Our five-day schedule with day trips out of London and sites in London is very flexible. What percentage would you estimate can be saved by purchasing tickets three-four weeks in advance?
Also, I noted that Hampton Court isn't open on Mon or Tues. Are you in England experiencing a hard time getting employees (like in the USA) or is there another reason?
It depends how far in advance you are looking at buying. By the time it gets close to travel, the bargains are all gone.
One way to check this out yourself is to create a test itinerary of a trip now and see how much ticket prices for your day trips will cost on the correct day of the week four weeks out vs two weeks out from your hypothetical travel dates, etc. When I start planning a trip in Europe six months ahead I cannot get fares for the actual dates I need so I use a test itinerary of appropriate days of the week and destinations to see the ranges in fares. Some days of the week will be busier than others/sell out sooner.
I recently completed my train ticket purchases for day trips from London--Hampton Court and Bath, and I waited on Canterbury though I had pinpointed the day and times I wanted. Within about 10 days there were perhaps 12 tickets left on the morning train, then it got to 8 and I figured I'd better make up my mind and purchase, or I'd be making other plans. Once I know where I'm going and when, I purchase, would rather not wait in case the price gets lower especially if I am buying entry tickets to sites.
it's not a case of buying any ticket in advance. There's a particular type of ticket called Advance - that's where you save money. These can be available the day before travel - it just depends if they are all sold or not.
https://www.seat61.com/train-travel-in-britain.htm#guide-to-train-fares
The multiple you'll pay for a full-fare ticket as compared to an Advance ticket varies by origin/destination, but I've seen some very high multiples. The difference can be horrendous. It is smart to look at fares for the trips you plan to take as of tomorrow to get an idea of the maximum you might pay (though of course if your travel date is around the time of a holiday weekend, it could have higher last-minute fares than you see for tomorrow). If the numbers don't make you freak out, you can relax a bit.
One example: There's an 11:33 PM train from London to York tonight (leaving soon). The fare is £123.00. Three trains early tomorrow morning (7:00, 7:06 and 7:30 AM) cost £143.00. How do you feel about those fares? I'd choke if I had to pay them. Looking later in the morning, I see one Advance ticket for £48 and a bunch for £58 or £59. Better, but looking at a random date in late May, while I do see many departures priced at around £90.00, there are also some Advance tickets priced as low as £10 or £15.
To me, the difference between £10/£15 and £48/£59 is huge, not to mention the over-£100 fares.
I do not claim that all trips will have such a huge fare gap, but it is not uncommon.
There is a gimmicky Great British Train Sale or some guff suchlike at the moment, where up to a million Advance fares are half (ish) off their normal price until the end of May.
That's quite a small number of tickets, and it doesn't apply on most other ticket types.... so when doing test bookings be aware of what you are looking at...
I believe we have the most expensive rail tickets in Europe and the cheapest.
I have been on 2 trains were the conductor let me off paying as the fare for the 3 of us was too much bother to calculate.
Ref Hampton Court Palace, a quick check, end of July and all of August - Monday & Tuesdays are showing available, that’s peak summer season. A rule of thumb for opening times of historic houses and attractions in Britain is Easter to October (when the clocks change).
The issue with cheaper Advance train tickets is being tied to specific train times, you are trading (your) flexibility, freedom and the days weather with price, I hate clock watching or discovering I’d like to stay on a bit, move on or return to base earlier, so for me unless it’s long distance travel (over 2 hours) I stick with off-peak walk-up fares, no time restrictions at weekends and bank holidays, combined with a 12 month one-third Discount Railcard, I know the Railcard may not be financially viable for visitors, you have to look at the sums.
