Well plans for our UK/Baltic cruise trip are almost complete so I thought I’d post our itinerary here so that if anyone has any MUST-DO’s we can add them to our list.
Fri 18th June – LOOOOONG flight to London
Sat 19th – Wed 23rd June – London (British museum, Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, Hampton Court, Globe Theatre, London Eye, Museum of London, Madam Trussards)
Thurs 24th June – Transfer to Harwich to board Jewel of the Seas for 12 night cruise
Sat 26th June – Copenhagan, Denmark
Mon 28th Jun – Stockholm. Sweden
Tues 29th Jun – Helsinki, Finland
Wed 30th – Thurs 1st July – St Petersburg, Russia
Fri 2nd July – Tallinn, Estonia
Sun 4th July – Gothenburg
Tues 6th July – Back in England. Pick up motorhome. Visit Jimmy’s Farm. Drive to Portsmouth
Wed 7th July – Porstsmouth (HMS Victory, Spinnaker Tower
Thurs 8th July – Bath (Roman Baths), Stonehenge
Fri 9th July – Kennilworth Castle, Warwick Castle
Sat 10th July – Chatsworth House (overnight at Buxton)
Sun 11th July – York
Mon 12th July – Wensleydale Creamery (love their cheese), Lake District (World of Beatrix Potter?, Hilltop Farm, Grasmere gingerbread), overnight Keswick
Tues 13th July – Cumberland Pencil Museuum, Hadrians Wall, Gretna Green, Meet up with my Dad
Wed 14th July – Edinburgh Castle, Holyrood Palace
Thurs 15th July – Stirling Castle & Monument, Bannockburn
Fri 16th July – Loack Katrine, Callander
Sat 17th July – Glen Coe, Kevin flies home
Sun 18th July -Glen Coe
Mon 19th July – Glenfinnan Monuement, Loch Ness Visitors Center, Urquart Castle
Tues 20th July – Dunrobin Castle, Drive to John o Groats
Wed 21th July – Day trip to Oarkney Island (tour booked)
Thurs 22nd Drive to Ullapool
Fri 23rd Culloden, 3 night at Rothiemuchus estate
Sat 24th – Sun 25th – ??
Mon 26th July – Arheolink Prehistory Park
Tues 27th July – Haddo House (where my Dad was born during WWII), Castle Fraser
Wed 28th July – Scottish Border area
Thurs 29th July – Bolton Abbey, overnight Skipton
Fri 30th July – Drive to Cambridge
Sat 31st July – Return motorhome, transfer to London Heathrow for flight home.
The Orkneys are awesome – you will love them!
Wow, what a fabulous trip you have planned there!
I think the things you have planned to see and do in the UK are fabulous – my only concern would be the timeline you have set yourself. Having been to almost all of those places – and lived near many of them – I’m concerned that you might not be allowing enough time for traveling and sightseeing – and resting. Traffic and roadworks in the UK can be DREADFUL – especially in Summer and hours of driving can be exhausting – as well as all the sightseeing – maybe adding in a day of rest might make it more enjoyable for all? Maybe extra time in a couple of places would allow you to see more of them and enjoy them more than seeing too much but only seeing it in a blur?
I don’t know, I guess I’m more of a ‘less is more’ type of person….lol…..I don’t think I could handle such a stressful trip 😉
But you are going to see some amazing things and I’m sure you’ll have a fabulous time – my advice would just be to be flexible about your schedule!! Have fun!!
Hi Jane,
We had originally planned 3 weeks in England and 3 weeks in Scotland but when we changed our plans to include the cruise we had to condence England (in addition to London) to one week. We have been before so know a bit what we’re in for. Most days we only have around hours driving – which will do first thing in the morning planning to arrive at attractions when they open at 10am. Having our home go with us will at least save us packing and unpacking each night. Once we get to Scotland things are a bit more relaxed and we have a couple of easy/relaxed days. We’ve done a bus tour and know how much they pack into each day – this will be nothing compared to that :-). Thanks for your input. If we had more time I’d definitely be doing things differently. But I also know I’ll be back again one day :-).
Libby
I meant to add we’re also used to driving long distances in Australia :-).
I hope you are going to blog while you are away. It’s such a long time for you to be away 🙂
Libby, that sounds like another amazing trip. I am very excited that you are going to the Baltic states. Gary’s family is Estonian and we have never been to Estonia (we got as close as Helsinki, but this was before Independence in Estonia and it would have been tricky!). Have lots of Esti fun in Tallinn.
The rest of the trip sounds great as well. The girls are going to see & do so much that their geography knowledge will totally impress their teachers 🙂
this looks amazing!
are you a diana gabaldon reader?
wow wow wow! What a trip! Looks like it’s going to be fabulous!!! I can’t even imagine being away for that long, you are very brave! 🙂
wow amazing trip, i havent been to half of them places and i live in the UK lol, i havent even been to skipton (the home of attic 24) and its about 30 mins drive lol