Railrover itinerary suggestions

[jthjth]

My wife and I are considering a week's all lines rail rover holiday. Does anyone have any suggestions of an itinerary that would takes us through the best bits of the UK, but allow us to have sensible overnight stays? We are not really interested in covering obscure bits of the rail network for the sake of it - consider us to be tourists who are interested in the British Isles.

Thanks

 

[Techniquest]

Crikey, that could be challenging to work out an easy-going itinerary that does all the best of the UK!

Without a shadow of a doubt the Heart of Wales (Shrewsbury to Swansea) has to be done. The West Highland Line and the Inverness to Kyle of Lochalsh line are also beyond recommendation, especially when it's a nice day. Cumbrian Coast also needs to be done in my eyes, same for the WCML north of Lancaster. North Wales Coast and Devon/Cornwall, particularly things like St Ives and the Liskeard to Looe line also need adding to the list, as well as the famous Settle and Carlisle line.

None of us will be able to draw up a really good itinerary without knowing a starting location, and I should add this list is made purely from scenic journeys rather than the destination being any good!

 

[Holmbridge]

http://www.pbase.com/amjones/national_rail_tour
Depends where you are starting from really but avoid Overnights in London if you can


This was our trip, a long but enjoyable week

Shepley>Huddersfield>york>Inverness

Inverness>kyle>Edinburgh

Edinburgh>Plymouth

Plymouth>exeter>waterloo>paddington>Cardiff

Cardiff>llandudno Jct>festiniog>chester>Crewe

Crewe>edinburgh>aberdeen>Glasgow

Glasgow> Euston>St pancras>sheffield>Shepley

 

[jthjth]

Thank you to you both for taking the trouble to respond. Both of you have given me some extra ideas. It's a shame the all line rover doesn't allow you something like 7 days travel in 14. It would make it all less hectic.

 

[Techniquest]

I wouldn't be surprised if that becomes an option in the future. It would also suit me better, but we'll have to see what happens. One day someone in charge of these things will have a lightbulb moment and get on with creating it!

 

[eastwestdivide]

Hectic is the word: moving on every day can be a bit of a marathon. You might consider using advance tickets instead to form a "7 days in 14" (or whatever numbers suit you). It may well work out cheaper with advances, and you get away from the "living out of a suitcase" feel of moving on every day.

 

[David]

First off, you need to make a wish list of places (say 10 or 12) you want to visit and start planning around that. Also, as your not planning to cover as much as possible then I would suggest a maximum of 6-8 hours travelling a day. However, I think several regional rovers would be a better (and cheaper) option compared to an ALR.

An example itinerary for a few days would be your start location to York, spend a few hours there and then moving on to Edinburgh for your first overnight stop. Day 2 would be Edinburgh - Mallaig, with day 3 being the ferry to Kyle and a train back to Inverness (and possibly onto Perth or Aberdeen from there)

 

[Holmbridge]

Remember that the sleeper option can save you time and hotel costs.