Best Interrail Destinations UK: London, England, Wales & Scotland
Interrailing is a popular option for travellers who are exploring Europe by train. The Interrail Pass includes unlimited train travel on selected days within a month. This means UK visitors can visit many towns and cities without worrying about high train fares. It is a great country for travelling with a dog once here.
Most Interrail pass holders will enter the country via Eurostar to London and then either stay there or continue onward. Other options include taking a ferry from the Netherlands to Harwich or from Dieppe in France to Newhaven on the south coast of England. Both ferries are dog-friendly, making them a great option if you plan to travel with your dog into the UK.
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What is Interrail?
The Interrail pass allows unlimited rail travel within and to all 33 participating countries for a set period. This rail pass is available to European residents. Residents of countries outside Europe can purchase the Eurail Pass.
Interrail passes include the Global Pass and individual country passes. You can choose the duration and number of travel days. Pass durations include 4, 5, or 7 travel days in a month, or 10 or 15 days over 2 months.
Interrail Seat Reservations UK
Despite the Interrail planner app stating that reservations are compulsory, this is not the case with one exception: sleeper trains. The night trains from London to Cornwall or London to Scotland. You can find UK sleeper train routes on the Trainline website. You can find out about optional reservations on the Interrail website.
Trains With Dogs
Travelling with a dog on trains in the UK is fantastic, as dogs don’t require tickets, unlike in many other countries. Overall, the UK is a very dog-friendly country, making it a great place to have an Interrail adventure with your pet.
A few rules apply: you must keep dogs on a lead or in a carrier on trains, and they must sit on the floor. For safety reasons, carry your dog on the escalators at stations.
Best UK Interrail Destinations
These are some of the most popular Interrail destinations, including places in England, Scotland, and Wales. My other post suggests places to visit in the rest of Europe on a railway adventure.
NOTE – You can only use the pass for journeys within your home country, both incoming and outgoing. Thus, British residents can’t do an Interrail tour of the UK.
London: A Fantastic City To Visit
London, the UK capital, is a popular Interrail destination and is well connected to the rest of the country. London has many mainline railway stations, all connected to public transport. Note that the pass does not include the Underground or buses. London has lots to do, including some fantastic tourist attractions. This includes four UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the city. In addition to the main attractions, there are loads of museums and galleries to visit.
Popular attractions for visitors include the Tower of London, a Norman castle dating to the 11th century where the historical figure Anne Boleyn was executed. Buckingham Palace, the home of the British monarch, and the Houses of Parliament are also very popular. London is a fantastic place to dine out, too, with many restaurant options and street food markets. There are also many great places for drinks, including countless traditional pubs.
Cornwall: A Beautiful Place by the Coast
Cornwall is my favourite place in the UK for a holiday and thus a great place for a train trip. It is a beautiful county with a rugged coastline, pretty countryside, and picturesque fishing villages. Reaching Cornwall by rail is pretty straightforward. Many trains run from London, including the night train. It is also well connected with other cities, including Birmingham, Bristol and Exeter.
Cornwall has many railway stations; however, many of the top sights require extra bus travel to reach. Penzance is at the end of the mainline train route and is a nice place to visit and a good base camp in the county. It’s also near the popular St Michael’s Mount and the fishing village of Mousehole.
St Ives is also a wonderful place to visit and is an artist’s paradise. The picturesque town has a station, making it easy to reach by train. Another good place in Cornwall with a railway station is Looe, which is a pleasant town in southeast Cornwall. Overall, it’s a top destination; however, many places also require buses.
Oxford: A Fantastic Destination
Another famous city that is a great Interrail destination is Oxford. The city has a centrally located railway station and plenty of accommodation options, including hostels and chain hotels. The city is beautiful for sightseeing, with lots to see. Many attractions relate to Oxford University, including various historic college buildings. One of my favourite places to visit is Christchurch, and its meadow is beautiful too.
You can arrange many guided tours of the city, including themed ones such as the Inspector Morse tour. Oxford also has a castle, various rivers for boat trips and lots of museums to visit. We found Oxford to be a dog-friendly destination with plenty of pubs and restaurants.
York
York is a pretty town in North Yorkshire with many interesting sights. The city is well connected by train, including direct routes from London and Manchester. We took a fast train from London that took under 2 hours. The city centre and chief attractions are less than a 10-minute walk from the railway station.
There are lots of things to do in York, including visiting York Minster, sightseeing in The Shambles, or walking the city walls. We stayed for just over 24 hours but could easily have filled a few more days. We also found the food and pubs fantastic. I highly recommend a Yorkshire roast dinner, local pies and the York egg.
Bristol: A Fascinating City To Visit
Bristol is a pretty cool city in the South West of England and popular with visitors. The city has a few railway stations. However, Temple Meads is the nearest to all the key sights. It is well connected with the rest of the country by train. There are regular trains to London, the north and Wales.
Bristol’s harbour is beautiful, and there is plenty to see, including the SS Great Britain. Other top sights include Clifton Suspension Bridge, Clifton Observatory, the cathedral and various museums. You can find many pleasant restaurants in Bristol, including several with splendid harbour views.
Some of my favourite places to dine out include The Mud Dock cafe for lunch, Tika Flame for some indian and Steak of the Art, a fantastic steakhouse. Finding accommodation in the city is also straightforward, with both luxury and budget options. My preferred place to stay is the Holiday Inn near the main railway station.
Snowdonia in Wales
Snowdonia in North Wales is a beautiful place to visit, especially if you enjoy hiking or other outdoor activities. Parts of Snowdonia National Park are reachable by train; however, you often need an onward bus to reach the epic sights.
The main options for places with train stations for onward travel to the national park are Porthmadog, Bangor, Betws-y-Coed and Llandudno. All are nice in their own right and have bus links to the mountains. Climbing Mount Snowdon is wonderful but can get busy. The nearby Glyderau is a beautiful place to hike too and one of my favourites.
Stratford-upon-Avon
A top place to visit is Stratford-upon-Avon. It’s pretty straightforward to reach by rail, often with a change in Birmingham. Stratford-upon-Avon is a beautiful place with many pleasant buildings to see.
The principal reason people visit is the town’s links to William Shakespeare and the attractions linked to him. Stratford-upon-Avon has many other things to see, too. While in the area, there are also some top sights in nearby towns. Warwick Castle is a wonderful place to visit, as is the dog-friendly Kenilworth Castle. Leamington Spa is another unique local option.
The town has many historic pubs and places to dine out. Many of these are dog-friendly too. There are options for places to stay in Stratford-upon-Avon.
Carlisle: An Underrated Destination
Carlisle is on the main train line into Scotland, so it’s a great place to visit. The railway station is near all the main sights, so you can easily see Carlisle’s major attractions. It is also near the picturesque Lake District, a beautiful part of the UK.
The main sights are Carlisle Castle and the city’s beautiful cathedral. There are also plenty of great options for dining out or having a drink. Overall, a great city to visit for the day or to stay for a few nights.
Blackpool: A Famous Seaside Resort
The seaside resort of Blackpool is not everyone’s cup of tea, but if it piques your interest, it’s a great destination. The town is one of the UK’s most famous seaside resorts, and everything is geared up for fun. Blackpool is easy to reach by rail with a change in Preston, another Lancashire town.
The main sights to enjoy in Blackpool are the Pleasure Beach, the iconic tower, and the seafront piers. For evening fun, enjoy the entertainment and great nightlife, including concerts and cabarets. It’s also a great place for British fish and chips, which are best enjoyed with a view of the sea.
Chester
Chester is one of my favourite cities in the northwest of England and is well connected by rail. It is in easy reach of the larger places: Liverpool, Birmingham and Manchester. Chester has many layers of history to explore, including Roman and medieval sites.
Top things to see when visiting include the city walls, the timber-framed buildings of the high street and the impressive cathedral. Chester also has some fantastic countryside nearby, including walks along the River Dee. Dining out in the city is great too, with food at historic pubs throughout the centre. Chester is a great base camp to explore the rest of the region, including Merseyside.
Devon: A Beautiful County
Devon is Cornwall’s often-overlooked neighbour and a lovely place to visit with an Interrail pass. The county has many towns with railway stations. One of my favourite train journeys in the UK is the one from Exeter to Newton Abbot in Devon.
Devon offers coast towns, national parks, and quaint fishing villages to visit by train. The English Riviera is a great seaside holiday town, with nice beaches and plenty to do. Another pleasant place with a train station is Teignmouth, which has a nice beach and a pretty town centre.
Birmingham
Birmingham is an often-overlooked city with vibrant nightlife and a fantastic dining scene. There are plenty of sights to see, and it is a great base camp for exploring the West Midlands region. The city has a few railway stations, so it is well connected to the rest of the country.
My favourite parts of the city to see are the Jewellery Quarter and Digbeth, which is a cool place to hang out. The city has a massive canal network, which is great for seeing some heritage while enjoying a walk. As a major city, it hosts lots of events throughout the year, including theatre and live music.
Liverpool
Liverpool is a historic city in northwest England with plenty to do. The city’s waterfront is epic, with wonderful architecture to see and historic docks to explore. Liverpool is famous for its links to The Beatles and is also a popular destination for football fans.
The city’s nightlife is top-drawer too, with many nightclubs and bars. Foodies will find plenty of options, including in the impressive Chinatown. Liverpool Lime Street Station is also well connected to many of the country’s major cities.
Other UK Destinations to Consider Visiting with an Interrail Pass
Here are some other places you could visit if they take your fancy.
- Cardiff, the capital of Wales, is a fantastic city to visit.
- Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, is a wonderful city to visit, especially during the festival. The castle and other historic sights are fascinating.
- Cambridge, the other famous university city, has many fascinating places to visit.