Holiday by train 3ish hours from London

[TwigTheWonderKid]

I'm trying to find a UK holiday destination which we can reach from London by train in around 3.5 hours and where we can get about a bit by public transport whilst we are there. And ideally no more than 30 mins from a hospital with an A&E department.

DH would like to be beside the sea but only likes rocky beaches so we may need to sacrifice his preference...

Brighton?

It’s less than 3.5hrs, but what about the Kent coast? Hythe, Folkestone, Sandwich, Deal, Whitstable & Margate are all fairly easily accessible using public transport. Canterbury is also lovely.

The New Forest. Stay in Lymington, get around by train. There are walks along the coast. Nearest A&E is Southampton.
(We had a few years of uk holidays near hospitals when our DD was ill for a while).

We also went to Cornwall (Truro A&E) and Northumberland (near Newcastle).

Sorry, I know I'm being totally picky but Brighton is an easy day trip from where we are. I have stage 4 cancer so we can't go abroad and there are so many constraints even in going somewhere in the UK, but but I am desperate for our family to feel like we are getting a "proper" holiday.

How about Newcastle? You can use public transport to the beaches of Northumberland and Tynemouth in under 30 mins. Durham is 1 train stop away on the east coast main line, and there are several hospitals with A&E close by.
York would be another nice option, too.

Bournemouth and Christchurch . Train from Waterloo. Visit Christchurch ( Avon beach ) where the beach is pretty stony . There is also a boardwalk.

You can also get the train from Bournemouth to Wool and then a bus ( the Jurassic breezer ) down to Lulworth cove which is the nicest stony beach you can hope to find.
The Royal Bournemouth hospital is good ( Univerisity Hospitals Bournemouth, and easily accessible by bus.

Lots to do , river boat trip from Poole Harbour up to Wareham for example.

Weymouth

Rent a boat in the Norfolk Broads. Train to Wroxham. Can include a day at the beach in Great Yarmouth. Taxi to A&E if necessary.

Or Isle of Wight.

Lyme regis- bus from station

Problem with Weymouth is that during the day in the summer it would take a while to get to the nearest A and E at Dorset County Hospital .

Is Somerset too far? Minehead, Brean, Dunster, Westward Ho! There are beaches with sand and also shingle and rockpools.

Brean, for instance, has hospitals with A&E departments within some 20 miles in Taunton and Bristol.

The New Forest is very well connected by train. Ashurst is less than 2 hrs from London. Southampton Hospital is about 15 mins in a taxi and the centre of Southampton is about 10 mins by train. You could walk or cycle to New Forest Wildlife Park and Longdown Activity Farm, or catch a train to the coast at Lymington.

I'm sorry to hear about your diagnosis.
I've been from London to Edinburgh and it was 4hrs on the train. Might be too far though? Suffolk or Norfolk coast? No idea if the beaches are rocky though- I vaguely think they are sand.

We used the two together travel card. It lasts a year and saves 1/3 of train trips when 2 people travel together. We saved the cost of buying it just from that 1 trip to Edinburgh.
https://www.twotogether-railcard.co.uk/

I came onto suggest Newcastle or Durham or York but can see @hayal beaten me to it. With the NE you have all the incredible beaches of Northumberland which I think are some of the most beautiful in the country as well as some cool cities to explore. Also Roker beach is a nice trip out and it's less than 30 mins on the metro.

Alternatively if inland is feasible Shropshire is so beautiful and you could do nice combination of countryside and pretty towns to explore - you could base yourself in Shrewsbury which is super pretty and is just under 3.5 hrs and has lots to recommend itself, you can also get public transport to church stretton, Ludlow, Ironbridge etc - all very pretty & interesting places to visit, whilst no beaches there are some nice wild swimming spots too. There is hospital with A&E in Shrewsbury and another down the road too if needed.
If you wanted to feel holiday like - have a look at Love2stay - really pretty caravan park with pool etc just on outskirts of Shrewsbury - it's in walking distance of a bus stop and I think they do buses into town too. https://www.love2stay.co.uk/Shrewsbury
I've never stayed there but visit the fresh water outdoor pool regularly! 😁

Exmouth in Devon. 3 hours by train. Miles of sandy beach. I enjoyed staying when I visited

Might be too far but a bit different - there's a sleeper train which goes to Cornwall and stops at Truro which seems to have a hospital with A&E.

https://www.seat61.com/sleeper-to-cornwall.htm

Sorry - forgot to add, Budleigh Salterton is close by and it's a pebble beach. Main regional hospital is in Exeter, I believe, so not far at all

Also suggesting Newcastle. You can stay in the city and get metro to the coast and train/bus up to Northumbria. There’s the RVI hospital right in town.

Exeter?
2-2.5 hours by train. Has A&E.

www.royaldevon.nhs.uk/services/emergency-department-ed-or-a-e/

Swansea/Gower, although beaches are more sandy than rocky

Bath, North Devon, Lymington?

A and Es are either at Cramlington which has lowest wait times in the country, it specialises in emergency care so only typically keeps people for a few days/week before transfering to another more suitable hospital or RVI which is a major hospital with many different specialities.

The beaches are sandy.

Whitstable is pretty and is a pebbly beach. It is only 1 h 20 mins by train from London St Pancras and then 10-15 mins through the town to the beach.

Nice for a long weekend but maybe it is too close like Brighton.

N Norfolk coast?
Train to Cromer and then bus to more pleasant places like Wells. We were there in January and noticed buses running along that coast to all the pretty places. It's gorgeous.

You could have night in Norwich too to explore its lovely medieval buildings.