Best remote UK getaways for slow travellers

Here at Byway, we love helping you get to know some of the amazing, off the beaten track places scattered across Europe, many of which are only accessible only by trains, boats or bikes. Now more than ever remote spots away from the crowds make for wonderful slow escapes, so we’ve decided it’s a great time to share a few of our close-to-home favourites with you to help you dream up your next Byway adventure.

Photograph: John Stoddard

Corrour, Scotland

Corrour is the UK’s highest altitude train station at 408m above sea level and, although it is tiny, it has become a cultural and historical icon. Famously featured in Trainspotting, and one of the stops on the West Highland Line, its remoteness gives wanderlust fans a natural high, with wild Rannoch Moor stretching out all around.

Hikers get off at the station and head into the hills like a mirage. Some are actually just heading to Loch Ossian Hostel, 2km away, considered the country’s most remote hostel on the shores of its namesake loch. This is a place where birders watch, wild swimmers dip, and others sip a wee dram perusing OS maps. 

Getting the train to Corrour is the only way to go, unless you want to hike 24km. It has a history of natural stewardship dating back to 1891, when the Corrour Estate was bought by Sir John Stirling Maxwell, a philanthropist, botanist and forester. Today it is in the hands of conservationist Lisbet Rausing, with the Estate welcoming thousands of walkers every year, some of whom stay at our favourite restored Signal Box accommodation at the station. It’s remote, it’s very Rannoch and it’s quite remarkable. 

Photograph: James Austin/Flickr

Isle of Eigg, Scotland

Wildlife lovers have known about Eigg for years but when the small local community bought their beloved island in order to protect its future, it hit headlines. That was in 1997 and it’s still going strong, a green energy pioneer and an all round, totally good Eigg. 

Eigg is car-free so when you take the ferry from Mallaig or Arisaig, both stations on the magnificent West Highland Line between Glasgow and Fort William, you are leaving the cars and carbon behind. Leave the cultural hub of Glasgow on this train and watch the wildness of the west coast kick in. 

Eigg is called one of the Small Isles for good reason, at 9km by 5km. You can do all the usual outdoorsy things, hiking and cycling around its coastal hideaways, bog and native woodland, and we really recommend taking a guided walk with Scottish Wildlife Trust Ranger every Wednesday morning in spring and summer months. However, really Eigg is a place to just slow down and do very little. You don’t have to ‘do’ Eigg. You can just imbibe its tranquil, soothing ingredients and feel all the better for it. 

Land’s End Peninsula, Cornwall

Land’s End encapsulates a glass half empty or glass half full attitude to life. Some think of it as the end of the road, but slow travellers see it as the beginning of a remote adventure. The most westerly mainland point of Cornwall and England, Land’s End is located in West Penwith, also known as the Land’s End Peninsula, the nearest town of Penzance being 13km away. 

West Penwith is a protected landscape and designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, with a generous combination of enveloping coves and expansive beaches to cater for all manner of seaside preferences. Portheras Cove is tucked away between St Ives and Land's End, boasting a landscape combo of caves and cascades. The sweeping shores of Whitesand Bay make for another mammoth sight, in contrast to the quiet cove at Nanjizal, which is only accessible on foot and boasts a tall narrow, rocky passageway known as Zawn Pyg.

Isles of Scilly

Located 40km off the Cornish coast, you can’t get more remote than this archipelago of over a hundred islands. You can do slow and Scilly, taking a 2 hr 45 min ferry ride from Penzance train station. The largest island is St Mary’s and it’s the landing point for the ferry from the mainland. St Mary's is as metropolitan as the Scilly Isles get with one supermarket, a police station, hospital and few pubs, including the islands' oldest and liveliest spot, The Mermaid Inn. It even has a small vineyard. The seafood is unbeatable - local crab and lobster are the favourites. 

The car-free island of St Martin’s is beach bliss with Great Bay living up to its name. While away your days exploring the island by bike or take to the water to snorkel with friendly seals. There's a chippy, one pub and a beautiful flower farm. Tresco is famous for its 19th century Abbey Garden, Bryher has a wild Atlantic side plus a fair smattering of gorgeous places to stay, and St. Agnes is a peripheral paradise. Ferries run to all these islands between March and November. 

North York Moors National Park

The UK’s national parks carry the nickname ‘Britain’s breathing spaces’ and by travelling slowly in the North York Moors National Park, you will be exhaling stress and inhaling solace from the minute you leave home. Moorland takes top billing here, but actually the park takes in rivers, ancient woodland and coast. You can seek out the vast and precious heather moorlands, the glacial valleys and upland trails of Dalby Forest, or the riverside walks along the Esk, Leven and Derwent.  

When you travel to the North York Moors National Park by train, York, Middlesbrough or Whitby are your best main stops. However, you can also access the park directly from stations at Commondale and Glaisdale. Whichever way you choose to enter it, keep your eyes peeled, because the Moors boast a bevy of birdlife, particularly raptors such as merlin, goshawks, honey buzzards, red kite, peregrine and sparrowhawks. 

For accommodation in the North York Moors it’s all about independent inns, historic hostels and glamping gorgeousness, our favourite spot is the charming shepherd’s hut in Thornton-le-Dale which is the perfect remote hideaway for a quiet stay in nature and spectacular starry skies.