A Complete 14-Day Plan for the UK

This 14-day route is for travelers on a first trip to the United Kingdom who want England’s big names plus a slice of North Wales, linked by rail instead of a rental car. The pace is moderate: two or three nights per stop, one long train day every few days, and a lighter day after each. You’ll need intercity trains, the London Underground, local buses in Wales and Cornwall, and one shuttle bus to Stonehenge.

Days 1-3: London

Use three nights in London for the heavyweight collections and the royal-history core. The British Museum and the National Gallery are both free; go early to the British Museum for the Rosetta Stone before the crowds form around it, and give the National Gallery an afternoon for Van Gogh’s Sunflowers and Turner’s Fighting Temeraire. The Tower of London costs about £35 (US$45) and deserves a half day with a Yeoman Warder tour, while Palace of Westminster and Westminster Abbey sit across the road from each other; the Abbey charges around £30 (US$38), and Parliament offers … read more 👉

This 14-day route is for travelers on a first trip to the United Kingdom who want England’s big names plus a slice of North Wales, linked by rail instead of a rental car. The pace is moderate: two or three nights per stop, one long train day every few days, and a lighter day after each. You’ll need intercity trains, the London Underground, local buses in Wales and Cornwall, and one shuttle bus to Stonehenge.

Days 1-3: London

Use three nights in London for the heavyweight collections and the royal-history core. The British Museum and the National Gallery are both free; go early to the British Museum for the Rosetta Stone before the crowds form around it, and give the National Gallery an afternoon for Van Gogh’s Sunflowers and Turner’s Fighting Temeraire. The Tower of London costs about £35 (US$45) and deserves a half day with a Yeoman Warder tour, while Palace of Westminster and Westminster Abbey sit across the road from each other; the Abbey charges around £30 (US$38), and Parliament offers paid tours on Saturdays and during recess. Tap a contactless card on the Underground and the daily cap for central zones stops at about £9 (US$11).

Days 4-5: York

Trains from King’s Cross reach York in under 2 hours. Walk the city walls, about 3.4 kilometers and free, then spend the afternoon inside York Minster. On your second day, the National Railway Museum is free and holds Mallard, the fastest steam locomotive on record, and the Shambles is best seen before 9 a.m.

Days 6-7: Liverpool

About 2 hours 15 minutes by direct train across the Pennines, Liverpool brings maritime grit and music history. The Museum of Liverpool and the Merseyside Maritime Museum at the Royal Albert Dock are free. Walk Hope Street between the two cathedrals, the huge Anglican one and the circular Catholic one, and finish on Mathew Street for live bands at the Cavern Club.

Days 8-9: Chester, Llandudno, Conwy and Snowdonia

Break the journey west in Chester, where you can walk the full circuit of the Roman and medieval walls in about an hour and browse the two-level timber galleries known as the Rows. Another hour on the train gets you to Llandudno, a Victorian seaside resort with a pier and the Great Orme headland above the bay.

On day 9, take the Conwy Valley line to Betws-y-Coed and the Sherpa’r Wyddfa bus into Snowdonia at Pen-y-Pass. The Pyg Track to the summit of Yr Wyddfa (1,085 meters) takes 5 to 6 hours round trip. Ride back via Conwy, 15 minutes from Llandudno by bus, for the castle and the walled town at dusk.

Days 10-11: Bath and Stonehenge

The trip south to Bath takes about 5 hours, so do nothing ambitious that evening beyond the Royal Crescent. Next morning, see The Roman Baths at opening; tickets run about £22 to 30 (US$28 to 38). Then ride the train 1 hour to Salisbury and the shuttle bus to Stonehenge, where advance entry costs around £28 to 35 (US$36 to 45). Book a timed slot to avoid the midday tour-coach peak.

Days 12-13: St. Ives and the Penwith Coast

Another long rail day takes you to St. Ives, with the last 4 kilometers on a branch line from St Erth that runs along the bay. The town’s light drew painters for a century, and Tate St Ives and the Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden show why. On day 13, take the bus to Penzance and on to Porthcurno Beach for pale shell sand below the Minack Theatre, an open-air stage cut into the cliff; the coast path to Land’s End runs about 5 kilometers from here.

Day 14: Back to London

The direct train from Penzance to Paddington takes about 5.5 hours, with a short connection from St. Ives. Sit on the right heading east for views of the estuary at Dawlish.

Before you leave Cornwall, catch the 20-minute bus from Penzance to Mousehole, a tiny granite fishing village where the harbor wall nearly closes around the boats.