UK Travel Planning

Exploring the UK by Train or Car: Pros, Cons, and Planning Essentials

• Tracy Collins • Episode 184

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Deciding whether to travel around the UK by train, by car, or by using a combination of both is one of the biggest planning decisions you will make. In this episode, we talk through the pros and cons of each option so you can decide what works best for your route, travel style, and priorities.

We explain how UK train travel works in practice and why trains are often the best choice for getting between major cities and towns. We also clear up a common misconception: once you arrive in places like London, York, Edinburgh, or Bath, you generally do not need a car, as these cities are compact, walkable, and well served by local transport.

We then look at when driving makes more sense, particularly for countryside destinations and rural regions, and share common planning mistakes to avoid adding unnecessary stress or cost to your trip.

In this episode, you will learn:

  • When trains are the best option for travelling between UK cities and towns
  • Why cities like London, York, Edinburgh, and Bath are best explored on foot once you arrive
  • How the main UK rail routes fit into itinerary planning
  • When hiring a car makes sense for countryside and rural destinations
  • Why combining trains for long distances and cars for short rural loops often works best

📝 Show Notes - Episode 184

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SPEAKER_01:

When planning a UK trip, one of the biggest decisions is how you're going to get around train, car, or a combination of both. In this episode, we'll talk through the pros and cons of traveling around the UK by train versus driving and share the key things to consider so you can choose what works best for your trip.

SPEAKER_00:

Welcome to the UK Travel Planning Podcast. Your host is the founder of the UK travel planning website, Tracy Collins. Each week, Tracy shares destination guides, travel tips and itinerary ideas, as well as interviews with a variety of guests who share their knowledge and experience of UK travel to help you plan your perfect UK vacation. Join us as we explore the UK from cosmopolitan cities to quaint villages, from historic castles to beautiful islands, and from the picturesque countryside to seaside towns.

SPEAKER_01:

Before we get started, we'd like to thank our sponsor, Walks and Devour Tours. If you're planning a trip to London, you'll already know the challenge. There's a lot you want to do and only a limited amount of time to fit it all in. That's where the right tour makes all the difference because you want experiences that are the best use of your time with more access, less waiting, and a deeper sense of the city. That's why we recommend Walks and Devour Tours. They offer walk-in tours and food tours designed to make your time count, often with early or after hours entry. You'll also be with exceptional local guides who add the stories and context so you leave with a richer understanding of what you're seeing and a trip that feels genuinely memorable. If you're visiting London as a couple with family or you simply prefer a more intimate experience, walks and devour tours also offer private tour options. To learn more, you'll find the link in the show notes. Now let's get into this week's episode. Hi everybody, and welcome to this week's episode of the UK Travel Plan Podcast. I have Doug here again. Hello! He's uh is featuring a lot at the beginning of 2026 an episode. So we did uh the first episode of the year was about planning a trip to the UK in general, kind of things to know. Um, and last week was about planning a trip to London, and this week we're talking all about trains and cars, which of course Doug and everybody's gonna expect is all gonna be about trains, but it isn't. We aren't just talking about no, we're gonna be talking about both because we know that often one of the main questions we often get asked when we're doing a consult when we're helping people plan the trip is around how to get around the UK and whether they're gonna take trains, whether they're gonna take cars. Um, and often when we look at planned itineraries, we can kind of see often some kind of cat common mistakes when people plan with trains and cars. We have covered those in a previous episode. Um, but we thought this is you know prime planning season, you're probably planning your trip at the moment and you're considering you know what's gonna be best. Is it gonna be a train? Is it gonna be a car, or combination of both?

SPEAKER_03:

Most definitely.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, and often we use a combination of both, don't we?

SPEAKER_03:

We certainly have.

SPEAKER_01:

We do. Um, so I will say that you know, we're not gonna be prescriptive, we're not gonna tell you one thing or the other, one way or the other. We're just gonna talk about the pros and cons. And as I say, really, there's gonna be so many variables for your trip, you know, your travel party, your travel preferences, where you're planning to go. Um, so really it's it this is about you taking this information and making uh taking it and seeing what will work for your trip.

SPEAKER_03:

Most definitely, yes. I am slightly biased, I do admit, but I will try and be objective. You are gonna be very objective, absolutely.

SPEAKER_01:

Now, always remember as well, if you're listening to this uh episode and you're uh feeling a bit overwhelmed about planning your trip to the UK, whether that's you know, whether you're gonna be going to multiple multiple destinations within the UK or even if you're just gonna be spending your time in London, um, that you can always book a consult with myself and Doug, and we can help you uh with your trip. Um, and especially if you are planning any train travel, because obviously that's what I'm gonna be talking about this episode. Uh, Doug is really the person you need to uh book a consult with to chat through all things trains.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, always happy to talk about trains.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, should we start off then this episode talking about uh trains? Let's talk about and I've got it easy to hand this one to you, the pros of traveling by train, Doug. Wow, yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

Um, okay, so let me start with it's great fun.

SPEAKER_01:

I know you're gonna say that.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, sometimes things go wrong and it doesn't always get a plan, but generally speaking, it is good fun.

SPEAKER_01:

It really is part of the experience, isn't it? Getting taking the train.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, I I think I think that's a mindset. Uh I think once you're excited, I become a little boy again, I know I do, and every time I take it, every single train. So, yes, it is part of the experience, it's not just the transport to and from places, in my opinion.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, it's part of the experience. So um, yeah, and if you're from somewhere that you don't travel a lot by train, it certainly can be it can be a little we know overwhelming as well. And a little bit you get a little bit overwhelmed and and fearful about something potentially that you've not experienced before and you're not sure how it works.

SPEAKER_03:

Well, there's a little nuanced difference, even if you are used to travelling by train, you go to another country, not just the UK, anywhere. Yeah, there's those little little factors, little changes, little things that are a little bit different to what you might you be used to.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay, so um we're talking about the pros of trains though. We're talking about why people should so we we know that it's um it it's an experience traveling and by train in the UK, but but tell us for when you when you plan the itinerary, why it's why is it why would a train be in you know something that you choose?

SPEAKER_03:

Well, yeah, trains as a rule they'll go into the heart of towns and cities and some villages. There is exceptions, things like Cambridge, where you've got a bit of a walk uh into the city centre. But as a rule of thumb, vast majority of the main arterial train lines, the east coast and the west coast main line, the towns and cities that they serve are right into the middle of the of the uh or close to the city centre. Closer to the city.

SPEAKER_01:

I was gonna say York is slightly well, it's it's still in York, but it's outside the city walls. You've got to think because there's so many historic cities in the UK that um, you know, for example, Cambridge, they don't go right in the centre, because I believe Cambridge University didn't want the train anywhere near the actual university itself. And obviously the university is a lot older than the trains.

SPEAKER_03:

Um it's also uh worth considering is if you particularly if your holiday or vacation is you know not that long, you can be covering some great distances up and down the country relatively quickly with the main arterial train lines.

SPEAKER_01:

So when you say main arterial train lines, you're talking about the west coast main line and the east coast main line. So just just for anybody who's not sure what they cover, would you just kind of talk what is covered by both of those?

SPEAKER_03:

Okay, so the west coast main line goes from London, Euston, up towards Glasgow Central, and that's obviously in Scotland, and the East Coast Main Line goes from London, King's Cross to Edinburgh, also in Scotland.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay, so that's great if I want to go from London and I want to go north up to um you know Scotland. Um what about where do I if I want to go east to west?

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, you can get across sort of for Manchester across to towards York, and you've also got um uh well it's soon to be completed, the new east-west train line from Oxford to Cambridge.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, that's gonna be cool.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, that's a reopening line that closed many, many years ago.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay, so what other advantages have we got by train? Now I'm gonna throw one in here, is that you do have more flexible accommodation options in placing what places where parking is limited or more expensive. For example, Edinburgh. So that's true, and we again Edinburgh, I guess Bath comes up, York comes up. Um, a lot of these, if you're gonna go and visit some of these cities um and you're driving, then you really have to consider where you're gonna park. So you do have far more flexibility when it comes to like if you we arrive in Edinburgh 99% of the time by train, we tend to pick up a car more in Edinburgh when we're heading out.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, the airport is very easy.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, absolutely, because parking is limited and it's expensive, and actually, um, you don't need a you don't need a car to get around a lot of cities in the U.S.

SPEAKER_03:

No, you don't, no. But I mean consider I saw London, the the transport links are are excellent.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. So you do have more accommodation options if you're taking the train, particularly as I say, we're going into we're talking about the major cities and into some of the towns as well. Um I must admit I love traveling the UK by train. And um, I mean, I when when we do drive, I do make you drive these days. I like to sit back and do the can have that inviting. Well, it's true, you're always wondering about it. Well, for sale. Yeah. Um, but it's really nice when when we're both we're both on the train, we're both enjoying the journey, we're both enjoying looking out the window and having conversations, maybe even just picking up, reading a book, relaxing, chilling out a bit. Um, neither of us are stressed about it. Um you're not stressed because you're driving, I'm not stressed because I'm having to tell you the directions of where we're going.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

Um, because inevitably it's you know, even if you love driving, stress it can be stressy driving. So that's the advantage of taking the train. We both can sit back, so the whole of your travel party can sit back, chill out, relax, and enjoy the journey.

SPEAKER_03:

Um, which we really do. I always end up talking to somebody, always find somebody to talk to.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, absolutely, yeah, you do. And the other thing about taking trains really is that you you know you it is easy to combine it with car higher later, so you can go by train to so many cities and pick up a car. So, and we've done this before, haven't we? When we went to by tr by car around um Devon and Cornwall, but we went to Exeter to actually pick up the car.

SPEAKER_03:

We did, that's right.

SPEAKER_01:

Um, so the train can get you get you to the city to then go and pick up um the car as well.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, most definitely. And then we're looking at uh cost when you're looking to budget a holiday or trip. Uh, if you're paying for train tickets or passes in advance, I think it's easy to budget for some people, knowing that they've already laid out the cost of that ticket.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes, well, you know that's it. You can buy your tickets in advance and know exactly where you're at, or you can buy your pass in advance so you you can work out exactly how much that's going to cost. And if you need to, you know, budget ahead, pay for that ahead, you know exactly where you are. Now, I know uh and we do a lot of uh train itinerary consults, and I know um, but we know ourselves which itineraries work best by train, and I mean, particularly London, York, Edinburgh is so easy.

SPEAKER_03:

That's right. And of all the conversations we've had joined consults, that is pretty much the train conversation that's come up most often.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, it does come. It's a very, very common trip, and obviously, uh, a lot of times basing yourselves in London will work really well because from London you can do a lot of day trips from London by train. You certainly can. Um, so there's there's a multiple amount of places that you can go to very easily on a day trip by train. We've got uh videos on YouTube that Doug started putting on. We've actually got um London, Paddington to Windsor, we've got London to Bath so far, videos on YouTube which show you just how easy it is to do that. We've also got podcasts about the various places you can get to from London on day trip by train, um, and obviously also articles on both the London travel planning and UK travel planning websites. So by train, if you're basing yourself in London, do all these day trips by train are fantastic. Then you can catch the train up to somewhere uh like York and then Edinburgh, and that's it. You don't need to. If you want to go to Inverness, yeah, and Inverness, absolutely. Um, and also what you can do as well, which is really lovely, and something we haven't mentioned, and we did kind of I guess touch on at the beginning when we talked about the experiences, there's some great sleeper trips you can take train trips.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, the Caledonian sleeper or the night river down to Penzance in Cornwall. Absolutely amazing.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, so if you want to include something like that in your itinerary, then absolutely, you know, train train can't be beaten. But and Doug's not gonna like this, but we're gonna have to talk about the cons of train travel because um, and again, this will apply to the places that you want to go, you want to see, and what you want to do. But we want to give you these are potential cons when you are thinking about traveling by train. And the first one is that it doesn't go everywhere, does it?

SPEAKER_03:

No, it doesn't go everywhere. I mean, when we've done consoles, people are going to the UK sometimes, checking and tracing family history and things like that, and it could be from anywhere, villages, little towns, not served by by the train. So, yeah, yeah, you have to be realistic. And unfortunately, the train doesn't go absolutely everywhere.

SPEAKER_01:

No, it doesn't, and so that's one thing. So, again, it's looking at the places that you actually want to visit and include in your itinerary and scene actually if it is served by the rail network. Um, the other one is oh, a real really oh negative one, but it's we've got to say it, and it is that there is possible disruption.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, I mean disruption can you know be for many reasons. I mean, at the moment there's snow in the UK as we're recording this, and that does cause a few issues. So then you've got the engineering works, I've talked about it at length. Um, unfortunately, there's also strikes happen now and again, and public holidays. So disruptions and train changes, timetable changes can be sometimes last minute, can cause quite a bit of disruption.

SPEAKER_01:

So you mentioned public holidays, and I know we've talked about Sundays as well. So why would disruption be more possible on a public holiday or a Sunday?

SPEAKER_03:

Well, Sunday, public holidays they work to a Sunday train service, and then Sundays, weekends generally, but Sundays especially can be um impacted by engineering works, whether this is sort of uh planned maintenance or sort of breakdown maintenance. So it's a question of risk. Yeah, I mean the vast majority of weekends and the vast majority of people's journeys are not impacted one little bit, but there is a slight increase in risk.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, and we know generally that's when we get con we get contacted when th those issues have come up.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, I mean I have to point out, you know, for many, many years of travelling by train in the UK, I was impacting myself on a great number of occasions. Sometimes you've just got to, you know, you you can't get out of that planned train journey, so you've just got to go with it.

SPEAKER_01:

I think one of the considerations though is if that you're planning your itinerary and you want to take the trade, is then to avoid any major journeys on a on a weekend or on a um uh a a public holiday. So I think that's the thing to take for that.

SPEAKER_03:

That's right. That that's really it, yeah. I don't want to be so negative fully about it, but Sundays on public holidays are the risky days.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, so you can avoid those. Yeah, yes, yes. Um, but it's worth knowing, which is why we're talking about it. Uh the other thing is that I guess you have less flexibility once your tickets are booked, though, of course, there are different types of tickets. Doug's not going to go into this because we'll be here all forever and I I'll switch off. Um, but you can have a bit more flexibility with some of the different um tickets, or if you buy some like a Britrail pass.

SPEAKER_03:

That's most definitely so. The the best deal is with the advanced type ticket, and but you always took to that one training on that day on that route. So, yeah, it's it's hard to be that flexibility that some people do crave.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, that's true. Um but I think if you do uh again, I guess it's that budget and thing, but you could have a Britrail pass which will give you a bit more flexibility on the day. Um and I know you've you've spoken quite a lot about those.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

Um now, obviously, as well, travelling by train in the UK can be it's not cheap, and it can be even more expensive if you book it late or without planning.

SPEAKER_03:

That's right. On the day tickets. Um, I mean, for the longer journeys we're talking, certain, you know, very short journeys half an hour. The the prices don't vary too much at all. But the longer journeys, certainly so on-the-day tickets are probably gonna be the most expensive.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, okay. Now, another question that we get quite often and which can be a con when it comes to traveling by train is your luggage.

SPEAKER_03:

Yep. Yeah, that that that's right. I mean, the luggage that people carry can be a burden to them and can be problematic.

SPEAKER_01:

So, what would you recommend when it comes to luggage? Why I mean I I I think of it as a con is if you have too much. That's a thing for me. And if I can't pick it up or manage it, um, obviously, you can book assistance if you do need that, but again, you have to plan ahead for that. That's right. Um, but it sometimes as well as if you get on a train that is really crowded, and which is actually the next point I was going to talk about, it's like sometimes kit trains can be really busy and really crowded, and trying to get on a train with luggage is not much fun.

SPEAKER_03:

No, it certainly is not, and so luggage space can be difficult to find. Yeah, safe space is difficult to find for your luggage. You may have at one end and you you lose sight of your bags. Uh, some platforms are on a curve as well, so born on the train can be slightly bit of a gap.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, mind the gap really means mind the gap, actually. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

That's right. And so there is all those factors, and it it can can be stressful. I mean, Sunday travel, which we just mentioned, the it's not unusual because there's fewer services, those trains can be more full than yeah, or if you get on a train on a Saturday and there's a football match. In in season or any sort of um big sports event or just time of year, really Christmas for markets and things can be I mean there are workarounds like that.

SPEAKER_01:

If for example, if you I'm doing a trip in in May where I'm going from London up to Edinburgh and then back down again with a friend who's arriving from America. So she's actually going to leave majority of her luggage and left luggage at King's Cross, and then we'll pick it up on the way down. Yeah, that's an option. There's there's a ways around it, but really um and packing that's a huge one. So I've talked about packing in a previous episode of the podcast. Again, we've got articles about that, and I've got a YouTube video about the sort of things I pack. Try to minimize if you can how much you take, um, not be tempted to kind of when you pack thinking, I'll just add in, I might need that, I might need that, or just in case, because if you're traveling by train, it's you know, it can it can you know. I just find the more luggage I have, the more stress they get on trains.

SPEAKER_03:

And I think that's a general rule of thumb because you have to remember it's not a question of just being able to lift a bag. Sometimes you've got to lift that bag above your head. Yeah, that's true. And so that can be a bit of a challenge to some people.

SPEAKER_01:

So it's a consideration, it's a combat, it's a it's a consideration, and we we often get asked about that. Also, and I have touched on it, is that trains can be busy, so if you can, especially on those kind of major routes, seat reservations are important.

SPEAKER_03:

Yes, that's right. It's it's that peace of mind it offers if you want specific uh one side of the train or one direction, and by that I mean you want to sit facing uh the direction of travel, that's very important to some people as well. Um, but yeah, all those things are true, but then what sometimes what you can also get, and I have to admit this as a train enthusiast, is sometimes you can have your seat reservations made, and then there's a different train turn up or one's been cancelled and your seat reservations are not in place, and that can happen.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, that didn't that happen when you got the Night Riviera down, uh that's right.

SPEAKER_03:

I caught the Night Riviera down to Penzance, had a look round, and then came back. And yes, I booked a seat on one side of the train, but the preceding train had been cancelled, and so the train that was uh in service was much shorter. So the big announcement was that there was no seat reservations in place for many, many people, which did cause a bit of uh challenge? Bit of a bit of a challenge. I was fine, I was fine because I I may have in person little work rounds and yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay, well I think there's a just the there's a concept about when you're when you're deciding between the the the taking a train or not. Um I'm gonna say the the the most common planning mistake that you see, Doug is not talking to an expert. Okay, so I'm gonna say and probably trying to planning a major travel on a Sunday would be the other thing I would say. But if you want more uh information about what we see is the most uh common mistakes uh in uh when you're planning uh a train travel around the UK is episode one five seven of the podcast. Now we'll link to that in the show notes. Um and obviously, as I say, if you need if you want some help with your um train travel planning around the UK, um Doug's a person to chat to and I will link to the concepts in the show notes.

SPEAKER_03:

There's no train probably gonna go Put everything that I've not faced or experienced or talked about at some point in the past.

SPEAKER_01:

No, and I think I always think back about actually when a daughter was in the UK a couple of years ago and she was heading up to Edinburgh for Hogmany, and there was about 20 of her friends who will travel up there from Liverpool, and um she was straight on to us going, Help, help, I need to get there. And you solved it, you gave her the route to go, you actually got them all up to Edinburgh, which actually was a in more information. Well, you had more knowledge than actually the people in the train station.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, she she did relay what the plan I'd given her to the person on the station, and they just from all accounts just held the hand up and said we didn't know any of that.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, so you were able to kind of give them the route and get them there, which was really good. Now, um, next we're going to talk about um cars because even though Doug loves trains, there are plenty of trips where driving simply just makes more sense. It really does.

SPEAKER_03:

Most definitely.

SPEAKER_01:

Um, where where would be the examples you would say for this, Doug?

SPEAKER_03:

I th I think the obvious ones would be Cornwall and Wales and parts of Scotland, Northumberland for your area as well.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, Northumberland's a good example. I mean, actually, I there just is not much train coverage at all. And I always explore the Northumberland by car. I'm actually going to try public transport this year just to see what it's like. Um, getting there by train and then trying some buses and seeing how easy it is or not to get around.

SPEAKER_03:

It can be difficult and it can be easy. I mean, I was lucky the journey I took throughout Wales, uh, I used public transport, and I have to say that it was very good coordinated transport form, transport for Wales. It was very good. So that's good.

SPEAKER_01:

So there that's I guess that's going back to the train again, that you can get the train and then pick up some public transport. But we are specifically talking about driving now. Yeah. So we are gonna turn our attention to the pros of driving in the UK. The first one was obviously it gives you maximum flexibility. You can stop when you want, go where you want.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, stop off as many cups of tea as you possibly would like.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, I know that's what you were thinking. Yeah, all right. A little bit little cafes that can stop in and all this place, or little pubs, actually, more likely. I don't drink. Oh, I know, but well, maybe me that would want to stop off for the pubs there.

SPEAKER_03:

That's most likely. With me driving.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, so it just gives you flexibility. You're not stuck by a timetable, are you?

SPEAKER_03:

That that's right. You can sort of give you m maximum flexibility as well as all your plans around weather, other people, likes, dislikes. Yeah, and really on and on the list goes.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, so driving. So don't discount it. I think this is what I also want to say too about the pros about driving. Um and really, if you want to go to places where there isn't any rail coverage, you really are limited with your options.

SPEAKER_03:

You certainly are, yeah. I just thought, you know, one of the big, big advantages with driving is if you wake up that morning and you have room in your schedule, you don't feel like doing anything. You don't have to.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, that's true. You haven't got a train ticket book to a place that you have to go to. Yeah. It does give you that flexibility, I guess, yeah, for stuff that you can, you know, and if it's if it's a rainy day, as you say, you can decide to stay in and and just have a have that day off rather than being. I think maybe you can pace yourself potentially a little bit more because of that flexibility.

SPEAKER_03:

Possibly, it's especially if there's more than one driver, you can sort of take it easy.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay, so the other pro is you do get a wider choice of accommodation rural areas. Yeah. Because we kind of said we've got a wider choice of accommodation in the cities where if you're going by train, yeah, because you haven't got the hassle of a car. That is right.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, but if you're driving to some sort of country areas and yeah, there is no public transport at all, um, you can yeah, you you can hone it down to exactly what best suits everyone.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, so I mean we what we do give suggestions of, for example, if you were driving and you wanted to go to bath, for example, and you didn't want to look at accommodation options in bath with um parking, is you could stay somewhere outside of bath, like Bradford and even and get the training. So there's a combination, but we're gonna go talk about it.

SPEAKER_03:

So you were thinking that I instantly went to the bridge tea rooms for a cup of tea and a slice of lovely uh Victoria's Sponge.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes, yes, you did, yes.

SPEAKER_03:

Um things like farmhouse stays and things like that, you know, suddenly become more of an option.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, that that rural really enjoying the the countryside. I'm kind of thinking about Derby and the Peak District and staying driving around there, it's really good. Um, obviously, now we do talk about uh the corners of train travel with if with luggage, and it's actually a pro if you have your own car, in that um, as long as you think about the size of the car that you that you do higher rent when you're in the UK, because what you don't want to do is have five of you, five massive suitcases, and then hire just a car that's not going to fit all those in. And that's something actually that we have often when people book with Riza XFA cars to be picked up from underneath through, is that you always ask how many of you are then how much luggage because obviously it's essential you can fit them in the car.

SPEAKER_02:

Sure thing.

SPEAKER_01:

Um, but uh one advantage is absolutely that it is easier to travel with if you've if you are an overpacker or you have a lot of luggage, or there's a lot of you, and you're thinking, you know, if you're a family and the kids are still too little to really be in charge of their own luggage, yeah, then at least in the car you've got that advantage.

SPEAKER_03:

That's true, as long as you have that right-sized car to meet the demand of normal people traveling and the luggage, because there's nothing worse than being cramped in either, to be fair. No, that's true.

SPEAKER_01:

Now and also it can be okay, it can be more cost-effective for families or groups if you travel by car. But again, I'm gonna caveat because there are lots of things to think about.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, there's lots of considerations there, isn't there?

SPEAKER_01:

Um and I I guess for the train you could get yourself, you know, the there's the different um train cards that'll give you some discounts.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, national rail cards if you qualify.

SPEAKER_01:

Um but you know, if you're you know, you don't have to buy once you've paid for your car, as it were, then you you know you you don't have to buy individual train ticks for everybody, so sure it's kind of covers everything. But there are a few caveats to that. Um, but yeah, I mean I think the the main advantage that I would say is that just it it you can explore more remote areas at your own pace.

SPEAKER_03:

It opens up, it opens up a lot of possibilities, certainly does.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, absolutely. And I know it's when we talk about planning certain areas in the UK, um, for example, Yorkshire or Cornwall or the Peak District, we will talk about planning that by car.

SPEAKER_03:

It is, and we're you know, I as much as I love the train travel, we also love the the road trips that we've done around the UK, don't we?

SPEAKER_01:

We do. I mean, I have to say though, I do I don't like I should say I do, but I don't actually enjoy travelling uh as in driving round the car, uh round the UK by car as much as I used to. Obviously, when I lived there, I did it all the time. Um but I tend to defer to Doug and let Doug do all the driving and I do the um the directions and tell us what we're doing where we're gonna do it.

SPEAKER_03:

What she means by that is a royal command. You will be driving. Yeah, so that uh I think you know I I so I it's very difficult for me to kind of like say that I enjoy it because I enjoy being a passenger, so we're saying I don't dislike driving and we you know we've had some great tasks because we we plan it out and we do it our own pace and we do stop everything we've said we do just that, don't we? Yeah, we do.

SPEAKER_01:

And I think about Cornwall, you know, when we drove around Cornwall and we um we stayed on the um moor, didn't we? Um and were able to see we saw the ponies.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, so on Bodman Moor.

SPEAKER_01:

Bodman Moor, yeah. We you know, we we could when we're driving back to the accommodation, which right was right in the centre of Bodman Moor, which was amazing. And you obviously can't get there by train, yeah. Um, and just driving and being able to pull over on the side of the road and see the wild ponies was just a fabulous. And the sunset and the sunrise was just gorgeous. Yeah, it was good. Uh okay, so the cons about driving is that it can be tiring or stressful for the driver, and I have to say it's it's um it can be stressful in the UK because of just how busy the roads are.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, it can can be challenging, uh certainly can, but the I think is not to overdo that part of it as regards too much driving in one day, sort of keep it in bite-sized chunks, yeah, particularly if there's only one driver.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes.

SPEAKER_03:

Um, because don't underestimate that um you know length of time to drive and traffic jams.

SPEAKER_01:

Just not the traffic on the roads in the UK, I think, is is something that takes everybody by surprise. You know, whether used to driving in you know the US or Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, wherever, I mean it's like you will find that there are more cars on the road than you are used to, which kind of brings me to like some places are simply not designed for cars, particularly London. Do not, do not, do not hire a car in London. Whatever you do, if you're deciding you want to drive around the UK and hire a car, get yourself out of London before you pick up a car. I cannot stress that enough. I really can't. It's just not worth hiring a car in London at all.

SPEAKER_03:

That's right. And then there's also the part about the fuel costs and parking costs and the stress of that, and those costs can can sort of mount up if you're driving for you know a few weeks.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes, absolutely. I know we kind of said that it can be cost effective, but actually it depends how many there are of you, I guess. Yes, because it the the cost can really mount up. It and and I mean if you're used to living somewhere where there's no charges for parking, um, believe me, that's not the case in the UK. They charge everywhere for parking, it's crazy. Um, and you will get parking tickets as well. And obviously, there's also the stress of things like you know, um speed limits and they have cameras all over the place as well. Um, so you've got to kind of factor that in. And also, I can't I'd be remiss not to mention about parking because I'm talking about uh the exp the expense, um, but actually finding parking can be an issue. Um, you know, and if you're if you've booked accommodation and you haven't made sure that you've got parking, um, you you could end up being quite far away from the accommodation, not even finding parking at all, or having to pay a lot of money for parking.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

Um, so it's really important.

SPEAKER_03:

And if the weather's not great and you've got to carry all your bags into your accommodation, it can be take the edge off the fun, shall we say?

SPEAKER_01:

Absolutely. So another another consideration really is winter driving. It brings you've got shorter daylight hours and unpredictable weather conditions. Like I always say about the UK, it's predictably unpredictable with the weather, but honestly, at the moment, so we're recording this um sort of second week of first week of January. I think about the date. Um, yeah, and they have snow in the UK. So they have snow uh where my mum lives, which is uh just outside Stratford Ponaven. They've got uh snow in in Scotland, a lot of snow, they've got snow even in the Midlands, in the north, in the north of the country. So if you're not used to driving in those sort of uh winter conditions, um yeah, it's it's very different. You've got you've got fog, you've got freezing fog, you've got black highs. Yeah, and I have to say the UK is not the best country for dealing with winter conditions. Everything seems to grind to a halt and panic situation sets in, like, oh my goodness, we've not seen snow since oh last year.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, that's definitely true. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

Um, I mean, one pro actually we didn't talk about, and which I will mention, is that if you have a car and those light, those light summer days, you can you can see a lot, you can go out in the countryside, and it's still light sort of ten at night.

SPEAKER_03:

Um specific I'm gonna think of that in the cotswalls when we went to Bybury in the late summer evening. Yeah, it was the best time to go, wasn't it?

SPEAKER_01:

It was, it was absolutely it was lovely. And um and now the Cotswolds are honestly a di you have to get round the Cotswolds. You've got a couple of ways to get around the Cotswolds by public transport, it's not that easy. Um by car, yes, you can do it by car, and we have done it by car, or you can do a tour, which I will talk about later as well. So there's other options that you have got if you didn't want to drive, but somewhere like the Cotswolds, not served well by train.

SPEAKER_03:

No, that and that that is very true, and then parking can be an issue.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, parking can be really challenging.

SPEAKER_03:

Also, I should mention about driving is if you're not used to driving on the left side of the road.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, well, it's stressful if you're not used to that, yeah, um, British driving rules of the road, and uh, even for us, we have to check every year because they do change. That's right. There's new rules that come in and regulations. Um, and obviously we're used to driving on the left hand side of the road, but if you're not, then that is again another challenge for you. And make sure that you um I don't know if there's a pro or con, but anyway, I'm gonna throw it in there. If you're used to driving only an automatic car, make sure that you actually this is a con because they're more expensive. So automatic cars are less common in the UK, therefore it's gonna cost you more actually to rent one. Um, so it's worth, but make sure, oh my goodness, I can't stress enough. Make sure when you when you rent your car, if you can only drive an automatic, that you specify that's what you want. Um, and I'm sure we've talked about this in podcasts in the past, and probably in the last few weeks, I think we might have even mentioned it. When we were in Edinburgh, I'll never forget it because that poor couple had not they had not specified all that were left were manual cars, and they could not drive a manual, didn't have the license, and they were stuck there with it, the suitcases and we fell for them. Yeah, we did. It was really awful. So something you really need to consider.

SPEAKER_03:

So I'll just continue with that about the driving on on the left, even if you are experienced with it and you think you know and you've driven in the UK before, you've driven in other countries on the left-hand side, don't make the assumption that you are up to date with all your driving knowledge to drive on the left.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, exactly. Absolutely. So um we have got a resource that we'll recommend at the end, which we highly, highly recommend that you do if you're planning to drive in the UK. Um, I will just mention as well, like the the the driving uh conditions are different, but also the roads are different than you may be used to. So we've got a lot of very narrow roads in the UK. Um, when you drive down in Cornwall, for example, and I remember taking taking our daughter down there when she was five, and down these narrow little country lanes, and the hedges are bigger than the width of the road, so you can't see past. It's literally enough for one car. And I remember driving down that and having a tractor coming towards me. Now, there are a lot of passing lanes, um, which like passing bays that you can go into, but again, it's useful to kind of be aware of those sort of things that can spend lots more like animals on the road, sheep and cows and is that why you leave the driving to me in Cornwall? Uh well, and in far north Scotland to do that as well, leave that to you there. And also cities, I don't I don't particularly like driving in cities because they've got all sorts of things like box junctions and bus lanes and all sorts of things that I just kind of yeah, overload me. Uh I've never been a fan of driving. Let me just make that clear, it's not my favourite way to get around. I prefer if I ever win the lottery, I'm gonna have on home drive my own driver, which is kind of you, I suppose.

SPEAKER_03:

Just because you have already, haven't you?

SPEAKER_01:

Absolutely. Also, I will mention because I know that for for some people this is really important, that environmental impact is worth considering. So trains are far more environmental improvements, particularly modern trains.

SPEAKER_03:

Yes, game more so.

SPEAKER_01:

One of the cons of driving is you know, a lot of places in the UK now are extremely popular. And so if you're heading, for example, at the Cotswolds or heading to the Lake District, they really are thinking about the environmental impact of so many cars on the road. So, for example, the lake district, to be honest. Um, you know, you could get yourself up there by train and use public transport. It's so well served now by public transport. Well coordinated car, um, but you have to think carefully where you are going in the lake district. So you need to head up by train and then that that area.

SPEAKER_03:

So I will say the same in Wales, transport for Wales. I think they're very good.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, so it's kind of it's it's worth considering that. Um, but really, I guess what what's some most common mistake that we see when people are are planning to use a car?

SPEAKER_03:

I think it's underestimating the driving times.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, I think so as well. I think that's the thing that really kind of takes people by surprise. And also just putting in too much in a day. Yeah. Like, you know, going from It is tempting, it is tempting, but uh you honestly the traffic jams the amount of traffic, especially if you're driving at weekends, um, beginning of school holidays, public holidays, it can be incredibly, incredibly busy. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

Um in certain parts of the UK they're not served by motorways particularly well, or we're called dual carriageways when you've got two lanes.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

Some of those all you need is road works on there, or unfortunately, an accident, and you can be sat in traffic for quite a long time, and it can make a mess of your whole day's plans.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, that's true, absolutely. Now, um, like we said, we do have another uh podcast episode which looks at the kind of main uh road trip planning mistakes that we see people making, and that's episode 155. I'll link to that in the show notes as well. And we also have a guide to renting a car in the UK, which has got loads of information in that, um, and that's on the UK travel plan and website, and I will link to that. Now, it sounds like we've done a lot, we've done, I feel like we've talked a lot of negatives for everything, but we haven't, we've talked pros as well. Now, I think the thing is if you're still unsure at this point, the questions we always come back to are things like are most of the places you want to visit actually on a train line? First thing you consider. Yep. Um, do you want travel days to be part of the experience? Because if you do, there's some fantastic train journeys that will be. There really is. Um, or is it just a way to get from A to B? Um, how much luggage are you realistically planning to travel with? You know, what time of year are you visiting? You know, so think about things like how much daylight you're gonna have, how what is the weather gonna impact on whichever decision you make? Um, and then are you comfortable driving, or would you rather somebody else take the lead? So you know, is one of your party happy to do the driving, or two of your party weren't happy to do the driving and share it, or you know, is everybody kind of going, and we have with this quite often, is that everybody's going, no, I'm not gonna, there's no way I'm gonna drive in the UK. We do we do hear that a lot.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, um it's totally understandable though.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, yeah, I think so. Actually, I would say we do we do hear a lot of that. We just don't want to drive in the UK, um, which is absolutely fine. Um, once you start answering those questions, um, you know, I I I think this is probably where most people land up, and uh where we tend to land up when we're planning anything, is not with a car, not a train, but with a combination of both.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

Um, you know, like we said, using the trains for cities longer distances, then hiring a car when it adds value to your trip, um, can create a really more relaxed trip.

SPEAKER_03:

I think it's a well-balanced.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, and I mean we see it, for example, um taken when people take the trip from say London and they go up to York and then they go up to Edinburgh. Um, so in in London, what you might do is a lot of day trips by train, get the train up to York, explore York, get the train up to Edinburgh, then hire a car to do some exploration of Scotland. Yeah, so I think that combination, and we've done this. A good example, uh, I'm just thinking of an example that we've done, is where we took the train to Exeter.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, yeah, that's right. We took the train down to Exeter from um London, from Paddington. We took a couple of stops off, but we ended up in Exeter. And then we hired a car and we drove out to a lovely Shepherd's hook upon Bodmin Moor.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, and we explored Devon and Cornwall over a few days. We've got that whole item. Actually, it was uh maybe a week or so, I can't remember.

SPEAKER_03:

We started with North Devon and then we did the North Cornwall coast and worked away around.

SPEAKER_01:

Yep.

SPEAKER_03:

And then we also did South Devon, fantastic train journey on the Dobbin Steam Road.

SPEAKER_01:

Hey, I was gonna say we actually also did train trips within that. For example, going to St Ives in Cornwall is a disaster if you want to go by car because trying to get parked, honestly, it's not worth it. So we took the train.

SPEAKER_03:

We did, we drove back towards St Earth and we caught the train back up from there.

SPEAKER_01:

So and I can think of other even last year we took we took the train the majority of the way. So we started off in I think we started off in London, we went to um Bath, Cardiff, up to Chester, then we went across to Dublin, up by train to Belfast, and then we caught the ferry um and and and a bus coach service. Yeah, canon coaches are fantastic. Big shout out to you guys.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

Um over to Glasgow, um, and then went to Edinburgh by train, and then we actually just hired a car because we went to Alice Gala, which is not easy to get to unless you've got a car.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

Um and around unless you've got a car. In fact, you can't get around a car unless you've got a car. Um so and then we drove to Inverness, dropped off the the car, and then we got the sleeper train down to London.

SPEAKER_03:

We didn't know. Which was a fantastic.

SPEAKER_01:

We had a wonderful time and we've got another podcast about that whole trip, but that was a great combination of using both. Yeah, definitely. And really, I think the key thing is that what that Doug and I are trying to say is that there's no single right way to do it. That's right. The best choice, honestly, is the one that fits your route, your travel style, and how you want to keep keeps everybody happy. Yeah, the tr yeah, how you want the trip to feel. Um, I think the important thing is that um planning it is the is the key.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

Is is sitting down, and when you're doing the planning is to think about the logistics about how you want to get around. Bear in mind the pros that we've talked about, pre bear in mind the cons that we've talked about, and then basically start planning your itinerary. Where do you want to go? What do you want to see? What do you want to experience? How do you want your overall change?

SPEAKER_03:

It's important to keep it achievable.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. Yeah. It's also worth saying that tours are also a stress-free alternative that you can build into your trip, whether you make those, you know, take private or small group tours. And we do work with a number of excellent companies and we recommend options. For example, Go Cotswolds, who are absolutely fantastic. You can get there by train uh from London and then take their coach tours around the Cotswolds. Oh, it's fantastic. And Lisa from Go Cotswolds have been quite a few episodes talking about that. There's lots of different tour companies that we recommend that we work with. So you can get to a destination by train. And if you don't want to hire a car, for example, get around Yorkshire, get around the Cotswolds, get around Cornwall, wherever we do have uh recommended private tour options and small group options that you can check out on the website as well. So you can combine, you know, the train element, remove the car element if that's something that is going to stress you out too much.

SPEAKER_03:

And give the driver a day rest as well, which is always a good idea.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes, absolutely. So I will link to those. Now, we also recommend some resources. So these are absolutely what I would say if you are planning to drive around the UK, Tripiamo. I cannot, I'm gonna say it again, Tripiamo. You absolutely need to do a Tripiamo course. It's not expensive, they are not pricey, they're amazing, what they provide. They will help you prepare you to drive safely and confidently in the UK. You know, whatever, whether you used to drive and on the same side of the road or it's a different opposite side of the road for you, they will help prepare you to do that. We will put a link in the show notes, which if you use that link, which we would please ask you that you do, it's an affiliate link, it won't cost you anything extra. Um, but it would just then you can book TripyAMO through that link. And I will put that, as I say, in the show notes. Um, and also you can listen to our conversation with John Cortiz from Trippiamo in episode 112, and he will talk all about what it provides. But it's honestly brilliant.

SPEAKER_03:

He's very passionate about his company.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, and it's just it's just it's amazing, and it was such a such a needed product that they've provided, it's a product service that they have provided. So honestly, and we have had some the feedback we've had from everybody who's booked it is just been phenomenal. Seriously, Tripyama, don't forget the name, that's who you need. If you're planning to drive in the UK, even if you've driven in the UK before, I'd recommend it because there are changes, they're changes all the time to different bits and bobs in the UK. So knowing about just preparing yourself, it's just it's just safer all around. Um, and then for train travel, Doug, I'm gonna promote here. You here?

SPEAKER_02:

Oh, good, I'm so embarrassed.

SPEAKER_01:

So, Doug has written a um it's an ebook, a guide to UK train travel. Um, and it's really if you're planning any train travel whatsoever and want to understand how the system works, avoid the mistakes, and plan with confidence, the ebook is where you start.

SPEAKER_03:

That's right. I've gone it's based on many, many years of train travel working in the industry and using the trains from top to bottom of the country. You know, I've used them everywhere, I have traveled everywhere, and I've put together this this e-book just to take you through what to expect, how it works, and really it's based around a lot of the questions and the feedback we've had during consults. So it is the product that you need for train travel.

SPEAKER_01:

Absolutely. So absolutely, Tribu for driving and Doug's train guide to train uh travel in the UK is for obviously what you need for trains. But I will mention again and throw in there that we do offer consultations to help you with this. Now, we do offer a variety of different sorts. So if you've already got an itinerary and you put it together and you want us to check it out, so see if it logistically works, um, which we're asked of quite often to look at it and make changes if necessary before you start booking things. And you know, we can save your money here when you start booking things and then things need changing, it can become a bit more of a nightmare.

SPEAKER_02:

True.

SPEAKER_01:

Um, so we do look at the logistics, look what works, um, or you can book a one-to-one consultation with myself and Doug, or Doug, if it's just train travel you want to talk about, and we can help you firm up your plans, put that itinerary together so it it flows, it's logistically workable, um, and just save you a lot of stress and overwhelm, really.

SPEAKER_03:

I think so. Uh as regards things like trains, that is most definitely one of the main takeaways people have of lessen that stress, lessen that overwhelm.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, absolutely. And that that's what that's what we aim to do and help you um plan the trip that you you dream of in the UK. Um and this year we've also introduced um where we'll help doing a personalized itinerary with you, but get in contact with us via email and we can chat about what your requirements are for that. And that's it, Tracy at uktravelplanning.com for that for email. And uh, well, I think that's it. I think we've done a good coverage this this week on this particular topic.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, how did I do? Was it was I Yeah, excellent.

SPEAKER_01:

I think I I think you did really well this week on the podcast.

SPEAKER_03:

I'll let you know Tracy was concerned I was just gonna sell trains and nothing else.

SPEAKER_01:

I did think that, I have to say, I did give warn him beforehand. I said, look, look, I know you love your trains, but we have to be realistic with everybody here. Um anyway, we hope that you have really enjoyed this episode and you've taken some kind of notes from it, as you say, uh, to help you plan your trip. Um, you can find everything we talked about, links to the different podcasts and the services and products that we mentioned on the website at uktravelplanet.com forward slash episode 184. Um, if you've enjoyed the episode, please leave us a review. Um it really helps us um this podcast be found. Um, so and you know, we'll give you a shout out, leave us a review um or leave us a message on Speakpipe. I don't want to overwhelm you with options here, but um you can also leave us a message on Speakpipe and you know what did you find most helpful about this episode, or have you got a question? Again, that'll be linked in the show notes. Um now next week I've got a really fun topic that I'm gonna be talking about. I'm not gonna tell you, it's something a little bit to do with um some uh films and TV series that are due out this year, and um, there's a lot of excitement around. So I'm gonna be talking about that and how it relates to some of the destinations of the UK that you might be included in your trip.

SPEAKER_02:

That's intriguing.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, so that's next week. Uh anyway, that just leaves myself and Doug to say until next week. Happy UK travel planning! Thank you for tuning in to this week's episode of the UK Travel Planning Podcast. As always, show notes can be found at uktravelplanning.com. If you've enjoyed the show, why not leave us feedback via text or a review on your favourite podcast app? We love to hear from you, and you never know, you may receive a shout out in a future episode. But as always, that just leaves me to say until next week, happy UK travel planning.