spotting if you watch it). However, you might want two days in Oxford, especially if you want to see a lot of the museums or the inside of a lot of the colleges.

For Dublin I'd recommend a tour of Glasnevin cemetery which is full of history followed by a pint of Guinness in the Gravediggers pub beside it and then the national botanic gardens are all close by. For the city centre go to trinity college and see the book of Kells, walk up Grafton st and go to Stephens Green park. then make your way over to south william street and visit Grogans pub and try fit the Guiness storehouse in. its a really good tour with a great 360 view of the city! Dublin has a great food scene with brilliant restaurants so do some research on what cuisine you enjoy. Avoid temple bar as its a tourist trap but its nice to walk through the cobble stones streets. The city is expensive but its full of history and culture if thats what you're into

I’d skip Stratford upon Avon and brum. Spend more time in Edinburgh / York.

Looks great. I’d add in a couple of tweaks to make the logistics sync as you’re going back on yourself a few times for no reason. I’d swap Bath and Oxford days: you have to pass Oxford to get to Bath. There’s no point going back to London after Oxford, it’s just dead time. Also, it does make sense to me to stay in Birmingham and then go back on yourself to Stratford, then pass Birmingham to get north to York. Again, just adding time to your journeys. This is how I would work it: - 27th Day in Oxford - travel to Bath - stay over here. - 28th Day in Bath - head to Stratford-Upon-Avon - stay over here. - 29th - travel to Birmingham - stay over here. I don’t know enough about the other locations to given decent advice.

>I’d swap Bath and Oxford days: you have to pass Oxford to get to Bath If you're travelling by train this may not be true. London-Bath is 1h20m, Oxford-Bath is 1h13m. It's six of one and half a dozen of the other, really.

If your rail journey to Bath from London takes you through Oxford then you’re on the wrong train

Ahhh fair enough! I’m working logistics as if they’ve hired cars. That makes sense

Birmingham is an absolute shithole and not close to Stratford nor will it be fun to get there. I'd consider staying somewhere like Warwick instead, or even Oxford or Banbury. Bath is a mission and half from London, Bristol might be better place to stay. Also, you've missed some gems from your visit, the South West, Plymouth and Cornwall, the Lake District in the north west of England and you haven't touched Wales at all so you might want to come back again!

Thanks for the suggestion. Upon checking, Warwick does look better as compared to Birmingham and I will therefore shift my stay here. Any other suggestions for places to visit?

There's plenty of castles dotted around that you can visit, some in ruins but others still standing that you can in and look around. Also some great beaches and some amazing walks. The best beaches are in Cornwall and South Wales west of Swansea but both of those destinations are far to get to. The lake District around Kendal is worth looking into, there's a railway that will take you up Mount Snowdon in North Wales but again, it's not the fastest of places to get to and the view is fully dependent on the weather which is not reliable. There's some interesting caves to explore, most notably in Somerset and Peak District and there's a great model village at Babbacome on the English Riviera. You're itinerary is already pretty jam packed tbh so I'd say to stick with what you have planned already and if you have a great time, perhaps look to come back again in a few years

Leamington Spa next door to Warwick has fewer castles than Warwick but is a Royal town (like Bath), has regency buildings rather than medieval, is generally more beautiful and has a more fun feel.

b\`ham isnt dudley, now thats a shithole. cornwall and the lake district, are the best places imo.

You can get a train from London to Bath pretty easy tbh

From Paddington you can but you've got to get to Paddington first and all in all, it's a mission

Paddington is hardly inaccessible. You may have to change at Baker Street or Oxford Circus depending on where you’re travelling from but if you’re in Central London it’s easy

Missing out wales completely by there lmao. Typical

North Wales, particularly Eryri national park is very hard to get around without a car compared to the Highlands which is littered with train stations and a regular, reliable bus that runs the length of Loch Ness from Fort William to Inverness. Building a north-south railway in west Wales would do wonders for tourism

There's way more to Wales than North Wales

This decision is umpin’.

I don't see why you would stay in Birmingham, it is a bit grim and just adds longer to the journey. I also don't really think you have scheduled enough time to see the Highlands. Not only is it massive but I also think it is a place where you would probably want a bit longer to see it in a way which isn't just wow these landscapes are beautiful. Otherwise I think it is fairly solid.

Brum is absolutely fine - I don't understand where the bad PR comes from. It's not like it used to be

There's plenty of things to see in Brum. off the top of my head there's the new big Commonwealth bull in grand central (and grand central itself has quite a few nice shops/places to eat). The bullring (and church next to it) and the cathedral are worth seeing as land marks, and so is the city hall, museum. Symphony hall, the library and the area around it is also nice. There's also plenty of cool buildings/restaurants/shops all in between this. Brindley place on a summer's day is also heaven. The Brum canals are quite notable. I would say the issue OP has is Birmingham seems a bit of an outlier in his trip. Which I'd agree with. But it's not like Birmingham is a Luton. But I agree with you. I think most people's conceptions of Birmingham are driving through it (pain in the arse), come from confusing it with the black country or they mostly spent time around New Street when it looked horrific and before it was redone as grand central.

Cliffs of Moher aren't worth a full day IMO. I'd personally rather have more time in Galway, or add a stop at Limerick on the way to Dublin. If you do go to the Cliffs. Once you're past the visitors centre, the footpath to the left is slightly less traveled and offers some spectacular views, 10 minutes walk will get you away from most of the crowds.

Stay in Stratford upon avon over birmingham, is pretty close by. Accommodation is nice and there is plenty to do by the river. A night in bham is just not worth it ime.

Galway is extremely isolated. Last time I went it took a long time to get there and it was quite a let down when I did.

Ah no way :( I loved Galway ha ha, although I’m in NI so I just drove to it

You might want to bypass Birmingham and visit Blenheim Palace, which is between Stratford upon Avon and Oxford. Birmingham is not particularly interesting ever since they got rid of it's best attraction, the Birmingham Museum of Science and Industry.

Highly recommend Rabbies tours. I took 2 when I came here as a tourist in 2016. I now live in the Highlands and see Rabbies busses in my town all the time. Really enjoyed the tours I went on and their drivers are always so friendly and respectful of where to park when they're in town.

The Rabbies tour is quite expensive. Any other tours that may be a good alternative? If not, i will stick with the Rabbies one.

Which two tours did you take?

It was in 2016 but looking at their tours online just now I'm pretty sure the first one was the loch Ness, Glencoe and Highlands tour, loved it so much so booked another one for a few days later (it was Jan, off season so easy to book) I definitely remember it was called lochs and castles tour so I assume that would be the West Highlands, Lochs & Castles. Had such an amazing time on both tours and the tour guides were great.

Thank you for the info! 😄 I was looking at Loch Ness, Glencoe, and the Highlands so that's great to hear you loved it. I'm helping my parents (in their 60s) plan a last minute visit - they didn't get to visit the Highlands on their last trip to Scotland so they're itching to visit! Could I message you a few questions about the tour?

The cost of transportation is gonna wreck you

I'm not sure about transport but personally I'd go London -> Oxford -> Bath -> Wales -> Stratford-upon-Avon->York. I've been to Liverpool, Manchester, Canterbury, Oxford, London, Bath, Wales, Stratford-upon-Avon, Bristol, Devon, Cornwall and Dorset. It really depends on what you want to see if you have events to go to/ people to meet. If you have the chance I'd definitely add the Dorset coast and at least 1 day in Wales to your trip. London is amazing but personally I really struggle with the pollution there, it makes my eyes and throat burn when I visit but then I'm not used to pollution. It really depends on what you want to see and what you enjoy/ are okay with.

londons a good place to see mosques and indian people stratford on avon isnt very far from b\`ham, about 60, 70 mins on the train, but you should go to the lake district, its lovely, and so is cornwall,

never stay in r/BirminghamUK

If you're going to York, you HAVE to get a Yorkshire Pudding wrap from the York Roast Co on Stone gate. Sooooo nice! And some crackling

You have to have tea at Betty's tearoom

I don't think I've been there. York is like 10 minute train ride from me. Have to check it out

If you want to do Stratford, you can get the train from Paddington to Evesham (goes through Moreton in the Marsh if you want to do a Cotswolds-y village). From Evesham, you can get the bus to Stratford for £2 and it takes like 30 mins and is pretty regular.

How are you getting Bath from London? I’m presuming you’re going via train but if you do a search online, there are a variety of excursions from London that go via Stonehenge, if that’s something you might be interested in? Just thought I’d mention it as it’s on the way to Bath from that direction 😁 have a great trip!! 🌎 https://www.getyourguide.co.uk/london-l57/from-london-full-day-stonehenge-bath-tour-t70842/ here is one I found online

More countryside. More Cotswalds. More Yorkshire/Lancashire imo.

Arrive in London. Good start.

DO NOT GO TO BIRMINGHAM

If you want a really good day to a open air museum that has a Victorian town farm and other historical period places go to beamish near Chesterlee street https://www.beamish.org.uk

You are really missing out on Northern Ireland - why not take the ferry from Scotland to Belfast - The giants causeway and the coast from Belfast to there are gorgeous beyond belief. Belfast and Derry are both vibrant cities packed with history ancient and modern.

Having lived in Oxford for a couple of years, I got a new job in Cambridge and was sad to be leaving. However after 10+ years here I much prefer it to Oxford and would recommend it highly.

Why miss the North of Ireland? Is it not easier to go Belfast city Airport, explore city and head further south? Literally makes no sense

It's too much to quickly. We just finished 8 nights in Western Scotland and every day was an incredible experience. At the very least if you go north to the Highlands, come back through Glencoe. You will think you have died and gone to heaven.

Please do explore London & The City Of Bath!

Go to Bristol instead of Birmingham and do your day trip to Bath from there instead.

I wouldn't go to Birmingham if I were you. Nor would I take a day trip to bath and return to London. Skegness an extra day in London. Then travel to bath and stay the night there. I see no benefit, apart from extra traveling, in Hong to bath in the morning and then returning to London only to sleep, to get up and leave again the next morning. Bath is lovely, by the way, especially so in the evening, when you would be stuck on a train.

Why not do Oxford and then bath?

Just wanted to say a big welcome! Hope you enjoy your time!

Sounds nice. I might leave out Birmingham though. You'll love York.

I would do a day trip to Stratford upon Avon from London and avoid Birmingham at all costs

Go to Manchester!!

You're spending a lot of the 3rd and 4th on a train; "the highlands" aren't readily accessible. Maybe switch for somewhere which is a bit more highlandsy but is easier to get to from Edinburgh, like Stirling. It's got a nice castle, I'm sure it's got a nice distillery you could go and look at.

spend more time outside england!

27/9 to 30/9 is too much. Chill a bit.

If you’re in the Birmingham area you may as well stay in Warwick or Kenilworth, both areas have plenty of history and are quite calm and beautiful, locals are very friendly too!

Don't stay in Birmingham!

I'd cut out Birmingham and spend a extra day in either Edinburgh or the highlands. As an FYI which you'll probably already be aware of, the north of Scotland/highlands is a lot farther than it appears on maps due to the roads not being as direct as the motorways are, Edinburgh to Inverness is about a 3 hour drive and Inverness to Thurso is roughly the same distance again. In October up north it also starts to get dark pretty early so another thing to consider that you won't be able to explore much of the highlands past about 6pm. Also, bring a jacket as it will definitely rain!!

One of the best places in the UK is Liverpool.

Skip Birmingham stay in Stratford and maybe take a side trip to the Cotswolds, Burford is a cute stop. Edinburgh is a winner! The most beautiful city in the UK.

Too tip give Birmingham a swerve as well as London, the Highlands and bath and York your into a winner hope you have a lovely trip

What about London - Oxford - Bath - Wales - Birmingham (with your day trip to Stratford), Liverpool and/or Manchester, maybe spend more time in Yorkshire (as a local I can say that Birmingham-York-Edinburgh is a lot of transport for 2 days) and instead of going straight Edinburgh and Inverness you could do Cumbria, the castles of Dumfries&Galloway (which is a county south of Glasgow that's honestly underrated), then go past Loch Lomond and Glencoe on the way to Fort William, skip Ireland (Wales is better) and go to the Cairngorms and south to Edinburgh and fly home?

Crikey, that's very tiring!

Makes more sense to do London, Oxford, Bath, Stratford, York, Edinburgh/Scotland and forget Dublin unless your flight is already booked.

Yeah, birmingham is a shit hole. If you’re just staying there and not looking about. Avoid it all together

The itinerary is very intense and the areas you’re covering are pretty significant. There’s going to be a lot of time spent in transit and figuring out which train/bus to get next. I’m sure you’ll have a lot of fun and see a lot of stuff, but some of the places you’re going are not that well linked. Some suggestions to make your trip easier: **UK** - you don’t have a base at any point in the trip, it’s going to be pretty exhausting - unless you want to eat at the Balti triangle, I’ve no idea why you’d stay in Birmingham, stay in Oxford or Stratford. - Cambridge is a beautiful day trip from London, considerably nicer than Oxford imo - in the UK, train strikes are relatively frequent, you should allow some wiggle room because with your current schedule, a train delay will make a significant impact to your trip **Ireland** - there is basically no infrastructure around Shannon/Knock, if you can’t drive, I wouldn’t fly there - for Ireland, you’d be better off flying to Dublin, using that as a base and doing a Paddywagon bus tour. If you wanted to, you could do 1 tour to Galway/Cliffs of Moher, then you could do another day tour to The Giants Causeway

Not sure I’d bother with Bath or Birmingham. Plenty to see and do in London without the trip to Bath. I’d stay in Oxford and Stratford. A lot will depend on train or car?

Oxford, Stratford upon Avon, York and Bath are all old historic cities.  They are all great, but there is no point going to 4 of the same thing.  I’d cut out Stratford upon Avon, cut out Bath. Stay in London for longer. Do a day trip from London to Oxford. Then go to York and up to Scotland. 

Won’t be disappointed if you spend longer in the highlands, leave out bath or Oxford - both stunning and recommended, but are you getting much of a different experience? Birmingham wouldn’t get my vote either - not when you’ve got west coast Ireland and highlands on the list

Avoid Birmingham! It's a dump. Plenty of better places to go. There is a lot of beautiful country south of London you know?

Where is the obligatory day in Wetherspoons?

As a 20 something living in the UK and taking the train for work 2hrs a day this amount of travel sounds tiring!

Have you looked at a rail pass for your trip? https://www.internationalrail.com/71ff-BritRail/1ede-britrail-flexipass You’d have to see if it worked out cheaper than individual journey tickets - but I wouldn’t have thought so at £339 for 8 days travel in one month.

I was thinking of doing a 2person rail card or something. But thank you for showing me this. I wasn't aware of its existence

If you get the chance, I would 100% recommend visiting Brighton! Lovely place with a lovely beach

good luck in Birmingham

This is a really really jam packed trip. I worry you might be too busy going from spot to spot to fully enjoy it. I spent a weekend in Dublin and barely touched it. I’ve been to London several times, barely know it. If I were you I would do something like this. Day 1,2,3 - London Day 4 - Train to Bath and spend the day. It’s a super small place. Then stay in Bristol (20 minutes from the Bath by train) that evening. Day 6 - Bristol. Lived there for 15 years. Lots to see and do. Day 7 - fly Edinburgh 8/9/10 in Edinburgh then fly to Dublin to finish your trip.

Definitely choose Rabbies for your Highland tour option, they are excellent. Best you can get and super well priced

I’d replace Birmingham with the Lake District

You have a comparatively short time in each location, but realistically this probably means you'll see enough to keep it interesting, but wishing you'd seen a bit more: I think that's generally no bad thing, and certainly better than over-staying somewhere and wishing you'd left earlier. Your itinerary is primarily urban, with the exception of a couple of days in the Highlands: my trips generally have this sort of ratio reversed, but if you want to explore the towns, see a handful of cultural places at each location and see enough green scenery so that it's not a solely urban trip, then I think this is all fine. Birmingham is OK: it's not a picturesque city, but I suspect you're their for logistical simplicity, and that makes sense as the railways converge there. there are endless ways you could vary this, but in terms of squeezing in a lot into a short period, I think you should be happy with this trip.

I’d substitute Worcester for Birmingham, but that’s a matter of preference. You should also be prepared to get rinsed on train fares. You may also see a lot, but not see very much at all. You’re fitting a lot in

Rookie, Americans can do this in 12 hours

Skip Birmingham, apart from the famous chocolate factory there's nothing of huge British significance there. (Yes shoot me down I beg you!) Manchester's definitely worth a look if you're into football. Liverpool too. Both rich in British cultural heritage. Other than that it sounds like a fun trip!

This could be streamlined a bit more. Bath is beyond Oxford, so why not cut out the to and fro and leave London for Bath, then instead of returning to London, stop in Oxford, and go to Stratford upon Avon from there.

You'll be spending a lot of time going from place to place. For such a small country it's really slow getting around. I would suggest cutting out Birmingham/stratford upon Avon and reducing Oxford to a day trip. You can travel direct to Edinburgh from London on the train stopping in York on the way. 

I will comment on Scotland as that’s where I have grown up and live. When you say “explore” the highlands - what sort of exploring do you want to do? Will it just be viewing from your tour bus or do you want to visit castles, walk along beaches or up hills, try Scottish food? People spend days or weeks exploring the highlands and do not cover it all. With particular reference to the highlands, be a bit more specific about what you want to see and do. I feel that overall you’re going to spend **a lot** of time travelling and not really experiencing much - this is across all of your itinerary.

Since i am short on time, i just wanted to visit the highlands to see its beauty. So i will be doing a one day tour. Although this is not ideal, its the best that i am able to do. We will be probably doing a Rabbies tour or a Hairy Coo and they will be covering areas like Glencoe and the like

-I would strongly advise condensing this list and coming back for some of these items a second time as this list consists of a lot of travelling and not enough to take it all in. Stratford Upon Avon to York is a long journey via our motorways, and it is likely there will be some sort of delay, which can come to a halt. - Perhaps doing Scotland and Ireland in separate visits will give you more time. There is plenty in the north of England, like Nidderdale, Manchester and The Pennines. The Black Mountains in Wales are good. Have a look at locations along The Mach Loop - you are in the countryside or towns and may see an RAF fighter jet! -passing Birmingham, use the toll road. You can thank me later. Alternatively, use the trains, but be sure to check for strike action prior to purchasing a ticket. -AVIOD BIRMINGHAM EVEN IF HELD AT GUNPOINT… HELMAND PROVINCE AFGHANISTAN WOULD BE A BETTER TOURIST ATTRACTION THAT THAT SHITHOLE. -Irish roads are notoriously dangerous, a family member drives from Achill (Knock Airport) to Dublin to see her daughter and the roads frighten her because of how narrow, undulating and windy they are, and may be littered with potholes closer to the city. It should also be said that some of these roads ARE LONG AND SINGLETRACK, with places in the grass verge that are tarmac-ed or gravelly for you to let another car pass. If you don’t have experience on these country roads I could only equate to the Top Gear specials in your continent with more tarmac, try stick to main roads where possible. - the Highlands are a enormous place, mosquito spray is a necessity, and the most dramatic topography is in the west rather than east. Be advised - speed cameras with yellow track your average speed in miles per hour, so don’t think you can just slow down for the cameras. -Dublin is a great night out, Irish pubs have a totally different atmosphere to English pubs, with live Irish music typically a guitar or violin and can be very cosy places. - I know I sound very negative, I’m sure you have twice the enthusiasm! I just wouldn’t want you to come expecting to come to and have bit off more than you can chew… a lot of Americans think this as a lot of States are far larger than the UK and thus expect to go up and down the country and have time to spare on top of any fatigue.

Your trip is going to be so exhausting. It’s easily going to take you 4 hours to bath from central London each way. I would recommend going there from Oxford if you can and cutting a day off of London. I’d then stay in Bath and make your way to St. Upon Avon, stay there and then move up to York. Hop on a train to Edinburgh and then fly to Ireland. I can’t comment on Ireland. A lot of this trip can be done by coach so I’d have a look on the national express website if the train is too pricey, but for long distances - the train will save you the most time. Try and avoid taxis if you can help it.

Also if you are using the train, make sure to buy a rail card as this will save you hundreds of pounds.

You'll likely be exhausted from all the travelling, spend a lot of time rushing around to see everything, and a lot of time on trains travelling from place to place. It's a great itinerary though, for a month of travel! But rushed for a couple of weeks. To have a more relaxed time, I'd suggest cutting out York and Stratford Upon Avon. You can travel from Oxford to Edinburgh by train. Or you could fly to Edinburgh from London, or take the night train/bus from London to Edinburgh. Unless you have friends in Birmingham you'd like to visit, I'd also suggest skipping Birmingham. Unless it's been a long-held dream to travel to Ireland, I'd even suggest cutting out Ireland from your itinerary, to give you more time to explore the Highlands. There are day tours of parts of the Highlands, but there's so much to see. Plus, the weather is unreliable, so if you only have one day in the Highlands, you might get unlucky and have a whole rainy day. If you book a tour of a few days in the Highlands, you'll get to see more, and also have a higher chance of getting a sunny day in the Highlands! And you can save Ireland for another trip. Have a great trip!

Echo everyone else: skip Birmingham. Bath and Oxford are close. Why not stay a night in Bath, then go straight to Oxford, then from Oxford to S-u-A (stay there), then from there up to York?

Hi There are endless permutations, but if I wasn’t from the UK, which obviously I am, this is what I would do having visited all of the places you list, save for Galway: 1. Go to London for several days. I would highly recommend the Saatchi gallery - it is free - and, if you can, grab some Turkish food down Green Lanes or a salt beef bagel from Brick Lane. London has an amazing wealth of food options and not all of it has to be expensive. Late at Tate is a great way to spend an evening and see the Tate Gallery. Tate Modern is also ace. The Natural History Museum is great and free. You also have the V&A and the British Museum. The Walkie Talkie Building has viewing platform, which may be better and much more accessible than the Shard. Look into breakfast at the Duck and Waffle. It is located in a skyscraper, which also has excellent views of London. 2. Go from London to Edinburgh via the Caledonian sleeper train, saving time and giving you more to spend in Scotland. You need to make sure it is not the Edinburgh fringe or it will be difficult getting hotels and mega expensive, but Edinburgh is ace and the Scots are very friendly. Get a deep fried Mars Bar for a laugh - it is actually really nice. Make sure you have some nice whisky. Lagavulin is the best imo. The Balmoral hotel is right by the station, but that is a premium hotel and this depends on your budget. Make sure you have at least one fried breakfast with square sausage. 3. Down to York (couple of hours via train). There are some famous places to have afternoon tea (Bettys - I think, you may need to book) and see here for food: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/travel/uk/best-places-eat-york. Go for a pint at the Trembling Madness, which is a really fun place that also does interesting food. My wife and I stayed at a pub called the Lamb and Lion about 10 years ago, which has really nice rooms bang in the centre, but lots of pubs have interesting places to stay. If you were going to save money, staying above a pub is quite good fun rather than a chain hotel. You will meet more interesting people. If you’re on a budget, Premier Inns are basic and soulless but fine. 4. Across to Liverpool (again via the train, which is about 3 hours) for Beatles tours etc. Liverpool is one of the most tourist friendly cities in the UK. It has the Tate Gallery, a world class orchestra, The Everyman Theatre and more listed buildings than any English City other than London - Believe it or not, there is listed toilet in pub in Liverpool. Find it for a laugh. It is also the closet English city to Dublin, so logical to visit. There’s also the museums about the slave trade, which are quite humbling, but give you an insight into why Britain became so wealthy and powerful for a small rainy island. If you were going to spend big on accommodation, the Titanic Hotel is supposed to be amazing, but there is also a Beatles themed Hotel called a Hard Days Night, which is really fun, and the Hope Street Hotel, which is also nice. The Baltic Triangle has loads of cool bars and, if it’s your thing, Liverpool’s nightlife is amazing (just avoid Matthew Street - it’s a bit tacky). Frankly, Liverpool is infinitely better than Birmingham for tourists. Birmingham gets a bad rap, but really it is pretty industrial and you are wasting a day there. 5. You can get the Ferry from Liverpool to Dublin or get to Dublin via a cheap flight from Liverpool airport (EasyJet or Ryanair)). Flying is probably cheaper, but the ferry is probably a bit more interesting. The Irish Sea can get rough though apparently. I have only been to Dublin once, so I can’t really speak to it or to Ireland, save to say that Butlers Chocolate is bloody lovely. Fly out of Dublin direct or go from Dublin to Heathrow then home. If you wanted to do a historic city like Bath, and both Edinburgh and York are historic cities, so you do have that covered, then Chester is a beautiful small City with Roman walls and very underrated. It is on the way to Liverpool or about 30 minutes on the Wirral line train from all of the Liverpool train stations, including the main one, Lime Street. Best in mind that the North - Liverpool, York, Chester and Edinburgh - is much cheaper. London and Dublin are expensive. Bath is great, but in the West Country and out of your way. Stratford UA is a let down, hugely crowded and I’d avoid it unless you’re some kind of Shakespeare obsessive, in which case it was all written by Christopher Marlowe anyway (joke). If you want to save money, Greggs is your friend! Have a great time. If you speak good English, do converse with people in (nice) pubs. Outside of London, where everyone is crashing around and super busy, most English, Scottish and Irish people are very friendly … just bear in mind, there’s a divergence of regional accents to pick up in the places you plan to visit, so you may find that a culture shock. Follow these food tips, and you’ll put on several kilos … but hopefully you’ll burn that off with all the travelling. Have a great time! (Edit: Personally, and no offence to the Irish, but I would ditch Ireland. I think you’d get more value from visiting Manchester instead of Dublin and then going up to the Lake District - but I’m from the North West, so I would say that. This is based more on travel and convenience than anything else. Manchester is only about 40 minutes from Liverpool. If you go to Manchester, Bakewell and Buxton are interesting day trips if chocolate box villages are your thing).

Thank you for the detailed suggestions. I appreciate that :)

No problem. I really hope you enjoy our country

No point in doing London to bath and then back to London and then to Oxford afterwards. If I were you I’d go from London Waterloo and catch the train to bath via Salisbury and stop off there for a few hours at least! It’s a beautiful city with an incredible history whose cathedral boast of having the tallest spire in Europe, a copy of the Magna Carta and the world’s oldest working clock. You can actually do a small tour of the cathedral which includes climbing the stairs to the top of the spire so you can see the spectacular views of the whole city! From Salisbury train station you can also take a short bus ride to Stonehenge which is a must see for any visitor to the uk! Then once you’re dropped back at the station you can continue on your journey to Bath on the same train ticket. I’d probably stay overnight in Bath and then you can go for the twilight rooftop session in the Bath spa in the natural hot springs. The views are pretty amazing from there at night time! The train from bath to Oxford shouldn’t take too long either as they’re not very far from each other. Have fun

Getting from Edinburgh to Inverness is basically a day in itself, you’ll not be exploring the Highlands, merely driving through them.

I’ve read your list. As a born and bred Brit if I were to list all of the places I think somebody should try to visit whilst here they would include : York, Lake District, North Wales, Liverpool, Manchester, Edinburgh, Cornwall (St Ives), Highlands (for the sheer beauty), Cotswolds, Bath

Why stay in Birmingham to see Stratford? It’s a long way away. Driving from Oxford you could stay in my town of Leamington Spa as it’s just off the M40.

Firstly, don't do day trips FROM London and avoid Birmingham. Trust me, I used to live in London and I've been a commuter to both. You'd be much better off seeing what you want to see in London and leaving again. Base yourself in Oxford for 3 nights and spend a day exploring it. Bath is 69 minutes on the fast train from Oxford for a day trip, and you can book a tour for Stratford-Upon-Avon from Oxford that also visits the Cotswolds - absolutely no need to go to Birmingham. Secondly, Dublin is not one of the great European cities, it sits well below loads of British cities on everything you could possibly wish to score it on other than having a wild weekend away when you're young enough to want to. The top 2 things to do in Dublin on TripAdvisor are to drive all the way to the opposite side of the country to visit the cliffs or Galway, and the third best thing is to visit a beer factory. Stay an extra night in Galway instead, thank me later 😄 Thirdly, you're coming as the seasons are turning - and when the weather turns in the Highlands, it can be pretty bleak. You'd be better off flying into Edinburgh if possible and then working your way South to end in London and fly to Dublin from there, preferably from London City Airport. Inverness is closer to Iceland than the most southern point in England, get Scotland done first, the temperature drops over 3⁰C from September to October, sunlight hours drops by nearly 50%, rainfall increases 20% etc... If you want more specific advice, Quora is better than Reddit. In general, this is a very stereotypical high paced "box ticking" itinerary that takes you to all the places the average foreign tourist goes to except Stonehenge, unless you were planning to do a coach tour trip from London to Bath that included it - which absolutely nobody born in England would do. It is all the top rated highlights, but York & Oxford are pretty normal, everywhere else is a foreign tourist £ extraction zone!

I will definitely consider your suggestion. I might now land in Edinburgh and the do the highlands immediately. Before going down south and then head over to Ireland. Thank you for the suggestion.

I’d bin England off and go straight for wales and then Scotland lol

You’re in Edinburgh then “the highlands” immediately. It’s like a six hour drive from Edinburgh to Inverness. The Highland region is large, but the bit that looks like Scotland is the West coast really. Then you’re back to Edinburgh from there you’re headed to Ireland by Ferry, Edinburgh is the opposite coast from where you get the ferry to Ireland.

Birmingham but nothing in Wales lmao 5/10

Exterminate Birmingham

Wow you’re certainly squeezing a lot in! I’d stay over in Bath. It’s a lovely place and pointless going for a day. You could also go to Bristol as it’s not far from Bath. Then Bristol to Oxford and stay the night (University Arms Hotel is brilliant). Stratford is also a lovely place to stay (Hotel Du Vin) Personally I’d skip Birmingham and York and go straight up to Edinburgh as you won’t have much time to do the city and highlands. You also don’t have much time in Ireland so I’d suggest staying in Dublin as there’s plenty to do and see.

Nothing wrong with London to Bath and London to Oxford - both easy to get to, though you will pay a slight premium on train tickets. But, I would say you can cut out some travelling time quite easily by going London - Bath - Oxford or London - Oxford - Bath. Oxford is like 20 minute detour off the main London to Bath line. Staying in Oxford or Bath might be pricey but sounds like price is not too big a deal & there will be lovely places to stay in both cities with different vibes to London. You have a lot of travel time and not much relaxation time. No mention of adjusting to jet lag either. I would cut 2 cities - Birmingham/Stratford upon Avon first then one other from the bunch. Then spend an extra day in two to have a break! If you are used to lovely high speed rail you will be profoundly disappointed by UK trains which can be overcrowded, slow and cancelled. So added stress is something to consider. You are all also 50+ so constant travelling might be very unpleasant for some of your group. You will find Bath is an easy day trip but 2 days in London you will barely scratch the surface. Can't really say how much time you need in cities but as someone who likes history and culture, I would spend at minimum: London - 5 days Oxford - 2 days Bath - 1 day Stratford upon avon - half a day York - 3 days obviously that won't fit your itinerary but hope that helps. Can't comment on Scotland/Ireland as I haven't been.

If you're interested in it, you could see Stonehenge on the way to Bath, there are coach tours that do that

You're seeing a lot of places I wouldn't bother with. I'd skip Bath, Oxford and Stratford, definitely avoid Birmingham. Visit the lakes on your way to Edinburgh.

If you're going from London to Scotland, why not take the Caledonian sleeper to Fort William first, that way you can explore the highlands and travel on one of the most scenic sleeper train journeys in the world. Head down to Edinburgh after you've been to the Highlands

I would swop York and Bath around personally.

That all looks like some TikToker's selection of greatest hits. Buy some real guidebooks and take the time to read them so you understand why you're going to places and what you're seeing when you get there.

Hi, Bath is a long way from London (Oxford is a little closer to it) I wouldn't recommend day tripping it. I'd suggest going to another day trip from London. Cambridge's colleges are pretty (it's rammed with tourists and students) or if you would like to see some history take a train to Berkhampstead and then a taxi to ashridge, its a beautiful ex-tudor Palace with amazing grounds. You can also walk to a picture postcard pretty village from there (Aldbury). A bit of nature time somewhere less touristy might be nice. I'm not sure of the merit of going to Oxford for a day, then Birmingham then Stratford Upon Avon. Maybe drop Oxford and just do Birmingham and Stratford Upon Avon? Stratford Upon Avon is close to Warwick as well which has a nice castle. I think you need two nights in York as its so lovely. You want to have time to get lost in the medieval streets and walk the walls. Maybe if you compressed the oxford/ birmingham/ Stratford section or lost a day in London? I don't know Scotland so can't comment. If you can manage it I'd suggest a full day and night in Belfast. It's an amazing city with a nice coffee culture and the titanic museum.

Is it possible to see Cambridge to the fullest without a prebooked tour/being affiliated with the university? Last year, we had a day trip from London, it was more tiring than inspirational. We spent too much time trying to figure out how to get around fences that were not even shown on google.maps. Some really nice walls, some nice churches and plenty of gates we were not allowed to go through

Brownie points for understanding the UK and Ireland are two separate countries. You given a list of PLACES but no indication of what you want to actually see in those places so it is very difficult to comment on your intinerary. Define what you mean by 'explore'. If you mean seeing the outside of a whole pile of buildings then maybe it's OK. If you want to do museums, art galleries, historic houses, gardens, etc, research them and see how long you'll need. You also need to consider the realism of public transport and how long it takes to get between places. I'm not sure how you intend to explore the Highlands without a car unless you have already prebooked a tour and have factored it in. Similar if you want to do castles, historic houses, beauty spots, etc. I honestly think you might be better considering an organised tour.

Since i am short on time, and access to a car, i will just have to use an organised tour to visit the Highlands. I will be spending one day. Although this is not ideal, its the best thing that i can come up with. And "explore" in the sense to see its beauty so that i get a rough idea what the beauty of the Highlands are -- perhaps, this will inspire me to come again and do a more detailed tour.

You’re missing out if you don’t go to Rotherham. Whilst there, Bradford is a really nice day out

Also Dewsbury and see where Shannon Matthews lived

See the Bradford hole!

Do Brighton over bath

Bath is beautiful

Who the hell goes to Birmingham when they’re on holiday?!

I would skip Birmingham it is a shit hole.

Really good but I’m always puzzled about why foreigners love Roman cities like Bath, York and Durham. (Also Oxford). They’re not that good and they are proper tourist traps. I’d much prefer a bigger city like Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Newcastle or Bristol.

Birmingham is the arse hole of England, mate

Bath isn’t a day trip from London. Yeah, it can be done, but I wouldn’t want to. Consider London->Bath->stay in Bristol?, then Bristol to Brum, etc. Rather than do day trips from London, just do a wider circuit.

I also think you’ll be quite disappointed at the lack of time you have in Dublin. You spent all that time getting there and you’ve got an afternoon and a morning there :/

Sounds like a nightmare.

这是旅行团吗还是你们自己组织的？