The map that shows how long it takes to reach every corner of the UK by train

There is no part of Great Britain that cannot be reached from the capital in under 14 hours by train and on foot.

Considering the faff of transferring to airports at both ends, much of mainland England, Scotland and Wales, just a handful of hours away on the rail network from London, is ripe for the picking when it comes to an autumnal city break.

Why fly to Barcelona to see the unfinished Sagrada Familia when the very much complete York Minster is just over two hours away? Who needs the Christmas markets of Salzburg when Bath is but a hop, skip and a jump from your front door? Venice? We've got the Venice of the North: Birmingham?

Using data from the website Empty Pipes, which charts journey time by rail from cities across Europe, we have created an isochronic map, showing the possibilities presented by train (and a brisk walk) from our capital. Even the outer stretches of Wales, Cornwall and the Scottish lowlands are a pleasantly relaxing train journey away.

What have we learned?

Edinburgh is less than four and a half hours away from King’s Cross. The Scottish capital is a place of “extraordinary variety”, according to our expert Linda Macdonald, and “deserving of its reputation as one of the most beautiful and compelling cities in the world”.

Newcastle, home to the Baltic arts centre, St James’ Park and the gateway to Hadrian’s Wall, is just three hours from London.

And did you know that Liverpool, wits its historic Albert Docks, two fascinating cathedrals and some of the finest shopping in the UK, was just over two hours from the capital by train?

In fact, there are few cities in the UK that cannot be reached by rail within five hours. 

The station often regarded as the most remote in the country is Sugar Loaf in Wales. However, as our isochronic map shows, you could be there in less than six hours.

Britain's lost stations

Among the quirks of the map is the small light purple blob to the north-east of London. This is thanks to the absence of a rail station in the Suffolk town of Haverhill, one of the largest towns in the UK without a rail link (population: 27,041), thanks to the Beeching closures in the Sixties.

What areas are hardest to reach by train?

The northern fringes of Scotland are, unsurprisingly, a lengthy trip from London, though stations stretching from Inverness north to Thurso and east to Kyle of Lochalsh, are a little easier to reach.

The light green section of east Scotland is the Cairngorms. One can get the train to Aviemore, but the surroundings hills would require visitors to don their hiking boots.

The Borders, too, between Edinburgh, Glasgow and Newcastle, provide an area of wilderness, with train stations few and far between, besides Lockerbie. Buses from Berwick and Edinburgh are often the best way into the region.

The map also illustrates how certain parts of the coast are much harder to reach by train, with parts shaded yellow, indicating a journey of up to 14 hours. These include Campbeltown, on a limb of western Scotland and with a whisky heritage, and parts of Dumfries and Galloway to the south of Galloway Forest Park. The cusp of the North York Moors National Park near Staithes, too, are tricky to reach.

On the other side of the country, the tips of Wales, including Anglesey, present a bit of a schlep. Anyone bound for Aberdaron or Abersoch, where the Wakestock festival takes place each year, are in for a long journey – Pwllheli is as far as the train goes.

Which places closest to London take the longest to reach?

A small section of the coast, on the heel of the UK, near Whitstable, presents a patch green, where its surroundings are blue. This appears to be the coastal area between the popular seaside town and Herne Bay.

The Isle of Wight, too, features extended journey times as the train only goes as far as Southampton. 

What of other isochronic maps?

Last year, we published two such maps of the world, one from 1914, another 2016, showing how global travel changed in the intervening century. As you will see, journey times have fallen dramatically. 

Isochronic maps have been used for transportation planning from around the 1880s.

Some of the earliest include the works of Britain’s Sir Francis Galton in 1881 and of Albrecht Penck, the German geographer who created isochronic maps for smaller areas of land as well as maps for different modes of transportation such as for railway travel.