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Best way to travel from England to Scotland

I'm looking for suggestions on the best way to travel between these points. I will be traveling from London to Birmingham. After a few days there, I will be going onto Coventry. Another few days there, and I'll head to Edinburgh. I'm not a fan of buses and I would like to be able to relax and take in the scenery between these points. I'm a big girl so the more leg room the better. I'm traveling solo and this will also be my first time. I would love to know what this group would recommend in terms of individual train tickets versus rail passes. I'll arrive in London on September 22nd and will be in the UK for 2 weeks. Any help is greatly appreciated! Thank you in advance!

Posted by
8889 posts

Denise, Of course the answer depends on where in England to where in Scotland, but you have answered that, Coventry to Edinburgh.
You can look up train times on the National Rail site: http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/
This will link you to the correct train company to buy tickets. I looked up Coventry to Edinburgh for 9th July (the last week for which tickets are currently available), starting at 08:00:

08:42 depart Coventry, Edinburgh arrive 13:26, 1 change, Single Fare £146.10
09:42 depart Coventry, Edinburgh arrive 14:19, 0 changes, Single Fare £45.00
09:50 depart Coventry, Edinburgh arrive 15:17, 2 changes, Single Fare £57.70
10:42 depart Coventry, Edinburgh arrive 15:34, 1 change, Single Fare £137.20
11:42 depart Coventry, Edinburgh arrive 16:20, 0 changes, Single Fare £45.00

There are earlier and later trains, that is just a sample. You will have to wait about 2 months before tickets for September become available, but it is unlikely the timetable will change much.
I think you will find 2nd class rail roomy enough. And, unlike buses, you can get up and walk around any time you like, go to the toilet and eat and drink your own food.
Prices start cheap, and go up the nearer the date, so it pays to buy early. At those prices, a rail pass is a lot more expensive than normal tickets.

Posted by
4684 posts

Birmingham and Coventry are part of the same city region, so there is no point in staying in different places - stay in one place and explore the whole West Midlands conurbation. If you can commit to travelling by specific trains, you can get advance fares from London to Birmingham/Coventry, Birmingham/Coventry to Edinburgh, and Edinburgh to London (I assume) which will be cheaper than a rail pass. While in Birmingham/Coventry you can get a weekly West Midlands Network Pass that will give you unlimited travel on local trains, trams, and most buses.

For London Euston to Coventry or Birmingham - Virgin Trains - https://www.virgintrains.co.uk
For London Marylebone to Birmingham - slower but may be cheaper - Chiltern Railways - https://www.chilternrailways.co.uk/
For Coventry/Birmingham to Edinburgh - Cross Country Trains - https://www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk/
For Edinburgh to London - Virgin Trains East Coast - https://www.virgintrainseastcoast.com/

Posted by
392 posts

Hmm, I'd say the best scenery you'll get is once you arrive in Scotland and I'd be tempted to take the 75minute flight from Birmingham to Edinburgh, book now and you might get a one way flight for £40.

Posted by
533 posts

For a 4+ hour train ride like Birmingham/Coventry to Edinburgh, if you can get a good deal on a first class ticket (and if you book far enough in advance, you probably can), it's worth considering. Not only do you get a bigger and more comfortable seat, but you also get complimentary at-seat food service throughout the day. (The specifics of this vary by train company, so check the webpage of the company you'll be traveling with, but CrossCountry and Virgin both look like they have pretty generous menus.)

Last time I did this was in 2011, so my experience might be out of date, but I was really impressed with the service: a pastry for a late, light breakfast (I boarded around 10:00), a hot meal for lunch, and several cups of tea throughout the day, all served by friendly and helpful staff.

As the others have said, individual tickets booked in advance are almost always a better deal than a rail pass. The big exception is if you can't (or really, really don't want to) make firm enough plans to commit to a specific train schedule in advance. Then the convenience of the rail pass might be worth paying more for.

Posted by
2383 posts

The second class seats on the Cross Country trains are rather narrow. 1st class on these trains is better for big people. The Virgin west coast route from Birmingham/Coventry to Edinburgh is generally quicker.