SusanDK

In the early 1980's, I vacationed several times in England, Scotland and Wales with a rental car and no itinerary, driving a bit each day and stopping at B&Bs without reservations for the night.

Is this type of travel still feasible today? I'm looking for suggestions for a week or two in the UK or Ireland, i.e. where to start, possible itineraries, places to stay. It would be sometime between mid-May and mid-July. I'm guessing the earlier would be the better but it may be pushing a bit to manage anything earlier than late-May / early-June.

By way of background, it will just be my husband and me, we will fly in from Denmark so could get direct flights either to London (all airports), Manchester, Edinburgh, Dublin, Birmingham. We've spent a few long weekends together in London during the past ten years so I'm not certain if we'll spend any nights in the city before or after hiring a car for a road trip if we do fly into London.

Husband may have a desire to head towards Lands End or possibly to fly into Edinburgh and travel a bit around Scotland. Neither of us has been to Ireland, so that's also a possibility.

We are very accustomed to long driving trips in the U.S. where we stop when we get tired and get a hotel, but we haven't traveled this way in the UK since the 80's (me on self-drive trips, husband on inter-rail and spent his summers in Hertfordshire when he was young because his grandmother lived there).

All input is welcome. Would this type of trip be suited to our spontaneous travel style?

For extra information, we're also fine with some hotel nights and have lots of various points with Hilton (Diamond), Marriott (Gold), IHG (Platinum) plus a few of the European programs where we have status via credit cards but no points and haven't really used them so are less familiar (e.g. Radisson, Nordic Choice, etc.). But the only advance reservations I can imagine making would be first/last night near whatever airport we fly into.

Thanks!

antichef

Yes, perfectly feasible. You are obviously prepared to take what you get.

I would say that there is even an advantage now over doing it in the 80's as the internet and mobile phone have made the location of B&B's/hotels etc with availability so much easier - so that you can locate likely spots very rapidly when you decide to start looking for a bed.

Tocsin

I agree - perfectly feasible if you are flexible. I suggest planning shorter daily driving distances than in the US and be prepared for UK motorway congestion (I found Denmark's roads very empty in comparison a decade ago). Itineraries would depend a lot on your interests - history? scenery? wildlife? If you've 'done' London, then it would make sense to fly in/out of other airports if the cost works out. Hope that helps a bit!

SusanDK

Thank you both!

As for interests, scenery for sure, coastlines, green areas. Charming towns, architecture, cafes - we love to walk so just finding an enjoyable place to see the local area for a bit on foot, then move on. Visiting castles, cathedrals, manor houses for the gardens and architecture. Also some history, e.g. really enjoyed the Rothschild Natural History museum in Tring but part of that was based on my husband's childhood memories there, so I wouldn't say our history interest is excessive.

We're thinking maybe southwest England - heading to Cornwall with stops in Dartmoor and Exmoor National parks and some coastal towns. Flying into LHR wouldn't be the worst choice because I imagine he may want to visit Tring again so at least LHR is on the west side of London.

The other option is flying to Edinburgh and doing an area of Scotland.

lwildernorva

I agree that technology makes this easier than years ago. It's even easier with a little advance planning while on the trip. I generally find that I can make a reasonable guess at the rough area I'll be in 48 hours ahead, and as long as you accept the possibly limited accommodations remaining, you should be able to move around easily. A second reason for looking 48 hours ahead--if it looks as if a particular area might be unusually busy, you can adjust your schedule a bit to go a little further or in a different direction to find a wider range of B&Bs.

jimlad48

Definitely doable, but a little research pays dividends. More remote areas in scotland are often fully booked - eg skye is effectively full over large parts of summer. Good b&bs can be booked up quickly.

I would suggest some booking ahead may be helpful in some areas.

rcspeirs

SusanDK

Thank you for the timelines. We will do our best to avoid the busiest time, ideally sometime between mid-May and mid-June. Worst case scenario is we'd have to go in July but I'm wondering then if we should stick to a London trip if that is the case. Not that London is easy in the height of the holiday period, but by that point hopefully the business people will be away.

We have timing challenges because we are in the process of selling a house and are not yet sure when we can take the break.

Tocsin

I'll put in a word for Scotland, then... Edinburgh itself has many iconic sights, and with transport you can head to either side of the country (if the weather is bad in the East, it's usually better in the West, and vice versa). Stirling Castle and Loch Lomond; Perth, Dundee, castles, whisky and the Cairngorms (though the A9 can be a pain to drive with heavy traffic). Skye can be problematic as mentioned, and roads can be even slower in Scotland - allow plenty of time for scenic views and wandering routes threading through stunning scenery.
Going South into England you have the border National Parks, lots of coastal castles (Berwick, Bamburgh, Dunstanburgh, Warkworth and Alnwick among others) and Hadrian's Wall. That's from memory, I've probably missed a few important locations...
Going to Cornwall would also be a good trip, but i'm not as familiar with that part of the country!

lwildernorva

Your post reminded me that the area south of the M8 from Edinburgh to Glasgow can be a very rewarding place to visit. On my fifth trip to Scotland in August 2014, I went from Girvan in the west down into Dumfries and Galloway all the way to the Solway Firth and then back up along the eastern coast to Edinburgh. Although the summer is a busy time in Scotland, I found it easy to find accommodations--mostly because tourists either go to one of the big cities or up into the Highlands. The scenery can be beautiful although certainly not as breathtaking as along the coasts and islands or up in the Cairngorms.

In addition, I've enjoyed my visits to North Berwick. It's out of the crush of Edinburgh, has a smart set of restaurants, and provides easy access to Edinburgh by its regular train service into Waverly station in about 30 minutes.

For the trip the OP has described where ease of finding accommodations at the last minute is a priority, I think a trip to the Lowlands might be worth three to five days with a couple of days in North Berwick thrown in for good measure.

SusanDK

Thank you for the detailed suggestions in Scotland! I was in Edinburgh in 1983 and attended the Tattoo which was an amazing experience. Friends and I also drove to Loch Lomond on that trip although I remember very little - I believe we stayed at a cabin on the west side more towards the south.