I think Scotland deserves its own trip to explore it properly. I would use that time to see somewhere in England--perhaps with good hiking/country walks--that you can't reach on a day trip from London. The Jurassic Coast or the Peak District come to mind for me but there are lots of possibilities.

I am a fan of Scotland but you can't just "do" Scotland in 2-3 days. You can go to Edinburgh for the 2-3 days. But I'd also recommend building in a day in York in between. And there's a lot to see in England too!

Cut back on London and add the extra days to drive around Scotland.

I'd do break it up and do this:

Day 1 - Morning train from London 2 hours up to York, overnight York. There are several hotels right near the train station. Lots to do there - the Minster (climb the bell tower), a walking tour (see the Shambles), walk around the wall, Betty's Tea Room for Fat Rascals (you'll thank me later...) and a real proper scone and Yorkshire clotted cream (better than you'll get in London).
Day 2 - Head to Edinburgh. Stay 2 nights in Edinburgh. Castle, underground tour, stroll around.
Day 3 - More Edinburgh.
Day 4 - Back to London.

The logistics are simple and you can enjoy two new places, York and Edinburgh.

Anonymous wrote:There’s so much to see in England and you say you love nature, why not rent a car and explore the Lake District and York, or Chester? Going just from London to Edinburgh will be great, but I think Scotland really deserves its own trip.

If you decide to explore the Lake District, get the smallest car you can rent. The roads are impossibly narrow with stone walls on either side.

Anonymous wrote:Hi! Heading to London for 10 days but have some time there to play around. If we went to Scotland for 3-4 days, what do you recommend? Two parents, one 14-year-old girl, we like nature and cities and great food. Plan was to take the train but I'm open to renting a car.

It's weird to say you're "adding" Scotland to "UK" trip. I guess that's like saying you'd add Illinois to a trip to the US?

We added Edinburgh to a London vacation and had a fantastic trip, there is so much to do. Especially for kids. We stayed at the Caledonian- a gorgeous hotel with spectacular views of Edinburgh Castle. It was a magical trip.

We did London and Scotland last year for spring break. We flew from London (via Luton Airport) to Inverness b/c it was cheaper and faster than the train and got us up into the Highlands.

We rented a car at the airport and visited the Culloden Battlefield and stayed in Inverness. We then spent a day visiting Loch Ness (the museum is cheesy but really well done) and driving back down to Edinburgh. It was gorgeous, and I wish we had more time. We stopped a bunch of times throughout the day, including at Glencoe to do a short hike.

We spent 2 nights in Edinburgh, visited the castle and explored. We then started our drive back down to Heathrow. We spent 2 nights in Leeds b/c DD wanted to see an special exhibit at the Leeds Museum. We also visited the Royal Armory, which was probably the nicest museum I've ever been to (and we've been to a lot and DH worked at the Smithsonian for years). 1,000% recommend.

We spent one more day driving back to London, returned our car, stayed at hotel near Heathrow and then flew home.

OP here - thanks for all the thoughts. I think we will still have time to do a couple of day trips from London so that is why I was thinking of adding Scotland on. It's seems really distinct? We could also fly to Ireland but I think we don't want to fly...I've been to Wales so checked that off the list.

There are so many parts of England you could do that I think would be more fun and closer. I love Cambridge and the surrounding area but tons of options. Scotland is good for hiking but you’d need a car and time to explore.

There’s so much to see in England and you say you love nature, why not rent a car and explore the Lake District and York, or Chester? Going just from London to Edinburgh will be great, but I think Scotland really deserves its own trip.

I would train to Edinburgh and take a day trip to Glasgow, too. That is about 35 minutes, by train.
Edinburg is very pretty. We did the walk to Leith, ate at Dishoom, etc. sounds like a great trip.

Take the train and stop off (for a night if it works) in York. Then I’d probably stay in Edinburgh and maybe do some day trips to Stirling etc (could maybe do the Jacobite steam train/bus trip if you are big HP fans).

Edinburgh is about 4ish hours on the train from London. It's not a bad ride. If you want to see the Highlands you probably want a car and they are quite beautiful. Edinburgh is pretty touristy, with a lot to do (the castle). It gets absolutely packed during August for the Fringe if that is when you are going.

There are a lot of different options from London if you want to spend a few days somewhere else, Scotland will be the farthest.

Anything specific? Nature and cities is pretty vague. You could go out to Cornwall or up to York, for instance. Food is probably best in London.

Hi! Heading to London for 10 days but have some time there to play around. If we went to Scotland for 3-4 days, what do you recommend? Two parents, one 14-year-old girl, we like nature and cities and great food. Plan was to take the train but I'm open to renting a car.