Help!! Trip to London-York-Edinburgh

[FOV]

Hi all! Hope you don't mind my "crashing" the UK community boards to ask for some advice...

We are planning a trip to London-York-Edinburgh in November. We got great airfare Boston-LHR $95 each way on British Air and could not pass it up! We are 2 adults and 2 kids ages 5 & 9. Here is a loose itin:

1. Spend first 4 nights in London. Considering staying at County Hall Travel Inn on the Thames near the London Eye. Doing the usual tourist stops - London Eye, Tower of London, Brit Museum, Hamleys, Harrods, Madame Tussauds .......

2. Taking the high speed train from Kings Cross to York and spending 2 nights. Looking for a B&B. We will be visiting the Jorvik Viking Center and the Train Museum.

3. High speed train to Edinburgh and spend 2 nights. Considering staying @ Dalhousie Castle, which is about 15 minutes outside of Edinburgh. We thought the kids would enjoy staying in a "real" castle - (our kids think Cinderella Castle at MK is a real castle!) Last day take BMI Air from Edinburgh to LHR and then catch our 7pm flight to Boston.

Any comments, thoughts, advice?

Thanks!

 

[WDWfan uk]

That airfare is unreal!!!!! Your plans sound great to me ! November can be a very cold month, but I know Boston in Winter can get VERY cold so you'll not be bothered about that ?!
Will you be here for November 5th? You may already know , this is Bonfire Night - maybe you can enjoy an organised display in whichever city you are in.

BTW, you are very welcome to post on the UK Boards any time !

 

[FOV]

Thank you, WDWfan UK!

We will be there Nov. 24 - Dec. 2. Too bad we will miss bonfire night. Sounds like fun!

 

[MickeyMcMouse]

Hi Fov

We live in the Scottish Borders, just half an hour from Edinburgh.

Its a great city, with plenty to do and see ( Don't forget Edinburgh Castle itself which is magnificent. )

Check out these sites

Dalhousie Castle

Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh Castle Pics

enjoy

David

 

[Sian]

You will find Bed and Breakfast in central York quite expensive - a family room in a hotel might be just as cheap. Check this site out as an example www.dairyguesthouse.co.uk I have never stayed there but pass it on my way to work each day and it looks nice and is within walking distance of the Jorvik Centre and the Railway Museum. Also look at Travel Lodge and Quality Hotel York for comparison. PM me if you want any more specific York information.

 

[Olaf]

Tell me more about that airfare. How did you find that?

 

[richard3330]

OMG - That airfare is too good to be true! We're flying in to Boston to go skiing this December and I wish we had got an airfare like that!

Have a great time. There is going to be so much to do!

Richard.

 

[FOV]

Originally posted by Olaf
Tell me more about that airfare. How did you find that?

I purchased these tickets back in February. I am on BA's email list to receive specials etc.. One day they sent me an email advertising the $95 one-way fare to London and I booked it 10 minutes later! I am on just about every airlines special email list - it's the best way to hear about low fares.

Sian - I will send you a pm. Thanks!

Mickey McMouse - thanks for the links with the great pics! I am really looking forward to touring Edinburgh Castle! Do you have any comments on Dalhousie? Would you recommend staying there a night or 2?

Richard - I live in a suburb of Boston - let me know if you have any questions! Where will you be skiing?

 

[Goofyish]

"High Speed Train"!! - didn't realise we had them in the UK

 

[FOV]

Goofyish - Would you care to enlighten me? Your smiley face would indicate you are being sarcastic but I would love to hear the "real" scoop!

We have "high speed" service from Boston to NYC and the performance has been spotty - has that been your experience in the UK? I always heard the European / UK lines were more reliable than the train service we have here in the States...

Inquiring minds want to know!

 

[Dimplenose]

I wouldn't confuse the European rail system with the British one. We do have fast trains in that they only make a few stops between cities, but I believe (and someone can correct me if I'm wrong) that our rail network isn't good enough to run the true "high speed" trains that are found on the continent.


Libby

 

[boleynbarmy]

I see you are doing the tourist route of London, what are your interests, pick a museum that may suit your interest rather than just say the British Museum, November is always a quiet time for Tussauds so should be no wait to get in. My wife makes people see St Pauls Cathedral. Go on a tour bus early on in your visit have a look at what you want to do rather than what you think you might want to do. Plan your trip like we plan a holiday to Disney.

Dave

 

[FOV]

Hi BoleynBarmy-

I actually have planned our Britain trip like we plan our WDW trips - I just didn't post all our plans because I would still be typing - lol! We booked in Feb. so that gives us a whole 9 months to research! Here are a few of the things we have planned - any other advice would be most welcome:

DH and I visited London before the kids and we love the city! We are definitely planning to do a bus tour our first full day in London. We have been reading tons to the kids (Harry Potter, Great Expectaions, Robin Hood, Mary Poppins, Peter Pan, The Wind in the Willows, the Narnia Series etc...) We have also been reading books on the history of the monarchy (particularly Henry VIII. Mary Queen of Scots, Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth and King George III.) My daughter has specific exhibits she would like to see pertaining to some of the reading we have done. The British Museum has a great kids website, as does the Tower of London. These sites have been invaluable as far as educating us before we leave - it will be nice to understand what we are looking at!

There was also a wood carver who worked on many of the pews of the British cathedrals and he would carve a mouse in the detail work as his personal signature. How cool! We would love to find one of those mice! I think there is one at York Minster.

We are looking forward to going to Kensington Palace to see the ceremonial dress exhibit because we have been doing some research about the collection.

Of course my 5 y/o son would just love to see the Princess Diana Peter Pan playground. We'll try to stop there some afternoon even if it is freezing - afterall we are from Boston and we're used to poor weather!

We love the theatre and are planning to see The Lion King one night and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang another night.

In Edinburgh we are looking forward to seeing the statue of Greyfriar Bobby as my kids really enjoyed that story.

Oh my gost - this message is waayyy too long! See - there was a good reason why I didn't share everything with you in my first post!