BritRail Pass and Reservations

Seat reservations are not required and not always available. With a rail pass, you make these reservations for free in British stations up to 24 hours ahead of travel. Otherwise, you just jump on with your pass (same as a ticket) and take any available seat.

Group discounts do mean that you only get one document - or in the case of BritRail, it may look like multiple documents but they must be carried together. Two of the three people can take the whole pass (all the pieces) and use it but the third person does not have a pass to travel in a different direction.

A BritRail England pass doesn't have any time of day restrictions and covers all regular trains under the umbrella of National Rail.

The first thing you need to do is check out the train times and fares at www.nationalrail.co.uk Note the prices for travelling today (if you are up early enough). Then forward to your dates in June. Is it possible to pre-book lower fares for June or do the prices stay the same? (For short trips - you just show up and pay on the day as the fare usually stays the same). Also check out for one way fares v return fares.

If you are thinking of doing a trip in the order you have stated - then it is rather illogical as Wool, Salisbury and Bath are all in the west and Dover is in the south-east. Why are you going to Dover? Is it to see the white cliffs? If so, it would be far better to go to Wool, see the Tank place and then go to the coast at nearby Lulworth and walk the cliffs to Durdle Dor. The coast here is spectacular and has white chalk cliffs:>https://www.visit-dorset.com/things-to-do/lulworth-cove-p807263
So, I would suggest that you should stay at least 1 night in this part of Dorset. (Your London departure station will be Waterloo).

Then, I would suggest that you go to Salisbury or Bath and have accommodation booked for maybe 2 nights. Check on www.nationalrail.co.uk (For Bath, you will find 2 ways of going from Wool by train. One is to go *west to Upwey and then walk to the other platform for another train that will take you to Bath. The other way is to take a train to Southampton and then another train to Bath via Salisbury - where you may like to have booked accommodation for 1 night so that you can take a shuttle bus to Stonehenge and also visit the Cathedral. * You may like to go all the way to Weymouth - which is not far from Upwey - and have a look at that seaside town before catching a train to Bath. https://www.visit-dorset.com/explore/towns/weymouth

When you leave Bath for London - your arrival station will be Paddington OR, you could take a train to Salisbury and then go to London Waterloo. (A pre-booked specific train ticket would not allow you to hop off at Salisbury -= you would need to purchase separate tickets). It is possible to board a train without a reserved seat. This could result in standing at peak times but usually seats are available. So, compare the fares on the National Rail website with the Britrail Pass. Most people say that the Britrail Pass is expensive and not worth bothering with. Note that if you base yourself in London and make day trips, that you get less bang for your buck with hotel prices in London that out in other areas. Also consider getting a Railcard in order to get a discount:> http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_fares/46540.aspx
https://www.seat61.com/UK-train-travel.htm
Rail system map:> http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/static/documents/content/routemaps/nationalrailnetworkmap.pdf
For buses try:>http://www.traveline.info

Is that 3 adults or 2 and a half?

I don't know what you mean by "ACP".

It is very rare for trains to be reservation only in the UK, there is always room to squeeze one more on. Unless you travel at rush hour or late at night after the trains fill up after "chucking out" time.

James makes a lot of excellent points.

What time do you need to be at the Tank museum?

I'd be highly surprised if you save money with the Britrail pass. Fares can be confusing but there are some here who can help a bit with that, if asked. Do you know about Groupsave?

My guess about ACP is that it is this website: https://www.acprail.com/

This whole site seems for the UK at least to be mainly orientated around the Britrail Pass products. Although there is an option for selling point-to-point tickets it doesn't seem to work, even for the suggested itineraries.

The OP would be better looking up the trips on www.nationalrail.co.uk to verify prices.

Whenever I come across a website I have never heard of before, the first thing I do is to go to the "about us" or "contact us" page to find who they are. And the harder it is to find this info the less I trust the website. For this "ACP Rail", it is this page: https://www.acprail.com/contact-us

ACP Rail International
8375 rue Bougainville, Suite 100 Montreal, Quebec Canada H4P 2G5
Please note this is an administrative office and not a retail or order pick up location. Please call to place an order or to speak to a representative.
Phone: +1 (514) 733-9865 Toll free for Canada and USA: 1-866-938-7245 [email protected]

So, it is another North-American based reseller trying to muscle in to the market for North Americans who do not know where to buy rail tickets or get info.
The rule is quite simple:
1) For info and buying tickets go to the website of the company running the trains (applies to trains, airlines, or anything else you buy on the internet).
2) For background info, beginners guides, and what company runs what trains, go to: https://www.seat61.com/
3) Avoid all resellers operating half way around the world.

So, it is another North-American based reseller trying to muscle in to the market for North Americans who do not know where to buy rail tickets or get info.

That is not a fair characterization. It is the railways themselves, who have chosen to market their products to visitors in the form of a rail pass, who set the prices of both tickets and passes, and who have contracted authorized agents around the world to extend the reach of their products.

On another thread you say you are staying in London 10 days and taking daytrips out of London. Did you check the prices of these trips on the National Rail website for a "day return" ticket for each trip? James gave you the link. It may be considerably cheaper to just buy separate tickets than a BritRail Pass.

To answer the second of your questions designated as #2, if you get a discounted group pass for the three of you, it will be one Pass. You have to travel together.

I just checked the prices of these trips for June.

A day return from London to Dover and back is £37 roundtrip,for off-peak travel or £40 for Anytime" travel.

For Wool, Advance tickets will,take you round trip,for £27. Remember these are for a specific train and non-changeable.

For Bath ( I did not figure in .salisbury) Advance tickets for the outbound and back are also £27.

These prices may vary depending on the actual date of travel; I used a date in mid-June. But I am pretty sure the total is less than a three-day BritRail Pass.

The pay on the day ticket for Wool to Bath (via a change at Upwey) is £26.10 = stays the same so no point in pre booking.

Thanks James

Dover is not necessary and yes I wanted to see the white cliffs. I have to be in Bovington on June 30th by 9am

Thanks for the information

Lola, thank you, I am working the numbers!