Can you actually go on holiday without having a car

[AL75]

I was wondering if I can get some advice as I am feeling very low at the moment. Basically I suffer from anxiety and although I can drive I only drive to areas I know and am comfortable with which are limited and never been on the motorway because I have a phobia although I am quite a good driver. With what is going on with the pandemic everyone is looking to go on holiday inland but it seems to me that it is impossible to get anywhere if you aren’t going with your car. Even if you do find a place to stay for example and you initially get there by cab, you may still need transportation to go to see sites etc. Is there anywhere I can go to where everything I need is there with short walking distance? I feel like such a failure as a mum as I can’t take my 12 year old child places and feel stuck :(

Get to Birmingham just over an hour from London

Train from Birmingham to Llandudno. Llanduddno has a pier, cable cavt and steam train, the Great Orme, Copper Mine, adventure centre.
Open top bus from Llandudno to Conwy for the castle, city walls walk, boat trip from the city harbour, some great fish n chip shops, lovely ice cream
From Llandudno junction you can get the train to all the resort towns on the coast. With a bit of planning, get the train to Bangor, and then you can pick up a bus to Beaumaris on Anglsey.
we have also got the train to Porthmadoc, picked up the Ffestiniog steam railway to Ffestiniog and the Llechwed slate mines where there is loads to do.

I drive but I've never taken my car on holiday. I prefer to travel by train so Dd and I can chat and do things together.

A few years ago we went to Glasgow and Edinburgh. We flew from Norwich to Edinburgh, got a coach from Edinburgh Airport to Glasgow, walked to our Premier Inn. We were there for the European Championships and shared the hotel with the synchronised swimmers which she loved. We walked to the arena for gymnastics and to the science centre. Got a bus to Intu Brae head and went sledging, did the high ropes course and made chocolate. Trained to the synchronised swimming comp. Then trained back to Edinburgh, got a bit lost finding the uni halls we were staying in, walked to the diving competition and completed Arthers seat, got the bus the next day to Edinburgh Zoo then bused to the airport for our flight home.

Sometimes it's a bit worrying if you are going away as only one adult and children but with the internet you can plan most things in advance, even walk routes using goggle maps. I'd planned everything in advance for our Scotland trip as I'd never been before and it was brilliant.

Most traditional seaside towns are set up for people coming by train as that's how people always used to travel. I live near Gt Yarmouth and I know our local coach companies do pickups from the town and holiday parks to take tourists to sights and attractions more difficult to access without a car.

this year we are going to the Isle of Wight

train from Waterloo to Portsmouth Harbour, walk up the platform and down the ramp to get the ferry to Ryde. You could stay in Ryde.
We are getting the train from ryde pier to Shanklin. Lots of to on I of W and easy to get around on the bus.
We are stopping the first night at the Premier Inn next to the Historic Dockyards and will have a day there before getting the ferry over

Where would you like to go?

Maybe start with a few days/weekend at a holiday park, like Haven or similar. Train & taxi to destination and once you're there, lots of activities are on the park so not much reason to leave. Some holiday parks are walking distance from seaside or tourist towns anyway. Self catering, but you can get a supermarket delivery to your accommodation or use the onsite shop. As a single parent with 2 kids I find this one of the least stressful ways to holiday, as the kids are occupied with minimal effort from me . If you're anxious, this might be a easy way to start off.

Some great ideas here, but don't give up on ever being able to drive to places, this sort of anxiety can definitely be treated with graded exposure. Have you had any therapy for it? This is exactly the sort of thing that proper cbt is good at, it can really help.

But in the meantime get yourself a lovely holiday planned by train and bus, then when you come home have a look into cbt for phobias and work out a treatment plan with a good therapist.

My parents don't drive and regularly holiday in the UK without a car. They're in Yorkshire and their favourite destination is Devon. They get there by train and then travel the length and breadth of the county by bus / train. Perfectly doable if you pick your destination carefully.

We never go by car now.

We’ve been to Welsh coast, York, Manchester, Edinburgh, Brighton and annually to London.

Also Paris x 2, Amsterdam, Switzerland, Germany and Italy. Easier once abroad and the trains are better!

I thought I was the only non-motorway driver!

Use a Trainline app to see where you can get to from where you live. Your child is a really good age because they can carry their own backpack of clothes and enjoy the train ride.

I dont drive but before covid struck I use to pack a bag and go to my big city centre train station and look at the arrivals / departure board and see where I fancied going , a quick google would tell me if there is nearby B&Bs/ travel lodge etc with vacancies , I would book for one night so if I didnt like it I could move on or if i did book a few more nights ( I tended to travel in quietish parts of the year ) then while on the train I would look for things to do and places to eat in the area.
The train journey was always part of the holiday rather than just a means of transport .

While I realise with anxiety not planning may make you feel even more uneasy , I found not booking actually made it better for me as I did not have to be anywhere at a set time or if I really could not face traveling for what ever reason I could just turn around and go home ( in 5 years of holidaying like this about twice a year i only went home twice )

Weymouth is great and lots of B and Bs on the seafront

Kent coast. Direct trains from St Pancras, so from Potters Bar you don't have to cross London. Good bus and rail connections when you're there. Lots of historic sites to visit. Safe sandy beaches. Lovely non-strenuous coastal walks. Above average sunshine.

Also, for days out have a look at coach companies. They do days out to events, exhibitions, etc I also go to garden shows with either DH or friends. It's great, very civilised and no one has to drive .

Yes, of course you can. Google maps will give you public transport directions. Llandudno’s an excellent suggestion if you’re looking for somewhere by the seaside.

Another idea might be a walking holiday - take the train to Felixtowe, walk the Suffolk coast path to Lowestoft and train back, booking b&bs along the way. Nice thing about that kind of path is that they’re well signposted and there are lots of places along them used to putting up walkers. griffmonster-walks.blogspot.com/2012/01/suffolk-coast-path.html?m=1

York - medieval city, tourist destination in itself with lots to do. It’s on the east coast mainline, 2.5 hrs or so from King’s Cross, with trains to Scarborough, Leeds, Thirsk (market town on edge of the N York Moors and Yorkshire Dales, famous for All Creatures Great and Small), Pickering (n York moors steam railway). All good places.

Trains go from Potters Bar with only one change to Brighton and probably also to a number of places on the south coast nearby. The rail service and indeed in Brighton itself the bus service is very good.

Devon coast such as near Exeter or Torquay as others have suggested is another option, only two hours from Paddington to Exeter.

No crime to not wish to drive long distances.

Yes, I forgot to say about the Railcard. I use £10 of Tesco Clubcard vouchers to buy a £30 Friends & Family railcard, and then save 1/3 on journeys. It saves a fortune on longer trips.

Using the Railcard we had a return trip to Paddington from Devon, in June 2019 for a total of £62.40 for 2 adults and 1 child, booked 3 months in advance using the Railcard. Rail travel doesn't have to be expensive.

We went to DLP via train to London, then Eurostar, and my anxiety had previously stopped me, but I worked out a door to door plan that was easy to do and did it.

Before DH drove, we went to Devon by train with two kids (one of whom was a small baby), self catering holiday. It was fine. Not perfect, but we managed with trains, buses and the occasional cab.

Isle of Wight, York, Bath, Edinburgh, Northumberland coast,

You can do Bournemouth/Isle of Purbeck and Swanage on public transport. There's a lovely steam railway between Swanage and Wareham. Plus the open-topped Purbeck Breeze bus between Bournemouth and Swanage.

You can also get to the Isle of Wight by ferry and train, then bus/train on the island.

We’re getting a train to a large city and not taking a car this half term. We’re doing museums, sights etc using a combination of public transport and taxis. Entirely doable. From Potters Bar you can easily go into Kings Cross then up the East Coast Line (assuming you don’t fancy London) - how about York? Or Edinburgh (tho I don’t know what the restrictions are in Scotland).

Train, mega bus, airplane. I drive but have also been on lots of holidays that don't involve driving. I particularly love the train as you can get comfy and relax, or get up and move around much more spacious than flying or using a bus. We quite often fly to other Uk cities too as can work out cheaper

OP, your 12yo DC might enjoy researching a destination and planning the journey. Or it could be something you do together. The internet makes it much easier than it used to be.

We've gone away most summers for the past 14 years without a car. First with one child, then two, then three.
We've been to Dorset, Devon, Cardiff, Cornwall, Kent, Norfolk... loads of others.

Costal places are good as there's usually a bus route running round the coast.

All local bus maps are online these days. Takes a little more planning than going by car, but completely doable.

We often stay in holiday park places with a pool that are walking distance to the sea, then get a bus to attractions.