Just returned from 5 days in Stratford upon Avon. Longest time I have been outside London in the UK and I found it very picturesque but far more stressful than being in London

[Desiringonlychild]

The main reason is that neither DH and I drive. Its usually fine for city breaks (1-2 days) because we just mosy around the town centre and visit all the museums/attractions within walking distance and its all really lovely. However with covid, a lot of the restaurants are booked out (due to reduced capacity), a lot of the attractions are closed, so the relaxing country holiday in the shires becomes really boring unless we venture outside the town (which is hard to do without a car). the town centre and museums in stratford upon avon were fun for the first 2 days but then after a while we ran out of things to do and reverted to shopping. We had a day trip to birmingham which we did not really enjoy (apologies to all brummies!) but the roads in birmingham seems mainly built for cars

I didn't grow up in the UK. DH grew up in London. Our usual holidays are to Asia to visit my parents or European cities which almost always have better public transport than London. However with covid, we are pretty stuck in the UK. Could anyone suggest nice destinations within the UK which are good for car free Londoners with plenty to do within walking distance (we don't mind walking for hours, but not five miles to the nearest village). We enjoy sightseeing, museums, walks in parks/woods that are easily accessible by foot, good restaurants, quaint old buildings.

Also this trip has convinced me that I can't live outside London despite property prices. Its just not possible without a car.

Is there any reason neither of you can drive? It seems quite logical from your post that one should learn.

Bath is lovely and easy to get to by train but I'd go outside school holidays as too crowded at the moment. Maybe somewhere like York, you can get around locally by bus or train.

I think wherever you are in the world if youre not in a major city you'll struggle without a car. I'd stick to urban areas - York, Bristol, Sheffield, Leeds - all have plenty to do. In current climates where public transport can be quite hit and miss, maybe hire bikes?

We're car free and enjoy visiting the north Wales coast as several places to visit are on the train line: Conwy, Llandudno, Bangor, Prestatyn etc.

We also had success with basing ourselves in Brighton and taking day trips on the bus/train to Lewes, Chichester and the South Downs.

I agree though, it's tough outside cities without a car.

@premiumshoes having a car is very impractical in London. Most of our friends who own cars in London use their cars rarely, and most have given them up.

We own a flat in London and so can't move easily also due to ties with work, family etc.

Bristol, Brighton, York, Manchester, Bath. I agree with the pp that outside a major city you will struggle without a car unless you use taxis or bikes for more rural sightseeing. Best to stick to short trips to towns and cities.

Bath? Chester? Hereford is nice but a bit smaller. You might even find enough to do in Manchester if you want something more cosmopolitan

Try Oxford. Most things in walking distance and a place I love.

Birmingham has quite a lot of pedestrian areas so I'm surprised you didn't find them.

Another vote for York too.

Truro, not that much to see but in a small area and you could get a bus to some of the tourist places.

South Wales is also good if you're carfree. I used to live in Swansea and I don't drive. Lots to do in the city and plenty of places that are a bus ride away eg lovely beaches on the Gower.

Liverpool

Edinburgh, easy to get to by train from London, lots of nice walks, good buses, beaches accessible by public transport (i recommend nipping over to Fife and going to Aberdour). Lots of galleries and museums.

[quote Desiringonlychild]@premiumshoes having a car is very impractical in London. Most of our friends who own cars in London use their cars rarely, and most have given them up.

We own a flat in London and so can't move easily also due to ties with work, family etc.[/quote]

Yes I wasn't asking about car ownership, I was referring to actually being able to drive. Lots of people just hire a vehicle when they want to holiday out of cities.

Bristol is fantastic, my favourite UK city.

Norwich is also nice.

Perhaps one of you could learn to drive and hire a car for holidays? Most of my London friends do that when they want to get away from the city. It is still cheaper than owning and running a car in London. Particularly when you don't need it day to day.

When I loved in London I didn't have a car, just wasn't worth it, but I did drive so occasionally I and my friends would hire a car for a long weekend to visit somewhere rural with poor public transport.

@premiumshoes also never been in the situatin where i had to travel to places without public transport! I mean, i generally spend all my holidays with my family in Asia. in my home country, you need to buy a certificate to own a car and that is £15k. Needless to say, cars are considered frivolous. blog.seedly.sg/factors-cost-car-price-singapore/

the flight is 14 hours each way so i have to spend at least a week there. The other week is usually a European City. We also have family in Germany and in Tel Aviv so really should visit those family before embarking on any other holidays . Our family all live in urban areas so this has never really come up before pre covid that we would need to drive to go on holiday.

I think you need to choose your destinations better -- Stratford is famously dull and small, unless you're there for the theatre. Five full days there would boggle anyone any time, far less during Covid.

We were car-free Londoners for years. We headed to cities like York, Bath, Bristol, Liverpool, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Glasgow, or to walkers' spots like the Peak District, or Hadrian's Wall, which were relatively well-served by public transport. (Normally, not sure about now.)

I live a few miles from Stratford upon Avon. It's a beautiful town, but does get busy with tourists and a lot of the shops and restaurants are small or oddly shaped because the buildings are old. The RSC have started doing open air plays in the park at weekends because they can't properly use the theatres. I think everywhere seems a bit depressing at the moment.

If it was the quaint old buildings and parks/woods near Birmingham that you were trying to access then may be a problem, but all of the sight seeing/museums are easily accessible on foot (easier than with a car?), but there is also a good tram network and a strong uber presence so I don't think it should have been a problem? You'll generally be stuck to city breaks without a fair amount of inconvenience without a car - seems a shame to miss out on much of the country so why not hire one?

Truro, not that much to see but in a small area and you could get a bus to some of the tourist places.

Cornwall is not the best place for public transport. However you could have a hotel in Truro and then use trains to explore Falmouth and St Ives. But I really wouldn't rely on buses.

To add if possible I wanted go to Cornwall during the school holidays it does get really busy. Especially the places I have suggested

@Tfoot75 the birmingham museum was closed, which was a shame!

@PotholePalace i caught an open air play and it was really lovely.

I really did love the town. I think we are used to having only 1-2 days for uk city breaks so aren't used to the new normal of having uk holidays as bona fide holidays. As I said upthread, we usually spend so many days abroad that we don't have many days left to see the uk.

Salisbury is quite nice and you can get a train from London. We stayed there and went to stone henge. It was a drive but I'm sure coaches would go perhaps not so much right now. Good bars and restaurants and quite picturesque.

Stratford is lovely but 5 days is too long.

Any UK cities which have some history would suit you. Edinburgh would be ideal as it has good train links to picturesque spots and and an actual dormant volcano in the middle of the city. Bath. York. Bristol's nice. Glasgow. Newcastle with a trip to eg Durham or the Northumbria coast.

All suggested by others - there are loads, actually, for such a small country.