Manchester to Portsmouth to Normandy

There will definitely be train changing involved. The fastest way will be by taking the train from Manchester to Euston station, followed by the Northern Line tube to Waterloo, from where the train to Portsmouth leaves. Be aware that this most direct tube route involves very long escalators at both ends, which are not pleasant if you have any tendency to fear of heights.

If you want to avoid crossing central London, try booking your tickets specifying Reading as an intermediate point. This will almost certainly take longer, but may be less stressful.

An alternative possibility you might want to look into is to fly by the budget airline Flybe from Manchester to Southampton. From Southampton airport you can get a train to Portsmouth. Southampton is also a port, but unfortunately I don't think there are any ferry routes crossing there to France - it tends to serve big cruise ships.

It's not Portsmouth Harbour station. That is for the ferries to the Isle of Wight. The 'Continental' ferries go from another ferry port. You need to get a train to Portsmouth & Southsea station (the main station), which is one stop before, and then get a taxi.

But, unless you actually want to go to Portsmouth or go on the overnight ferry, the quickest way would be to fly Manchester to Paris and get a train from there.

All you need to do is get to London from Manchester. Check out www.aquacars.co.uk, We used them and they will fetch you from anywhere in London, deliver you door to door, and cost less than train tickets, which will not deliver you to the front door of your lodging. The overnight ferry was not to our liking so we took the 6 hour ferry to Quistreham, the actual French port, thence a bus to Caen railroad station. We spent the night in Portsmouth, which is a real treat since all of the British naval history is right there and it was a jumping off port for D Day. The bus to the Caen RR station is part of the ferry ride so you can get to Paris with ease from Caen, and no need to purchase RR tickets in advance from Caen to Paris.

The simplest and probably cheapest way is a budget airline from Manchester to Paris then train.

Thank you all for your help! It is most appreciated! Now one additional question: can anyone recommend a tour guide/operator to see the Normandy beaches/museums? I'll post this question again in France Forum, but thought I'd also ask here as well. Once again, thank you...

Paul: If your journey involves getting from London to Portsmouth by train I would suggest that you consider booking with megatrain/megabus from Waterloo to either of the Portsmouth train stations. I did this last year and paid about two pounds for travel in either direction (cheaper than taking the Tube). However, if you book at the lowest rate you are locked onto a specific day and time. I rode in a second class coach along with all the regular payers.

http://www.megatrain.com/

Are you aware of the D-Day Museum in Southsea (Portsmouth):

http://www.ddaymuseum.co.uk/d-day/the-portsmouth-area-and-d-day

Paul, I know there are several good ones, but we used Dale Booth to tour Normandy, and he was fantastic! See [email protected]

Once again, thank you for all your help. Cheers!

A guided tour of the Normandy beaches is invaluable for the information and perspectives provided by the guide. Doing your research, you will note that tours may concentrate on the American landings or on Juneau beach for the Commonwealth (UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand etc.) The latter route may move inland to see the farmlands outside Caen where vicious tank battles were fought. Another choice you face is where to stay. Bayeux is the starting point for many tours. Caen, however, is a bigger place, with more accommodations to choose from, and a widely-praised "peace" museum which offers its own beach tours. As a bonus, the castle fort of William the Conqueror in the centre of Caen opens a window on a much earlier era of armed conflict.
If you choose the plane-and-train solution, these websites can help with the inevitable transfer from a Paris airport to the trains leaving the St-Lazare station:

www.parisbytrain.com

www.ratp.fr/en/ratp/c_21879/visiting-paris

http://en.voyages-sncf.com/en/