Rick's route England/Scotland...train vs. car ???

My wife and I are in the same situation. We've always taken public transportation in Europe but for our upcoming 3 weeks in England, we will be renting a car for the two weeks outside of London. For us, is was sizing up the train and bus system into the places we wanted to visit and determining that it was not robust enough for us to get around and see the things we wanted in a timely manner.

The first time I went to the UK, many years ago, we relied on public transportation and it worked out pretty well. The pro was that the places we visited were on direct train/bus routes. The con was having to schelp our luggage on and off trains, to and from TI's and B&Bs. Rick wasn't around then to tell us the joys of traveling light. Since then we have always rented a car. The pro being being able to stop when ever and where ever the spirit moves us and to take paths less traveled. The con? I can't think of one.

My husband and I have been to the UK more than 40 times in 20 years. We have never driven! We always use the trains and occassionally the buses. Other than the Cotswolds area the train system is excellent! We like the flexibility of BritRail passes, but have sometimes done point-to-point tickets. I like being able to sit back and enjoy the ride without having to worry about routes, stops, etc. British trains are very, very clean, quiet and easy to use. I can do my sketching or read and my husband can listen to his music. We both watch the scenery - and in places it is really awesome from the train. Gas (petrol) is unbelieveably expensive and parking is a pain. Even driving in smaller cities and most towns looks daunting to us. We each use Rick's bag and I take a day pack. No problem getting to or from the staion and on/off the train. Our bags fit in the luggage rack over our seats so no problem leaving the bags in the vestibule. One of us always stays in the seat. We truly enjoy the train rides!

It really depends where you want to go.

One clue to the effectiveness of public transport lies in the American name for it - mass transit. Public transport requires a certain mass of people to make it practical which leads to well populated, urban areas being well served by bus and train and rural areas, well, less so.

As a rule of thumb; if you are travelling from the centre of one large town to another, then public transport is probably the best. Chances are they'll be a number of services per hour, running all day and train stations tend to be quite central. Factor in that most of our towns pre date the auto mobile which means they are not driving or parking friendly and it's an easy choice.

Rural destinations, small villages, country houses and whatnot tend not to be well served. There are few places in the UK that are totally inaccessible by bus or train (though they do exist) but many are very inconvenient. It's not uncommon for small villages to be served by only one bus a day. Often entire rural areas are served by a single bus that loops from village to village making even short journeys very time consuming. Reaching country houses often means getting to the nearest village by bus and then taking a long walk or a taxi to the doors...

That being said, the above is just a generalisation. there are some rural areas with excellent train services due to an accident of either geography or history. Conversely there are some towns with very poor transport links (for similar reasons.)

The best advice I can give is to decide where you want to go and then try to plan a route by public transport. You'll see how convenient it will be and if you need a car.

With cars you go at your own pace, stopping and starting on your schedule. You also can visit places that would be impractical by train. With cars you have to worry about parking and navigation; If your itinerary is city center to city center, use a train. Cars can be a bargain when you are traveling with four or more people (probably 3 or more on the British Isles).

Most of Rick's routes are designed to work by train. The nice thing about trains is as long as you find the right train and get off in the right place, there isn't a lot of navigation. Trains also let you off (most of the time) conveniently close to city centers. Trains in the British Isles are expensive. You can lose valuable time waiting for connections when traveling by train. A missed connection may cost from an hour to half a day plus the cost of a ticket (depending on what ticketing option you're using).

There is an alternative to trains that is worth considering, using buses. Buses have the advantages (and disadvantages) of trains but cost a fraction and can be taken to many more destinations than trains. I like trains on the continent, when I'm traveling solo or with one other person, but think buses are the better option in the UK.

I usually end up with a mix. I don't want a car when I'm in Edinburgh or other big cities. I often plan my trip so that I either pick up the car midway through my trip or dump it early. I like to drive in the countryside of the UK, particularly the wee roads of Scotland. It's become a bit of my vacation to hit the open road of the highlands. Pam

I absolutely LOVE the freedom that having a car gives me. The only time it becomes a hassle is in big cities, but you can get around that quite easily by planning the big cities at the end or beginning of your stay.

My husband and I followed the majority of Rick's route in October (we had to cut out Wales, and the majority of Scotland since we only had 2 weeks). We picked up the car at Heathrow and had it for our stays in Bath and the Cotswolds but dropped it off when we arrived in York. We took the train from York to Edinburgh, and ended up getting cheap 1-way flights from Edinburgh to London. The combination worked out great for us. I definitely wouldn't recommend having a car in York, Edinburgh, and especially London.