Celebrating our 35th anniversary with a trip to England September 2023

Fly into Manchester for York and return from LGW or LHR - that will make better use of your time. TPE run trains direct from MAN station to York.

Or you could fly into Edinburgh and get the train to York, it’s about 2.5 hour journey and quite scenic as it follows the north east coast. You could even stay a night or two in Edinburgh to see something of that historic city.

Train from Manchester to York takes about 2 hours and goes through more industrial areas.

"Train from Manchester to York takes about 2 hours and goes through more industrial areas."

The station at MAN is right in the centre of the airport and within short walking distance of all the terminals using the sky walks and travelling pavements, so there is next to no transfer time as opposed to EDI were it takes up to 40 mins to get Waverly from the airport, plus all the additional palavar. Also the journey itself depending on the service is 30 > 40 min longer too.

There are also far more flight options from MAN too (cheaper) and the train journey takes one across the Peninnes and goodly parts of the route is very scenic also.

TPE also offer airport advance tix, which allows for late arriving inbound flights.

Therefore, lots of advantages of considering MAN as the arrival airport.

Suggest you have a look at www.seat61.com for information on rail travel in UK including how to book tickets from abroad

Definitely the into Manchester, return from London option. Manchester airport has its own station with direct links to York and away from the towns and cities has nice views of the Pennines.
Train from York to London Kings Cross takes about 2 hours.
Use nationalrail.co.uk to book advance tickets that will limit you to a particular train, which can be a little tricky with international air travel but as someone has already stated, you have some flexibility with Trans Pennine Express tickets. Best prices are usually 6-12 weeks before departure date. You can register with rail company for alerts.
You could buy a 2 together railcard for £30 which will give a third off the cost of tickets. Just have passport type photos on your phone. You can tick the box that says you have a railcard at the time of booking, then buy your railcard at the first departure station.

Hi -

I’m going to play devils advocate here and suggest that if the air fares into Manchester are a lot more expensive than the ones to Heathrow, then travelling to LHR and onwards to York is perfectly feasible. I live in the north and we rarely fly in and out of Manchester, as most trips we take fly from a London Airport.

I have flown from Manchester though and there’s no doubting that the the station is convenient and allowances are made ticketing wise for your flight being delayed. Counter to that though the trip to York is by TransPennine rail who have developed a bad reputation of late for being unreliable, understaffed and with cancelled or broken down trains, despite the rolling stock having been recently updated. I speak from experience on this. Also the trip across the Pennines is not high speed and the journey time Manchester to York is almost the same as the journey time from London Kings Cross to York. Things may have improved on TransPennine by the time you travel - they are training more drivers - but the journey time won’t.

So if it is much more economic to fly into LHR than Manchester, I’d go with that. From LHR I’d take the tube from the airport to Kings Cross (about an hours trip) and then take the LNER Edinburgh train which calls at York. One thing to note is that to get the best LNER ticket prices you’ll need to book an ‘Advance ticket’, released about twelve weeks prior to departure date. These are non transferable, so I always build two to three hours from landing time to train departure in, plus the hours tube journey to to Kings Cross just in case your flight is a little delayed.

If you think the flight prices to Manchester are comparable with those to Heathrow, then by all means go for it. But if you will save a great deal by flying to London, then it’s not a big problem. If the arrival is at Gatwick, there’s a quick train service into London (Gatwick Express) but you’d still need to negotiate an additional tube journey to Kings Cross. I’d say there’s not a huge amount of difference in transit times from Heathrow and Gatwick into central London, based on my own previous experiences.

Congrats on your anniversary and have a great trip. Feel free to ask more when you finalise your flights!

Ian

good advice from Ian. By the way an easy way from Gatwick to Kings Cross for the York and Edinburgh train is to use the thrice hourly Thameslink train to London St Pancras International and walk across the little street to Kings Cross. The Gatwick Express is faster (and a lot more expensive) but it goes into Victoria station whereas the Thameslink has more stops so is inherently a little slower but goes right where you want to go.....

Thanks for the info everyone! I have looked into flying into EDI and now MAN as well, then flying back home out of LHR. I am finding the total cost of our airfare is much more expensive compared to roundtrip tickets in/out of London. Unfortunately. Thank you Ian for the "heads up" concerning the TPE. THIS is just the kind of helpful information that is provided by this RS Forum. I will no doubt have other questions as we research this trip. Thanks again!
Wendy

if the fares you find are much higher than a round trip from one city, be sure that you are using the multi-city (or open jaw) option and not two one-ways which will probably be very much higher.

Agree with Nigel and will add would you consider splitting your time in London? Some before, some afterward? It does add an extra hotel change in there as you'd have 2 hotel stays in London but it might be worth it if the airfares are much less going in/out of London.

Thank you Nigel. I will do just that. I am definitely a newbie when it comes to scheduling trips like this.

You need to learn to use the “multi-city” feature on the airline website to book open jaw flights into one city and back from another. It should be close to the cost of a regular roundtrip.

For example, I checked on British Airways for flights on your dates. A roundtrip from Kansas City MCI airport to London Heathrow costs $1197 in regular economy—-less if you choose the lowest economy fare with no checked bags.

A multi-city trip flying into Edinburgh and home from Heathrow on the same dates would be $1236 in regular economy. That would be well worth it IF you wanted to see Edinburgh. But note that the travel time and cost for the train from Edinburgh to York are very similar to the cost and time from London. Actually, the Advance fares I saw were lower from London Kings Cross (£25) than from Edinburgh (£36). But that could change by next September.

Also note that getting to Edinburgh from the USA will usually involve an additional flight—two connections rather than one. But some airlines may have direct flights into Edinburgh from selected US cities.

As for Manchester, British Airways doesn’t offer flights into there from MCI as part of a multi-city ticket. But it sounds like you have dismissed that option anyway. Probably a good idea, as the flights into Manchester from MCI that I saw on Google with American Airlines, or Delta, all seemed to arrive at a very early morning hour, like 6 am. Personally, I would not want to face that (going through immigration, transferring to the train station, and catching a train for a 2+ hour ride to York) after the overnight flight from the US.

I suggest that whether you choose to fly roundtrip to London or open jaw into Edinburgh, you pick a flight that arrives in late morning (London) or early afternoon (Edinburgh). Then I would spend the night there, with the afternoon to walk around and get some fresh air to help alleviate jet lag and travel fatigue. Book your train tickets to York for the following morning, far enough ahead to get the discounted Advance fare.

The savings on the Advance tix for 2 could cover the cost of the hotel, and you will have a more relaxing journey. **

It is your anniversary, after all.

** Here’s the math: lowest Advance fare from London to York, £25 pounds. Walk up fare for an off-peak ticket is £145 ( at least now it is). Savings £120 per ticket, or £240 in all.

I neglected to talk about the Gatwick option, which is a very good suggestion in light of the easy Thameslink connection to St. Pancras/Kings Cross for your onward journey by train to York.

The problem I found in looking at flights with other Airlines (American and Jet Blue) is that the US to London leg departs from JFK in late afternoon or early evening. This means another 6 am arrival into Gatwick, after a short night on the plane with little sleep. I would not care for that, but perhaps it would not bother you at all. It is certainly worth looking at when you search flights.

I see you are from the neighboring state of Kansas. Booking flights from Kansas (I am going to assume you fly from Kansas City) you will need a connecting flight to get to Europe. Flying with Delta there is usually a connection through Detroit, Minneapolis, or Atlanta. American Airlines will usually connect you through Chicago, Philly, or Dallas. I fly from St. Louis, and if I am using Delta I try to go through Detroit, If I fly AA, I try to use Chicago. These flights are the shortest for us. Manchester is not always a good option for our connections and some routes are seasonal. Don't always pick the cheapest option. Buy at least main cabin and book through the airline website. Easier to make changes. As for jumping on the train to York on the first day, it is up to you. I might do it, but I know I get tired easier these days and I may just build in a day to get over jet lag and walk around London to get my bearings. Book an afternoon train for the next day. You will get to York, ready to check into your lodgings and be somewhat rested. I am more of a slower traveler these days and I enjoy my trip so much more. No need to hurry.

I already have flights booked for my September 2023 trip. I notice the prices were cheap last week (around $750 return from STL to LHR) so I booked. That's a good price from the midwest. Typically flights range from $1,000 to $1,400

Personally, unless one wants to see and visit Edinburgh I would dismiss it as an option as getting to York. Whilst flying into either LGW or LHR will have more options one has the unmitigated hassle of getting through London with luggage at perhaps rush hour - I would go a long way to avoid that as its as close to purgatory as one can get.

Whilst flying into MAN may have its drawbacks (I don't see an early arrival as one, as a lot of the transAtlantic flight to other airports are the same). Its the ease of getting to the train station and having an airport advance tix which takes the worry out of an late arrival and getting straight to York in one hop with out the need for a change - other than the trains headed for Cleethorpes or Hull all stop at York heading east, so there are plenty of options. The TPE trains leaving MAN are often are close to empty and don't fill up to later in the journey and one has not got to scramble for a seat, which is not the case at Waverley or KX.

I travel a lot on the TPE trans Peninne route (Leeds <> Manc), whilst TPE have had thier fair share of problems, in all reality they have been no worse or better than most other operators, in fact LNER have let me down horrifically three times recently. A lot of TPE's rolling rolling stock is brand new with the new push-me-pull me trains, that actually is replacing stock that is relatively not that old and many operators have trains older than TPE are replacing.

But there is no need to face the “purgatory” of crossing London at rush hour. Many of the British Airways flights from the US land at Heathrow between late morning and early afternoon. It is very easy to choose one of those in the booking process. And if they book their tickets 90+ days ahead, they can ride the fast and comfortable Heathrow Express to Paddington for £5.50 each, undisturbed by traffic.

Should they choose to continue their journey onward to York that same day (something I would not do, as explained above, but it is their choice), they have only to take the shortcut from the Heathrow Express arrival platform to the Circle Line tube platform for the short transfer to Kings Cross station for the LNER train. Or they could walk outside the station and take a black cab from the stand if they prefer—- Paddington to Kings Cross does not involve much distance, not like “crossing London”.

Laughing Spam Loiner -

It was a brand new TPE train - Leeds to Manchester - that broke down on me! And there were issues with a reverse journey and a trip to Manchester Airport. And to Hull. Personally I’ve never been unfortunate to have had major problems with LNER, bar the obvious recent industrial action, and I’m sorry you have. We do live in ‘interesting’ times though and disruption is increasingly the norm it would seem. Hopefully thing swill improve in the not too distant future. I’d like our railways to be efficient, with the correct number of trained and engaged staff to provide a safe and pleasurable experience. Cost effectiveness would be the cherry on the cake!

"Should they choose to continue their journey onward to York that same day (something I would not do, as explained above, but it is their choice), they have only to take the shortcut from the Heathrow Express arrival platform to the Circle Line tube platform for the short transfer to Kings Cross station for the LNER train. Or they could walk outside the station and take a black cab from the stand if they prefer—- Paddington to Kings Cross does not involve much distance, not like “crossing London”.

You have said it all and highlighted all the issues in crossing London in comparison to a short walk on the skywalk with the assistance of the moving pavement at MAN to the station and paff bam! One train and you are in York.

We are travelling in June 2023. We checked airfare on various airlines and Virgin Atlantic stood out by a lot of reviewers. However, reserving our flight and 3 nights in London through Expedia turned out to be cheaper that airfare alone reserved through Virgin Atlantic directly.

However, reserving our flight and 3 nights in London through Expedia turned out to be cheaper that airfare alone reserved through Virgin Atlantic directly.

Have you ever used Expedia in the past? If everything works out you could save a lot of money. If there are problems, you are in for a lot off headaches.

Understand, you have not booked a flight with VA or with your hotel. You have booked with Expedia. Any changes, any problems, have to be dealt with via Expedia. Not the airline. Not the hotel.

Story--my favorite hotel in London has two bunk bed rooms. One evening, a couple in their 80's arrived at the hotel with a booking for two via Expedia. Expedia booked the bunk bed rooms because it was the cheapest. The couple had no idea as their reservation said a double room. The husband was game to try it. His wife wasn't. Luckily, the hotel had a regular double bedded room available and felt sorry for the couple so they were moved at no extra charge. I know this because I witnessed the entire thing.

You can often book flight +hotel packages directly with the airline instead of Expedia to avoid the issues of dealing with a third party. British Airways, for example, occasionally offers flight plus hotel packages for less than the cost of a RT ticket, but mostly for the off-season.

https://www.britishairways.com/travel/home/public/en_us/

Hello, it is rather daunting when you haven't traveled over there. But we went for our first visit in 2013. Train travel is so convenient. But they leave on time! We flew into Edinburgh and it was a beautiful place to start our trip. We visited the castle and walked along some of the Royal Mile. We were tired so we didn't finish. The train was a lovely ride along the coast. Make sure to get seats on the left side and you'll be able to watch the coastline go by. I loved it! We hope to go back in the fall of 2023 like you! We will make sure to finish the Royal Mile and we are going to stay two days this time and explore a few other areas. We loved York. We spent 2 days there. We stayed a cute Guest House and walked everywhere. We found a free walking tour that took us along the Roman Wall and was very informative and did that shortly after our arrival and dropping our luggage at our Guest House. The York Minster is beautiful and we took in a Evensong and it was wonderful. Good luck with your planning. We are in the same boat. Just trying to figure out what we want to see and do... How long here and there. How long will it take to get there via buses or trains. Advice, research research research.

Thank you everyone for all the good information. We are definitely doing our research!