Can someone help plan my route driving from London to Edinburgh? Anything we MUST see on the way?

Question

Hi there
My boyfriend and i are spending Christmas in Edinburgh. We are driving from London on the 23rd December and since we are from South Africa we have no clue which is the best way to drive where we will get to see some really nice things along the way, maybe some beautiful castles or something. We don't want to stop over for long anywhere, but just maybe 1 or 2 things on a particular road on the way up we should definitely pass and visit. Stop for lunch or something. Thanks!

Answer 1

I would have said the A1 road all the way - it goes past or near York (One of Britain's top cities for tourist interest), Durham (with the finest and most spectacularly sited cathedral in Britain), Alnwick (with it's castle) and Holy Island (Lindisfarne). Trouble is, as you seem to be proposing driving 400 miles in one day, you are going to have little or no time to see anything! Especially as it will only be light from around 0730 to 1600.
Have you considered the train for this journey? They run at least every hour all day, generally take less than 5 hours for the journey and you could easily stop off and spend a few hours at, say, York or Durham. Sounds rather less stressful!

Answer 2

Once out of North London onto the M 1 motorway, continue north and join M 6 Northbound ( Junction 19 ).
A long way ahead on the M 6 try turning off at ( Junction 38 ) named TEBAY and a few miles along the" B class "road (B6260) you will come to a picturesque old tiny village called ORTON. There is a very nice tearooms / cafe there (only open daytimes) built in old stone and surrounded by beautiful Cumbrian countryside !
A good idea is to buy an A.A.maxi scale atlas of Britain from WHSmith or any good bookstore.
Try to avoid buying food and drinks at motorways services as they are very overpriced. From M 6 at Carlisle (Junction 44) join the A 74(M) up to Junction 8 at Stonehouse then A 71 into Edinburgh. Have a nice journey. Take care.

Answer 3

Come up the A1/ A1(M). Holy Island in Northumbria is nice, got a castle and stuff. East Lothian is the best part of the drive (you'll see signs for Haddington, East Linton and Dunbar) but you're nearly at Edinburgh by that point, so I guess you won't want to stop.
Edinburgh is fabulous right now, be sure to go on the big wheel in Princes Street. Have a wonderful time.

Answer 4

Drive up the M1 to Leeds then get on the M62 and head towards Liverpool. Just as you get to Manchester head north on the M6 and drive up to Cumbria and the Lake District. Castles and country houses all over.

Amazing scenery and well worth the little diversion.

Keep going north up to Carlisle then head towards Edinburgh through the county of Larnakshire. Its a great drive and much more interesting than the one up the A1 on the east which I have always found very dull and uneventfully.

Hope you both enjoy your stay in the UK and safe motoring.

Answer 5

M1
Onto the M6 at J19
Onto the M6 toll road (well worth the £3.50 to avoid Birmingham traffic)
M6
M74

Carry on up the M74 to just south of Glasgow
M8 to Edinburgh

I've checked out a few of the places I like to visit (like Woburn Abbey and Drumlanrig Castle), but they are closed just now, so I'm kind of stuck on the sightseeing bit.

Edinburgh Castle is great and is open all year round:

http://www.edinburghcastle.biz/index.html

But ceud mile failte (a hundred thousand welcomes!) when you get here. You'll have a wonderful time I'm sure. If you bump into my kids be sure to say hello!

Answer 6

yes keep a good eye on the traffic in front of you and then you should arrive there safely it gets darker earlier the further north you go. go up the M1 and then follow the east coast road if you want scenery . also the road condition get bad if it get cold up north so if you keep your whits about you you should have a safe journey

Answer 7

why dont you stop at all the motorway gas stations, then spend the christmas in hospital