Train vs car travel
 

We are planning on going to England, Scotland and Northern Ireland again this summer. We drove last year but are considering taking a train in England/Scotland this summer. We would like to stay at B&B's and stop when we see something of interest. Does anyone know which would be more cost effective for us? Thanks!

If you want to stop when you see "something of interest", that's difficult if you're on a train. However, if you read a few guide books before you go, you should know in advance where you want to go. Do you have any idea which places you want to visit?

About the only place we would stop for sure would be Hadrian's Wall. Last year, we would just stop as we were driving and saw something of interest. We would also go to the Lakes District for walking and riding. Do local B&B's pick you up at the train station or would a hotel/motel be better?

I doubt anone can answer the question as you've phrased it.

There's a finite number of stations, and relatively few trains on most rural routes, so your scope for spontaneity is pretty limited. Suggest you start off with the relevant train map: there's a wide selection at www.nationalrail.co.uk/info/maps/maps.asp

Many rural stations don't have cab ranks, and might be just far enough from their village to be a nuisance with luggage. There's no law or common practice about any innkeeper, be it Mrs Bridges B+B or the Ritz, collecting you: you need to determine this case by case, though it really can be very impractical for many B&Bs. There's a facility for determining which stations have taxis at www.traintaxi.co.uk

To work out how far a station is from where it pretends to be, start with the station index at nrekb.com/stations/index.html Then input the street address into www.multimap.com. Play with the zoom feature till you have a detailed local street map.

To do this on your travels, you're going to need a really good Blackberry-style portable web access device, though most 3G mobiles might also manage it.

Doesn't that really make the case for the car?

After reading the responses and traveling last year in a car where we could go when and where we wanted, I think a car would indeed be a much better way to travel. I was thinking of cutting costs but sometimes, that just doesn't pay. Thanks, Kathie