Walking tours in the United Kingdom

Most visitors, including travellers from the United States, Canada, Australia and Europe, do not need a visa for a stay of up to six months, but they do need an electronic travel authorisation. It costs £20, lasts two years or until your passport expires, and covers multiple visits; apply online or in the UK ETA app. Decisions usually arrive within a day, though you should allow up to three working days, and you must have the confirmation email before you travel.

The UK is expensive in London and easier on the wallet almost everywhere else. Glasgow's Kelvingrove, the cathedral and the Necropolis are free, Edinburgh's national museums charge nothing, and London's big museums are free, so the paid entries are a short list: £37 online for the Tower of London and £23.50 online for Edinburgh Castle against £26 at the gate. Rail fares swing more than anything else, with advance singles from £41.40 on the London to Edinburgh route versus walk-up prices decided by how early you book.

For a first trip, London, Edinburgh and Glasgow cover the capital's set pieces, Scotland's medieval Old Town and the best of Victorian Britain between them. Add Inverness if you want the Highlands alongside your city time, York for a walled Roman town on the way north, or Oxford for a day out from London. Belfast and Cardiff each work as a base for their own separate trip.

The best months for a UK trip are late spring and early autumn, when daylight lasts well into the evening, the crowds are thinner than in high summer and hotel rates are lower. July and August are the busiest and most expensive weeks, and festival season fills Edinburgh, so book early if those dates are fixed. Winter is quiet and cheap, with short days and the odd weather-related train cancellation.

The UK is easiest to cross by train. The rail network links the cities on this route without a car, and Advance tickets go on sale about 12 weeks ahead at a fraction of the walk-up price; on LNER routes, buying at least four weeks early saves an average of up to 47%. A 26-30 Railcard costs £35 a year and takes about a third off most fares. Coaches are cheaper and slower, and a hire car earns its keep only in the countryside, where the rail lines thin out.

The UK uses pounds sterling, and cards and phones are accepted almost everywhere, from pubs to ticket machines. In London you can tap a contactless card straight through the ticket gates on the Tube and buses, and the fares are capped automatically by day. Keep a little cash for the odd market stall.