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How many days in the UK? 8 days from London to the Scottish Highlands
By Tony Panopoulos · travel-agency planner in Greece · Updated
Britain is best done by train, north from London along one of Europe's fastest main lines. Give it eight days: three in London, a day each in Bath and Oxford, a day in walled York, and two in Edinburgh, one of them out in the Highlands. Book train tickets 8-12 weeks ahead: an advance fare from London to Edinburgh can be a third of the walk-up price.
Short answer
Six days covers London, Bath and Edinburgh with a fast train between them. Eight adds Oxford, York and the Highlands without rushing.
The 8-day plan, day by day
Day 1: London: Westminster and the South Bank
Morning. Start at Westminster Abbey (about £30) at 9:30 opening, then walk past the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben to Buckingham Palace, where the guard changes at 11:00 on set days.
Afternoon. Cross Westminster Bridge to the South Bank and walk east along the Thames past the London Eye to Tate Modern (free) in the old Bankside power station.
Evening. Cross the Millennium Bridge to St Paul's Cathedral at dusk, then eat in Borough Market's streets or Covent Garden. A pub dinner with a pint costs £20-30.
Tap a contactless card or phone on the Tube and buses; daily fare caps (about £8-9 for zones 1-2) mean you never pay more than a day ticket.
Day 2: London: the Tower and the museums
Morning. Be at the Tower of London at 9:00 (about £35) for the Crown Jewels before the queues, then join a Yeoman Warder tour. Walk across Tower Bridge.
Afternoon. Take the Tube to the free British Museum for the Rosetta Stone, then walk 20 minutes through Covent Garden to Trafalgar Square and the free National Gallery.
Evening. See a show in the West End; day seats and the TKTS booth on Leicester Square cut prices to £25-60. Then eat in Soho or Chinatown.
Museums in London are free but popular exhibitions are ticketed; book timed slots online for the British Museum on busy weekends.
Day 3: London: markets, parks and Greenwich
Morning. Walk Notting Hill and Portobello Road (antiques on Saturdays), then cross Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park to the Natural History Museum (free) in South Kensington.
Afternoon. Take the Thames Clipper river bus east (about 40 minutes) to Greenwich for the Cutty Sark, the Royal Observatory and the prime meridian, with a view back to the City from the hill.
Evening. Return to Shoreditch in east London for street art on Brick Lane, curry or bagels, and bars in old warehouses.
Book the Royal Observatory online; the free view from the top of Greenwich Park is just as good.
Day 4: Stonehenge and Bath
Morning. Take the train from London Paddington to Bath (about 1h25), or a day tour that stops at Stonehenge on the way (advance tickets about £30-35, timed entry). The stones date back about 5,000 years.
Afternoon. In Bath, visit the Roman Baths (about £27-32), the best-preserved Roman bathhouse in Britain, and Bath Abbey next door. Walk 10 minutes to the Royal Crescent and the Circus, Georgian terraces of honey-coloured stone.
Evening. Swim in the rooftop pool of Thermae Bath Spa (about £40-50 for 2 hours), fed by Britain’s only natural hot springs, then return to London or stay the night.
Without a car, Stonehenge needs a train to Salisbury plus a tour bus; pairing it with Bath works best on an organised tour.
Day 5: Oxford
Morning. Take the train from Paddington or Marylebone to Oxford (about 1 hour). Visit Christ Church college (about £20), whose dining hall inspired Hogwarts, then the Radcliffe Camera and the Bodleian Library, with guided tours of its medieval rooms (book ahead).
Afternoon. Climb the tower of the University Church or Carfax for the 'dreaming spires', walk the Covered Market, and see the dinosaurs at the free Oxford University Museum of Natural History.
Evening. Have a pint at the Turf Tavern down its narrow alley, or go punting on the Cherwell in summer (about £30 an hour per boat). Then take the train to York (about 3h30 direct), or sleep in Oxford.
For the Cotswolds instead, Moreton-in-Marsh is 30 minutes by train from Oxford, with buses to Stow-on-the-Wold.
Day 6: York
Morning. Walk the free city walls, 3.4 km of medieval ramparts, from Bootham Bar to York Minster (about £20), one of northern Europe’s largest Gothic cathedrals; its central tower has 275 steps.
Afternoon. Wander The Shambles, a crooked lane of overhanging timber houses, then visit the Jorvik Viking Centre (about £16-18) or the free National Railway Museum behind the station.
Evening. Take the LNER train from York to Edinburgh Waverley (about 2h30), along the Northumberland coast past Berwick. Sit on the right for the sea.
Afternoon tea at Bettys in St Helen’s Square costs about £30-40; weekday mornings have the shortest queue.
Day 7: Edinburgh: castle and the Royal Mile
Morning. Book a 9:30 slot at Edinburgh Castle (about £20-23) for the Scottish crown jewels and the Stone of Destiny; the One O'Clock Gun fires daily except Sundays. Walk down the Royal Mile past St Giles' Cathedral.
Afternoon. Visit the Palace of Holyroodhouse (about £20) at the foot of the Mile, then climb Arthur’s Seat, the 251-metre extinct volcano in Holyrood Park, in about 45 minutes.
Evening. Eat in the Grassmarket under the castle rock or in Stockbridge, and go up Calton Hill for the night view. A plate of haggis, neeps and tatties is about £14-18.
In August, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe triples hotel prices and fills every room; book months ahead or visit another month.
Day 8: Highlands day: Glencoe and Loch Ness
Morning. Join a full-day coach tour (about £60-80, 12 hours) past Stirling and across Rannoch Moor to Glencoe, the valley of the 1692 massacre.
Afternoon. Continue through Fort William, below Ben Nevis, Britain's highest mountain at 1,345 metres, and along the Great Glen to Loch Ness. Many tours include a boat trip to Urquhart Castle (about £20 extra).
Evening. Back in Edinburgh by about 20:00. Toast the trip with a dram of single malt in a whisky bar off the Royal Mile.
With more time, stay two nights in Inverness or on Skye instead; a day tour spends most of its hours on the coach.
Only have 6 days?
With 6 days, do three in London, one in Bath, and take the train from King's Cross straight to Edinburgh (about 4h20) for two days there. You lose Oxford, York and the Highlands.
Got extra days?
Extra days go best to the Isle of Skye, the Lake District around Windermere, Liverpool, the Cotswolds, or Cardiff and the castles of Wales.
Where to stay in United Kingdom
| Budget | Area | Why | Typical double/night |
|---|---|---|---|
| Budget | London Bloomsbury / Edinburgh Old Town hostels | Central beds near the British Museum or the Royal Mile. | £60-110 |
| Mid-range | London South Kensington / Bloomsbury | Quiet streets near the Tube and the free museums. | £150-250 |
| Mid-range | Edinburgh New Town / York inside the walls | Georgian guesthouses and B&Bs on foot from the stations. | £120-200 |
| Comfort | London Mayfair / Bath Georgian hotels | Classic luxury, or a townhouse near the Royal Crescent. | £300-600 |
Getting around
Use trains between cities: London Paddington for Bath and Oxford, King’s Cross for York and Edinburgh. Book advance tickets on the LNER, GWR or National Rail websites; a Two Together or 16-25 railcard (about £35) saves a third. In London, tap a contactless card on the Tube and buses. From Heathrow, the Elizabeth line reaches the centre in 35-45 minutes for about £13. Car hire is worth it only for the Highlands or the Cotswolds.
What to eat in United Kingdom
Have a full English breakfast once (about £10-14), and fish and chips from a chip shop, £10-15 a portion. A Sunday roast in a pub, with Yorkshire pudding and gravy, is a weekend ritual. London is excellent for curry around Brick Lane and Tooting, and for markets like Borough Market. Try a Cornish pasty, a cream tea with scones in Bath, and haggis and smoked salmon in Scotland. Pub meals cost £15-22. Tipping is 10-12.5%; many restaurants add it as 'service' on the bill.
Best time to visit
May to September, with long days (sunset after 21:00 in June) and highs of 18-24°C in London and 15-19°C in Edinburgh. Rain is possible in every month. July and August are busiest and dearest, with the Edinburgh Festival in August. Winter days are short, with darkness by 16:00.
Month-by-month weather for United Kingdom →
What a day costs
| Budget | Mid-range | Comfort | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bed (per person, sharing a double) | £40 | £90 | £200 |
| Food & drink | £30 | £55 | £100 |
| Sights & tickets | £15 | £35 | £60 |
| Local transport | £15 | £35 | £70 |
| Total per person, per day | about £100 | about £215 | about £430 |
Approximate 2026 prices in pounds sterling, including train journeys averaged over the trip; Edinburgh introduces a visitor levy of 5% on accommodation from July 2026.
Before you go
Common questions
Should I buy a BritRail pass?
Usually not for this route. A pass makes sense only if you travel by train almost every day and cannot book ahead. Advance single tickets from London to York and from York to Edinburgh, bought two to three months early, often cost less in total. Check both before you decide.
Do I need a visa or travel authorisation for the UK?
Most visitors who do not need a visa, including EU and US citizens, must now apply for an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) before travelling. It is done online or through the official UK ETA app, costs about £16, and is valid for multiple trips over two years. Apply only on the gov.uk website.
Is London very expensive?
Hotels are the big cost: expect £150-250 a night for a simple double. Many major museums and galleries are free, the daily fare cap keeps transport near £8-9, and supermarket meal deals cost about £4-5. Theatre and London Eye tickets are the main extras.
Is eight days enough for England and Scotland?
It is enough for London, Bath, Oxford, York and Edinburgh with a Highlands day tour. It is not enough for the Highlands themselves: Skye, Glencoe and the far north need three or four extra days with a car or a multi-day tour from Edinburgh or Inverness.
How this guide was made
Compiled by TonyPlan from official tourism, transport and attraction sources and on-the-ground travel knowledge. Prices are approximate for 2026 and change with season; anything we could not confirm is marked as approximate.
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