Family trip to Brittania - couple of questions

I'm exploring a spring break trip to GB (kids are middle school age). We'd fly to London and return from Glasgow, where the wife has family. First weekend would be in London and the second weekend in Glasgow. A couple of questions:

- any suggestions for places to go during the middle of week? I know that's a pretty general question as there is a LOT to see and do, and five days is not much time at all, but any suggestions would be appreciated. We like to be active and love history, if that helps. The kids have never been to the country. We plan to see the Harry Potter studio on the way out of London, as the kids would otherwise disown us. Other than that our plans are wide open.

- do you recommend renting a car or relying on rail? Keeping in mind that we'll likely be exploring various places in the middle of the country during the week.

TIA

Have you driven in the UK before? It flips a lot of people out, but if you can handle it, I say rent a car, as it's the only way to get deep into the countryside, where England feels most English. That said, it will take much longer to drive from London to Glasgow than Google maps tells you, unless you take motorways all the way, which isn't really worth it -- might as well train. Same if you are focused on major sites like Stonehenge and Stratford; just take trains and do excursions. I love most of the cathedral towns, Oxford and Cambridge, stately homes such as Blenheim and Chatsworth, and 'storybook villages' such as Lavenham and Lacock. Many options! Here's one: get yourself up to the borders via train, rent a car there and look at the Roman wall and some ruined abbeys.

Not sure when Spring Break is but quite a few attractions such as Chatsworth (I had this experience once with Blenheim) or Legoland doesn't open until March. Harry Potter studio tour will be open (unless you're going next week). I would suggest if you are traveling up the country Warwick Castle as a stop, and then perhaps head up north to York for a night or two. The Jorvik Viking Experience unfortunately was hit by a flood in 2015 won't open until April. There are so many things even just in London to see, and it might be easier as iwasmim said to forget the car and just use the trains.

One tip, however, if traveling by train take note that prices vary wildly depending on local vs. express trains and your departure time. "Rush hour" prices sometimes mean that the cheapest time to leave London is around 1.30 to 2.30, which leaves you getting into somewhere like Glasgow quite late. My family is from Glasgow, and when we needed to travel up there, we would take an overnight bus leaving London around 10pm and arriving at around 6.30 the next morning. So I would look into that option, too.

So much to choose from! And, while my family enjoyed Glasgow, Edinburgh is really the more beautiful city (and a short train ride from Glasgow), so add that to the list of too-many-options. Harry Potter Studio Tour is a lot of fun (book tickets in advance, although it's probably less busy now than it was in summer). Beyond that, maybe you should ask the kids what they most want to see -- for example, Stonehenge or Shakespeare's Birthplace or Oxford/Cambridge or London museums / neighborhoods. Since there is so much to see and never enough time, it may make sense to focus on their interests as you plan your itinerary. Good luck and enjoy the trip!

You can also fly fairly cheaply to Glasgow from one of the discount carriers. I'm seeing fares on Ryanair of $28-$35 per person midweek in April. You'll pay more for luggage and frills.

SOMSD schools spring break is in April and I suspect area private schools also, although I don't know that for a fact.

We drove from London to Edinburgh this past August. Departed London on Saturday, arrived Edinburgh on Thursday. In between we stayed in Bath, Stratford-upon-Avon, York, and the Lake District near Windermere. Along the way visited Stonehenge, The Cotswolds, Transport Museum in Coventry, and of course sightseeing in each town. We also spent two days each in London, Edinburgh, and Glasgow. We ditched car in Edinburgh and took train from there to a Glasgow.

We gave ourselves 2 days in London to take it easy, rest, and get acclimated to left hand driving world before getting behind the wheel. We always try to do this when renting car in UK. We find it helps cut down on those " oh s--t!" moments when you forget and try to drive on the right.