Vegan Travel in the UK: How to Eat Well Anywhere

Eating vegan at home is easy. Eating vegan while travelling across the UK — at motorway services, train stations, airports, and in rural areas — is where it gets harder. Here’s how to handle every situation.

Motorway services

Every major UK motorway service station (Welcome Break, Moto, Roadchef, Extra) now has multiple vegan options:

• Greggs — present in most services. Vegan sausage roll and steak bake always available.
• Costa — plant milk available, several vegan sandwiches and wraps, Biscoff cake.
• WHSmith / M&S Food — pre-packaged vegan sandwiches, salads, and snack pots. M&S Plant Kitchen range is excellent.
• Burger King — Vegan Royale burger available at most locations.
• KFC — the Original Recipe Vegan Burger is available at most UK locations.

The worst-case scenario at a motorway service is a bag of crisps, a Biscoff bar, and a black coffee — not great, but you won’t starve.

Train stations

Major stations (Kings Cross, Birmingham New Street, Manchester Piccadilly) have the same chains as motorway services. Smaller stations are trickier — pack snacks. Good options to grab before boarding:

• Pret A Manger — strong vegan range including wraps, salads, and soups
• Leon — multiple vegan mains and snacks
• Boots meal deal — always has at least one vegan sandwich option, plus crisps and a drink for £3.99

Airports

UK airports are generally good for vegans. The same chain options apply (Greggs, Pret, Leon, WHSmith). Most sit-down restaurants in airport terminals have at least one vegan main. Nando’s, Wagamama, and Wetherspoons are commonly found in airports and all have vegan options.

Rural areas and small towns

This is the hardest scenario. Small-town pubs and cafés may have limited or no labelled vegan options. Strategies:

• Ask for “no cheese, no butter” on existing dishes. A jacket potato with beans becomes vegan. A salad without cheese dressing works.
• Chips — ask if they’re cooked in vegetable oil (most are). Chips with beans or curry sauce is a reliable fallback.
• Indian and Chinese takeaways exist in almost every UK town. Vegetable curry, tofu dishes, and plain rice are usually available.
• Pack emergency snacks — nuts, fruit, cereal bars, peanut butter sandwiches. Never travel rural without a backup.

Useful things to always carry

• A cereal bar or two (Nakd bars are always vegan)
• A piece of fruit
• Is It Vegan? bookmarked on your phone for checking unfamiliar products