Public Transportation in South England

"South England" is a large area, and you would have to be specific about where you want to go, so the question can be answered for each place. The normal term is "Southern England" which refers to the areas south of London, from Kent in the east, through the "South coast" to Dorset and Wiltshire in the west.

A map of the rail lines around London, including Southern England. This shows all stations, apart from the yellow area which is London (that is shown on other maps): http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/London_South_East_0518-b.pdf
A map of all rail lines in the UK (except around London and other big cities), but not showing all stations: http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/static/documents/content/OfficialNationalRailmaplarge.pdf

These should give you some idea of what is accessible by train.

There are of course local buses which fill in the gaps between the rail lines. You can look up these here: https://www.traveline.info/

Tintagel is not in "South England", it is in Cornwall, which is usually counted as part of the south West". it is a small place, a village with a lot of tourist facilities. You need a local bus to get there.

Where do you want to go and how long do you have? Even with a car, you won’t be able to duplicate the pace of a tour, as you will spend time seeking car parks etc. Public transport will be significantly slower.

The clocks go back in late October, when it will be dark by 4.30pm.

It is not impossible to parallel much of the itinerary of the 'Southern England' tour by train / bus although note that the train that connects along the South Coast is fairly slow as the main orientation is towards London. However, it would be a lot easier to miss out the Dorset portion.

The UK does have rail/car passes. I just looked at Britrail and they offer a car for a portion of the time allotted for pass. But I would still recommend a car rental for touring in the UK. Automatics are less stressful. My Husband drove while I navigated. Have you used a National Trust UK Touring Pass? They have wonderful properties to visit throughout England and Wales and Northern Ireland. The Pass saves quite a lot on admissions. This will lead you to several places that offer a country experience rather than the more trafficked locations. They also include parking if it is available on the property. By driving you can stop and stay wherever you want. In October you may not have to book every place in advance unless there is a big festival, etc. I really can't imagine lifting luggage up and off a train or bus myself.

Thanks for your response. I am leaning toward a car as a 15 day Rail Pass is $746 each. vs. a car w/cdw at $155 for 10 days. We are planning stops in Dover ,Alefaiston, Portsmouth, Salisbury, Dartmoor, Cornwall, St. Ives, and Tintagel. Exploring each area as we go.

I do not know your age, but when I tried to rent a car in England I was told I was too old. The maximum age to rent a car is 75.

The maximum age to rent a car is 75.

Not necessarily so. It isn't a law, it varies company to company. My father was renting into his 80's.

Can't think of a major hire company that has a 75 limit off the top of my head, not that there might possibly be one. Much more common in Ireland, and I do wonder whether there could be confusion between the two if dealing with a phone agent.

The rental car company was Hertz with the age restriction. The restriction may only be for out of country renters.

Hertz UK partners with Saga, which is focussed selling to those aged 50 and over, and no age limit is in force because of that. Although whether you can tap into that from outside of the UK may be different.