In August/September 1998 we went to England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, and France for almost 4 weeks. We saw a lot of the UK as we went nearly tip-to-tip and coast-to-coast. We included Dublin, Ireland and Paris, France as side trips since we were so close.
Using the London tour bus and Underground we saw all the London sights including a cruise on the River Thames to Greenwich. Using the city tour buses for a day or two is a very good way to start exploring a new city. It allows you to see the sites, and by the time you get used to being there you can start exploring off the beaten path.
While staying in London we were able to go to Paris, France using the Channel Tunnel (Chunnel) and Eurostar train for a (full) day trip. This allowed us to see the Eiffel Tower, Notre-Dame Cathedral, Opera House, cruise down the Champs-Elysees to the Arch de Triomphe, and have dinner across from the Louvre in a Paris sidewalk Café.
Leaving London we drove north concentrating on the eastern half of England. Here we saw sights along the way including a ton of castles and many small towns.
We continued north to Edinburgh, Scotland and saw the Edinburgh Castle, Royal Mile, Holyrood House, and toured Edinburgh Crystal. The northern most point was at Inverness, Scotland at Loch Ness.
As we returned south we crisscrossed to finish off the sites we wanted to see in order to get to Wales. In Wales we drove through the Cambrian Mountains and Snowdonia finally getting to Holyhead along the west coast.
At Holyhead we caught the ferry to Dublin, Ireland for a few days. Like in London, we used the Dublin City Tour bus to get around for all the sights. We had some very good food and walked quite a bit.
As we returned back to London we were able to travel along the western and middle portion of England. This was quite a bit to do,but it was pretty well planned and we know, for the most part, what we were going to do.
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