Preparing for UK Trip - Part 2

As I previously blogged, my wife and I started our work on a travel plan. The first thing we had to do was figure out where we wanted to go, then how we would get around, the level of lodgings we wanted, and where did we want to fly into, would it be better to fly open jaw or round trip into the same city. Eventually we settled on flying into and out of London Gatwick, since we could get direct flights on Virgin Atlantic or British Airways out of our home town. This gave us our first stepping stone. Now how to get around, this one was easy. Since neither of us wanted to drive we would plan to use the extensive train and public transportation systems.

Now we needed to figure out our destinations. This step took some time, in fact it was somewhat fluid up until yesterday when we decided to eliminate one of our cities and allocate the time to focus on Inverness instead. Always plan to go back if you missed it the first time. Since we've purchased all our prepaid items (see Budgeting for Travel: Creating a Travel Budget post), our rail pass, and made seat reservations for our longest trip, our plan has solidified.

As for our list of cities, we then took Rick Steves recommendation to try to spend two days in each stop when possible and to recover from the first couple days of jet lag in historic Bath. There seem to be a number of things to do in Bath that shouldn't be too overwhelming for us, especially considering we will be traveling with a 10 year old. We will be trying to keep it relaxed. Yet it will be important to see some of the major sites, roman spa, Royal Circle/Crescent, and nearby Stonehenge. While in Bath we will be staying in our first B&B, where we will get to try an authentic English breakfast.

After Bath we plan to head into London to catch our longest train ride, 8 hours to the gateway of the Scottish highlands, Inverness. I'm really looking forward to our time in Scotland as it is the land of my maternal forebearers (Carlisle, sept clan of Bruce Clan). On a side note, this will be one of the few opportunities I will have to wear my kilt (Black Watch tartan) outside of the Highland Games setting. While in Inverness we plan to see Culloden Battlefield (where the Jacobite rebellion was brutally put down), the Highland Museum, Loch Ness, and Urquart Castle. I also plan on trying locally distilled whisky (no "e"). Our lodgings will be another B&B, but this one will serve a traditional Scottish breakfast.

After two nights in Inverness we will be heading back down into the lowlands of Scotland to the crown jewel, Edinburgh. We will be staying in Edinburgh for 3 nights before returning to England. While in Edinburgh we plan on seeing most of the major sites (Castle, monuments, Parliament, etc...), some of the creepier tours (the Real Mary King's Close), and architectural features (old towne/new town). We will be staying right on the Royal Mile, however, this time it will be a four-star hotel. That means breakfast will be on our own since I wasn't willing to spring 15GBP extra per person. This shouldn't be a problem since there plenty of cafe's and pubs in the immediate area.

Next up, the return to England.



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