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Prettiest places to reach by train and bus

I will be leaving from Dumfries, Scotland and taking a train to England. Leaving date, June 4th. I have 5 nights for England before taking a flight to Holland. I don't have a plane ticket yet so it will depend on what part of England I will be visiting and what airport for my flight. Is the west coast of England a good choice? Maybe the central portion of England? I could never drive on the opposite side of the road so renting a car is out for me. I have never had such a hard time deciding a route to take. I can't visit London on this trip. I would like to stay in one town or small city and take day trips from that base and what to see. I will be utilizing trains and buses. As I said in a previous post... Love any kind of gardens, parks, castles, quaint villages, the outdoors and taking pictures. I am a Solo Senior traveler who has visited almost all of western Europe. Having said this, I have seen so many churches and museums but don't want to miss anything within that time.

Hopefully, the travel forum can guide me in making a decision.
I have used this forum for 18 years and couldn't have had such successful trips without your help!
Thank you in advance for any help you give

Posted by
4684 posts

York? Definitely quaint and I think you can reach some nice Yorkshire countryside by train and bus. It isn't too far from Scotland either, and you can then get a flight from Leeds Airport to Amsterdam.

Posted by
4301 posts

I loved York-there's lots to see and I really enjoyed walking on the wall with the (free) local guide.

Posted by
6113 posts

York isn’t anywhere near the west coast nor is it the Midlands.

If you want quaint villages, gardens etc, you really need a car, as these places are more difficult to get to by public transport. If you look at a map of England, you will see that there isn’t much west coast between Dumfries and Wales and what there is is mostly the Lake District, the tacky seaside resorts around Blackpool or Liverpool.

If you want castles, gardens, mountains and canals, then north Wales would be a good destination. Fly from Liverpool or Manchester. Chester would also be a suitable base. Personally, I prefer the Newcastle area as covered in one of your other posts.