Car Rental vs public transportation in England

Whether you use a car will depend on where in England you are planning to visit . For areas like cities , a car is essentially an Albatross as public transportation is preferable . For rural areas a car is the better choice , being able to lace places together where public transportation is spotty or at times nonexistent . As an example . I'm headed there this coming September , starting in Liverpool and Manchester . No car there. Leaving Manchester and headed north into rural Scotland , I'll have a car for about a month before dropping it in Edinburgh , and switching to rail to take me down the east coast , stopping in Durham , York , Cambridge and finally a protracted stay in London . With a car I would consider having a distinct plan , rather than arbitrarily roaming about ,which would waste time and energy .

Thank you Steven for your quick response. It has been a long time since being in England and at that time I had a car. This time I would like to take the back roads to visit some of the out of the way places. We plan to spend a few days in London and take the bus to Cambridge if we pick up a car. Alternatively we could take the rail directly to Penzance. We would like to stop and take in the scenery and not try to chase down all the big tourist attractions. From Penzance I thought about going into Wales. My problem is that after being in the States and driving long distances as the norm, I look at the map of England and see that hmmm the Cotswolds are close to Wales.... maybe we should visit there also.
I really don't want to spend my time on the motorways trying to get from one place to the next. If you would like to recommend a casual back road itinerary I would really appreciate it. We would rather soak in the area, the people, architecture and history than try to see everything in a short amount of time.
Also, again I have been away too long, are there still people who let out rooms in some of the lesser known villages? I remember going to a pub and getting a room when hiking Offa's Dyke. I would rather spend time doing that than using Airbnb. I guess the question is, are there still B&Bs that are not the boutique hotels we have here.
Again, thank you and anyone else who would like to pitch in with ideas. I will appreciate it all. Kathy

Hi , Kathy A few things to consider - Penzance to Wales is roughly 400 miles , that's alot of driving , especially for ten days , I've made two trips to Cornwall and the drive from the west country ( Gloucestershire ) is , itself 230 miles . Unless you can drive a manual transmission , you will need an automatic and the most likely places to obtain one will be major airports , like Heathrow , I loved Cornwall and if you really want to go you might want to pair it with the Cotswolds which would be less hassles than Wales . Another , more reasonable pairing would be - The Cotswolds to North Wales ( 170 miles ) via Shropshire ( lots of nice stops on the way ) or Cotswolds to The Peak District ( 120 miles ) I'll be about a week in The Peak on my upcoming trip . There are many other combinations of course , but also keep in mind that back country roads will slow down your travel times considerably .

you mentioned taking a bus to Cambridge from London.

Just to say that will take an age. Trains from Kings Cross station (on 6 major tube lines) run direct frequently to Cambridge, and take as short as 47 minutes, nonstop.

Thank you both for your responses. I really appreciate it. I had not really researched the travel from London to Cambridge. I was with the military and lived in the Mildenhall/Lakenheath area of Suffolk. Cambridge and Ely were close towns and so I naturally thought of Cambridge. Way back when, a bus from London to Lakenheath village cost 6 pounds. Dark ages ago, I know. It seems I have a lot of researching and planning to do.
As for suggestions and recommendations on Cornwall.... The main reason for me to go is that my ex-husband was always harrying about running from one sight to another. I never really got the chance to absorb anywhere. I have vignettes of places we went to but no idea exactly where it was. I remember (I think) St. Micheals but it could have been another isolated monastery/church in Scotland for all I know.

My current guy has only been to England when he came to visit me and we explored the Yorkshire area. We did a lot of walking and visited York and Warwick Castle - 20 plus years ago. I am celebrating my 70th birthday by hopefully showing him the England I vaguely remember. It was almost 40 years ago when I first came to live there.

I remember how pretty the Cotswolds were but crowded. We will be going in May and I hope that will be before too many people will be traveling about. If you have more suggestions, I am more than happy to listen to them. We are hoping to find the hidden gems and not too interested in the larger cities. I do drive a manual and could start the journey from almost anywhere. I just don't want this to become a scavenger hunt of must dos to see. Did that with the ex. So if you recommend the Cotswolds and North Wales or any other low key but beautiful places - I'm more than wiling to research them.

Thanks again for all your input. I am truly humbled that you both took the time to help us out. Kathy

if you're in May, keep an eye out for the various Bank Holidays and Coronations this year. They will be busy....

welcome back!

Thanks Nigel. I am really excited to come back. If I had a choice I would have stayed. Thanks for the tips about the Bank Holidays and I completely ignored the Coronation!

You mean St Michael's Mount, near Penzance, in Cornwall. That is on a tidal causeway that you walk across from the parking lot, so you would need to check the tide times the day you wanted to visit.
You could go down to Penzance on the Riviera Sleeper or fly to Newquay, pick up a car at either, do St M Mount, then up through North Cornwall (maybe visit Tintagel) and Devon along the north coast, Dartmoor, Exmoor. Bude, Barnstaple, Minehead, Weston super Mare. hugging the coast, away from the M5, all the way to Bristol, where you are within striking distance of the Cotswolds.
You need a car for such a journey, that would take for ever on transit.
Plenty of good honest B and B's, or country inns on that sort of route.
I'm sure my west country colleagues on here could devise a suitable route.

I am so amazed at the generosity of responses. I like the idea of driving the coastal areas. I had thought about that but could not figure out routes. Then I would get side tracked and go off on a tangent - shiny things - Lake District, Cotswolds, Wales - yikes! Very overwhelming. The memories I most cherish involved the local rambler clubs when I lived in the Leicester area. I was thinking of contacting the local ramblers and see if they have favorite places off the beaten track. I think driving would definitely be the way to go.

Being retired military, our trip will end in Mildenhall in Suffolk to catch a hop back stateside. I anticipate dropping off the car in that area at the end of our travels. I would be delighted for any more tips - which villages in the Cotswold to miss (overrated) and which should be explored.

Again, the responses amaze me. I know there are kindred spirits out there and corresponding with you all confirms this. Thank you. Kathy

Hello! Such a coincidence that I saw your posting as I spent much of today figuring out our itinerary for England! We are going in May as well! Plan to take the night train to Penzance - it sounded too fun! Spending two days toodling around Penzance and hopefully up to Tintagel (may do car rental or just bus it). We also want to visit Glastonbury, Wells & the Cotswolds. I was stumped for awhile about how to navigate that portion & have decided that driving from Cornwall to Glastonbury is too much. Although train takes longer, its more relaxing. So train to Bristol or Bath and then probably rent a car for a few days to see the other sites. We may drop off the rental car in Oxford before heading back to London - don't really want to drive in that kind of traffic!

Have a great trip! /Christine & Michael

@cwelsche- Tintagel can be done as a daytrip from Penzance.

You take a frequent train from Penzance to Bodmin Parkway- a 75 minute journey. Straight outside the station the Bus 11 departs at 1011 for Wadebridge. There you have a 7 minute connection into the 95 which takes you to Tintagel arriving at 1206.
Buses back are at 1411 and 1611 with a 25 minute change at Wadebridge.
If the 11 is a bit late change in Wadebridge Town Centre, rather than at the Bus Station,
If you buy a Day Rover ticket on the bus it is just £5 for the day for all buses in Cornwall, so on the way back you could stop off in Wadebridge or Bodmin (town), as the 11 runs half hourly.
At Bodmin Parkway be sure to board a bus to either Wadebridge or Padstow, and not Plymouth- as they arrive at the same time, with the same number.
The train tickets are just walk up and go, no need to book in advance. Advance tickets are sometimes available, but the savings are minimal, and not worth it for being tied to certain trains.

While you are in Penzance if the chance arises go to an evening performance at the Minack Theatre. If you don't have a car, you can take the open top Lands End Coaster bus there, but would need a pre-booked taxi back.
Porthcurno (where the Theatre is) is a lovely village. If going there you shouldn't miss the chance to visit the Porthcurno Telegraph Museum (otherwise PK Porthcurno). This is the website where you can read about this village's history with the telephone/telegraph transatlantic cables to the Empire and Transatlantic.
https://porthcurno.info/telegraph-museum
It would make a great day combined with Lands End and St Just- another £5 day bus ticket

For the original OP-
This is one suggestion of a driving route from Penzance to Bristol, but there are many more [I am not prescribing things to see, rather providing a basic route for you to explore, and would encourage diversions off it-
Day 1-Pick up the car at the rental office at Penzance Station- take the A30 for Lands End, but then turn off onto the B3315 which will take you to the fishing village of Newlyn. From here stay on the coastal road (an unclassified road) which loops through Mousehole and back onto the B3315 to Porthcuro (see above) then onto Lands End (or if you prefer Sennen Cove), back on to the A30, then the B3307 to St Just and continue round the peninsula past Pendeen and Zennor to St Ives. The mileage so far is modest, but depending on your stops may have taken most of the day. Follow signage for the A30 then at the Lelant roundabout take the B3301 along the coast and through Portreath. At Redruth back onto the A30 for about 3 miles, then the B3277 to an overnight stop at St Agnes.
Day 2-Follow the B3285 along the coast to and through Perranporth . At Goonhaven join the A3075 for Newquay. From Newquay follow the B3276 on its very scenic run up the coast to Padstow. After visiting Padstow take the A389 to Wadebridge, then the B3314 past Port Isaac, eventually turning onto the B3263 for Port Isaac and on to Tintagel.
You will probably be late afternoon arriving here so I would suggest making that night 2.
Day 3- Continue on the B3263 to the A39, then onto the seaside resort of Bude. Stay on the A39 to Hartland and Hartland Point (a diversion), on to the famous village of Clovelly, then onto Bideford and Barnstaple (either of which would make good stops) then the A361 to Ilfracombe (where I am assuming Night 3).
Day 4- Take the A399 as far as the crossroads at Blackmoor Gate. Here you can either take the A39 along the coast past Lynton and Lynmouth and through Porlock to Minehead or cut inland on the B3358 to explore Exmoor. That route eventually brings you down to the village of Dunster (a few miles beyond Minehead) - either it, Minehead or the village of Watchet could be your hotel for tonight.
All three places are on the West Somerset Steam Railway. You could either finish your day with a return trip on that or do it tomorrow morning. You may even be lucky enough to get on the evening Quantock Belle Pullman steam hauled dining train.
Day 5- (the last)- Stay on the A39 to Bridgwater, then the B3140 to Burnham on Sea and the A370 to Weston-Super-Mare. You now have to join the M5 for 6 miles as far as Clevedon (and it's pier), then back roads along the coast to Portishead (the port of Bristol), now just a short way into the City.
As I say just a sketch plan of one of many possible routes, to provide food for thought and other research of your own.
Not a great mileage each day as the emphasis is on exploring not eating up the miles.

Wow! I cannot express how thankful I am for your itinerary. This is exactly what I want. When I lived in England it was pre-mobile phones and dependent on map reading. I remember all the smaller roads and getting delightfully lost. I really dislike using my mobile for directions as it is usually the most expedient. I guess one of the first things to do in Cornwall would be to purchase a really good road map. Your itinerary made this so much easier and I truly appreciate all the advice on the smaller villages and routes. I have the information on my trip planner. I checked out the Minack Theatre and hopefully will be able to see one of their events. They look amazing.

Depending on time, I would like to dip into The Cotswolds and then head towards Suffolk and home. Any suggestions on where to visit if one only has 1-2 days in The Cotswolds area?
Again, thank you everyone for your support. We are very grateful. Kathy