Living Car Free - 10 Car Free Holidays in the UK

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Dahon.Steve
05-07-09, 08:48 PM
This is an interesting article about 10 car free vacations in the UK. I like the fact they also take into consideration those wanting to cycle. I guess every vacation spot can be made into a carfree one but not many articles will make this a point.

My pick would be the Somerset railway. A rover day ticket allows you to hop on or off at each stop allowing you to explore the country side.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2009/apr/26/car-free-holidays-uk?page=all

Foofy
05-08-09, 08:23 AM
Cool article. Those sound like some great vacations!

Is there such a thing as a vacation that requires you to own your own car? I'm sure there are, and I think it'd be a fun challenge to find out what they are. There aren't many places you can't get to by bike or foot, given that you've got the time.
gerv
05-08-09, 06:01 PM
The topic of vacations is dear to my heart. What I do notice is that many of these vacations seem to start at a certain point and then become carfree. How do you get to the starting point? Some of them (like the Channel Islands..) are obviously not by automobile, but a few of them seem like park-and-go vacations. What the article needs is a "How to get there" section.

There are also many very do-able North American vacations that can be car-free. However, you might need a car or an airplane (even more of a resource hog...) to get there. In fact, in terms of CO2 emissions, vacations have to be right up there.

A couple of ideas on how to avoid this:
- enjoy a staycation. Instead of flying to a remote island to sit around and read in the sun, take a few days off, get some books and sit on the back deck.
- a bicycle tour. Leave from home and see how far you can go.

But that's all I can think of. Unless I could take a bus to New York and leave for Amsterdam on a freighter.

Machka
05-08-09, 06:10 PM
I've been to, and toured in, the UK in 2002, 2003, and 2007 ... and none of those trips involved a car. I found the UK very easy to get around. Yes the train system may not work 100% well (there are delays and strikes and things now and then), but if you're on a somewhat relaxed schedule it's a good option. I've also ridden a coach (bus) from Heathrow to the midlands, and it was lovely. And of course there's lots of great cycling. :)