dobba

You could do a whole day at Warwick Castle. It depends what you are looking for.

Merlin (the owners of this and other theme parks such as Alton Towers/Chessington World of Adventures/Madame Tussauds etc) are more aligned with theme parks than historical attractions and I think this is reflected in the way Warwick Castle is run.

Historical info on the castle and rooms are much harder to come by than if you were visiting a National Trust property but there will be lots of activities/shows each day.

gkrnjlr

This is actually a tour that was put together as a full day tour offered from London.

MissJoeyDFW

The best day trip for the Cotswolds is Becky's Secret Cottage. You take a morning train to Moreton-In-Marsh. Becky sends her van around to collect you and it is off to her cottage for a cup of coffee and explanation of how the tour works. Because you are in small vans for the tour you will see a the Cotswolds up close and personal with plenty of time to enjoy the villages. You won't get that from a tour bus that has three other places on the list. The scenery you will see is just gorgeous and the hospitality is wonderful. I highly recommend this tour as your preferred way to enjoy the Cotswolds if you only have a day. The tour includes lunch, cream tea, a warm fireplace and a friendly dog who lives at the cottage. This tour books up quickly, it is necessary to pre-plan your dates.

http://www.cotswoldtourismtours.co.uk
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attracti...s_England.html

MissJ

Yeah, my reaction was "oh, that's okay...I guess". I was much more impressed by the countryside and some sheep on a picturesque, almost too green hill nearby. Guess it's nice to be able to say I've seen it, but I've had a lot more impressive side trips. Loved the Imperial War Museum, loved Cambridge, Oxford was cool, Hampton Court was fantastic. I've spent a ton of time in London for work and have ended up with dozens of weekends where I went out of the city. Driven down to Brighton, Southampton, Chichester, many others as well.

As for Dublin, I've had a lot of fun there and parts of the city are very beautiful. I found the people to be the best asset, they definitely were nice to me and a lot of fun. I was strangely mesmerized by their natural history museum... Or the dead zoo as it was called by someone I spoke to. I really enjoyed just wandering around the city and stopping at bars.

Jenbel

OK two days in Edinburgh... here's what I would do.

1) Edinburgh castle. It's expensive, but you kind of have to. Once done there, walk down the Royal Mile (you can be a masochist and walk up but that's why god invented downhill). ignore the tartan tat shops at the top, but there are one or two nicer craft shops towards the bottom. Some nicer cafes and restaurants as well (Wedgwood, Mimi's bakehouse, anything Turkish). Once at the bottom of the Mile then obviously...
2) Holyrood Palace and/or Scottish Parliament. Parliament really doesn't take long and it may be dull as a non-Scot, but does have a nice gift shop. Holyrood Palace is pretty good though and worth the time. If you want the weirdest royal gifts, there or Britannia are happy to oblige.

Day 2. Britannia is done well so worth a visit, but with not really anything else around it. But hop on/hop off buses make it easier. Try to spend some time in the New Town, as that's the architecturally nice bit. Of the museums and art galleries, it depends on what is on and what your taste is - I like the National Museum since the revamp, the National Gallery and the Portrait Museum (probably in that order, except I'm a wee bit obsessed with a Gainsborough in the Gallery but probably everyone else isn't). Go and have drinks in the Dome on George St. (I cannot emphasise this enough. It's amazing. Seriously. Bars should not be allowed to be that jaw-dropping - it's like a church (it actually used to be a bank)).

Other places to consider - Rosslyn Chapel. Climbing Arthur's Seat. Going out to the Forth Road Bridge and having lunch in South Queensferry (food options have improved there a lot recently). Glasgow. Jedburgh. North Berwick. Even St Andrews (although a bit of a pig). Botanic Gardens. Dynamic Earth.

No, you don't need a car in Edinburgh. In fact as a non-resident, your life will be immeasurably easier without them. Road layouts are 'quirky' and non-intuitive, parking is non existent and expensive and parking rules are arcane and not written down anywhere in the streets themselves. Lothian buses are the way to go - but when they say they don't take change, they really, really, really mean it. Really. There's no way to get change on board. So don't join the throng of tourists I see on my bus every day in summer boarding hopefully and waving £10 at the driver in the hope he'll magically be able to find some change from someplace... Day tickets (currently £4) are available and give unlimited tram and bus journeys (except from the airport).

flatlander

On Easyjet, "There is no weight restriction for cabin baggage. As long as you are able to place the bag into the overhead locker and get it out again without assistance then the bag will be accepted into the cabin."

Easyjet do check size, but as long as you are within the size you'll be fine if you board near the start of boarding. Near the end of boarding, there may not be room and your bag will be checked into the hold. So queue up early.

Easyjet also strictly allow only one bag; no additional laptop bag, handbag, purse, satchel, backpack, no nothing. Make sure your handbag, laptop, etc, fits in the main bag - unless you buy "Speedy boarding" in which case you get seat selection, a second small underseat item, and so on.

In my (extensive) Easyjet flying I have rarely seen anyone dinged for bag size if they weren't taking the piss, but I have frequently seen people challenged to reduce their bag count to one. Some passengers find the idea that a handbag is a bag to be a difficult one to accept.

jjmiller69

Thanks, we'll be staying at Dalkeith Palace with our Grand Daughter. She said no need for a car she will meet us at EDI.
Should have a report soon, she's got all the plans lol.

jjmiller69

We did have a great trip. The Castle tours are a must. Edinburgh Castle is THE best. Our Gran daughter has been over there for 3+ months and was our guide. She worked us hard 12 hrs X's 3 days once. We did take the rail and start at Stirling Castle and hit some more at stops during the return to Edinburgh.

I would suggest the guided tours. It's a City of 500K so it's not large but not small either. We used the bus day passes for a family of 3. Unlimited use for 8 #'s. I know it's the best bus plan I've ever seen, but I'm sure others do have similar. We have nothing like it in the Mid-West at the price and never waited more than 10-15min.

Enjoy there's a lot of tours and roaming the Royal Mile. The ladies loved shopping at the Primark store.

If your there on a Saturday you can take in a Soccer or Rugby match. They are very passionate about both. Gran Daughter saw the Highland games in August and loved them.

We spent 6 days and never saw a rain drop? We had expected rain and planned for it, maybe we just got lucky. But it is a very damp area being 30 miles from the North Sea. ps she loved the Highlands but said it's a warm weather thing.

thegrailer

For this and other similar comments --- see my post above. Stonehenge probably is a miss if one takes the normal tour behind the ropes. A Stone Circle Access visit is not walking around the ropes and looking from a distance. And since this topic is apparently being debated, I'll leave my comment as is (albeit -- have the "no go" folks been on an Access visit?)

Also, for those following along at home, 2 days was just about enough time for DUB.

Cheers