Where do people without cars holiday in the UK?

[Furrytoebean]

Me and dh have got rid of our car because

1. We both absolutely HATE driving
2. we don't need one because we live in the city
3. It saves us money.

On a day to day basis we are not affected at all, but we did used to go away a couple of times a year for weekend breaks in the car.

We've decided it would be nice to explore the UK by train but can only think of obvious places.
Does anyone know any fantastic holiday spots that are easily accessible by rail?

We're in the north east, but quite like a rail journey.

We can’t afford a car and can’t afford holidays either. The world runs on the assumption that every family has 2 kids and a car.

You can get to the Yorkshire Dales by train - it's the line that runs through Horton-in-Ribblesdale. Otherwise Scotland as others have said - both the west coast and the line up to Inverness have loads of scenic stops on them.

I’ve cycled round the inner Hebrides, on and off the ferries. Got a train up from London.
It was magical.

Glasgow to Mallaig is one of the most beautiful journeys I have ever been on, not just in the UK but anywhere.

@mattmagnolia, I'm a single parent, one child, I can't afford a car either, I don't have a lot of money for holidays, but I save hard, we stay in Youth hostels or wait for deals at Premier Inns. We have a railcard. If we plan ahead, book in advance I can get us to London for a tenner.
Last year a round trip to Liverpool, then to Edinburgh and back to the midlands cost me £50 return for the two of us. We make the most of the Premier Inn breakfast ( kids eat free) so we don't need to buy lunch and eat cheaply in the evenings eg fisn n chips.
Its not luxurious, but we have a lot of fun.
I don't begrudge people who can afford more their holidays

I'm also a single parent with one child. When she was wee and I could take her out of school easily I found it cheaper to go abroad out of season than travel in the UK. Agree that you have to plan and be on the lookout. A couple of times we got a week in Spain that cost us £120 including train to airport and back just by sitting on Skyscanner and waiting for prices to drop - stayed in a mate's apartment that she didn't want paying for but I bunged her a bit.

I have recently done Edinburgh and Cardiff by train from the south east with my 19/20 year old DD. Both were great, and we didn't leave either city once there.
My next plan is to go to Liverpool.

The £120 includes the bung btw. Have also done the tenner deals on train before. If you like tocs on social media the deals come up for you.

How about a coach holiday? One that will take you to several different places.

DH and I bought a rover ticket last year and travelled from Shrophire to North Wales and then down to Aberystwyth. We visited Llandudno, Anglesey, Criccieth, Devils Bridge and Aberystwyth before returning home. Could have gone to Portmerion but didn't realise it was only 1 mile walk from the railway. We also went on the steam train from Blaunau Ffestiniog to Porthmadog. Have just read that the Conwy Valley line has been washed out after Storm Gareth and is currently replaced by a bus service ufn - which is a shame as it is a very beautiful stretch of the line.

Scottish islands are doable by train! Get the sleeper to Thurso and go to Orkney. You land in Stromness and get the bus to Kirkwall and then you can get ferries to loads of little islands and just spend a holiday doing some walking and exploring. I've done it and it's great.

Or you could get the steam train across the Harry Potter viaduct all the way to the end of the line, then get a ferry to Shetland. (We hired a car in Shetland, but if you just wanted to do some wandering and walking, that's fine without.

(Anyone got any advice on good carless holidays to do with a three-year-old? DH has got way less keen on driving since we had DS, and I can't drive. Steam trains an added bonus as DS loves steam trains.)

We had our holiday in Edinburgh last summer, by train.

I love North Berwick.

I love travelling by train. OH and I had a fabulous city break to Carlisle last year by train, travelling via the scenic Settle Carlisle railway.

Not sure how much of the Yorkshire dales you would see if you were only restricted to trains though.

@cheerfulmuddler The Isle of Wight is accessible by train, quick ferry from Portsmouth then tube trains run down the East Coast. There's a steam line too. Great for a 3yo - we loaded up the buggy and went 2 years in a row!
Isle of Cambrae also accessible and great with kids, 10 min ferry from Largs, regular trains from Glasgow.

We found a lot of the south-west is quite doable without a car. St Ives is great as there is a good bus network from there, and you can get there by train (change at St Erth for the branch line). Looe is also a good option if you don't mind walking/boats to visit other places (we never went on a bus there). South Devon and Falmouth both looked very doable.

Bournemouth and that part of the south coast also an option - places like Brownsea Island are very easy without a car.

The inter island ferry service is better than the ‘mainland’ bus service to be honest, Cheerful!

Is there a section of line that you can be on a steam train for hours, or are they mostly 30 mins/1 hour? I follow a nice steam train fb page, Tallyn railway I think it’s called, but I’ve never been there. I think it was the inspiration for Thomas the Tank (maybe I made that up?!)

The New Forest is trainable

I'm guessing you want somewhere a bit further than the NE, but there's a station at Alnmouth and good bus services up and down the coast

How are you for cycling? Station + 5 mile pootle on a bike will open up a load of places.

We did the Lewis & Harris (via Skye) by train/bus/ferry, it was fun! You get used to going at a slower pace on the islands, particularly if you're restricted to there only being 6 buses a day. You also get the bonus of travelling on the Glasgow-Mallaig line, voted one of the most scenic in the world if you plan your route correctly

3out the Talyllyn railway is off the Cambrian coast line (I can't remember which station you get off at) - it's probably 60-90 mins to travel the whole thing but you can walk between some stations and make a day of it. It is mentioned in Thomas the Tank Engine

Ok so I think we're going to get a train to magail and do the islands around there.
It's not a cheap option though, tallying it up and it's costing the same as our last holiday abroad

I'm loving these suggestions off everyone.

Does anyone know of any good travel blogs of people without cars? I would really like to read about other peoples carless holidays and then copy them

I've always fancied wales too.

When people have rovers what do they do? Do they book the accommodation in advance?

If you can find them the TV series Great British Railway Journeys with Michael Portillo was excellent, and made us want to up sticks and tour Britain by train.

Oooooh that sounds like a good shout! I love watching programmes about places before I visit them

I recommend Isle of Wight if you have DCs. You can get to Ryde easily on public transport and just mooch about there or get buses around the Island.

TBH being on holiday without car is perfectly fine as you have no deadlines. Its when you have to start getting to work on time etc that the trouble starts.

Just get a ticket to Ryde