Train suggestions from York to Keswick in Sept. 2024

Simply wait a couple of weeks until the cheaper tickets go on sale. It'll be a train to Penrith then the bus to Keswick.

Rather than book a return ticket, you could be creative and buy a one-way ticket outward via Newcastle, then another one-way ticket homebound via Leeds

Northern Rail release their Advance tickets 8 weeks out so you have a while to wait for tickets yet, but you can't get a rail ticket to Keswick, only to Penrith.

Then the £2 bus every 30 minutes to Keswick- OR to Carlisle then the bus 553 or 554 to Keswick.

As your outbound journey is on a Saturday, as well as the X4/X5 bus from Penrith there is also the new 509 route which takes a scenic route via Lowther and Ullswater, if you got your timings right- also £2.

There are four basic routes-
1. Train York to Preston (a Blackpool North train), every hour, then Preston to Penrith [book as 2 tickets];
2. Train York to Leeds; Leeds to Carlisle; Carlisle to Penrith (or bus 553/554 from Carlisle at 1000, 1100, 1230, 1430 and 1630) [book as 3 tickets]
3. Train York to Newcastle; Newcastle to Carlisle, Carlisle to Penrith (or bus as above) [book as 3 tickets]
4. Train York to Leeds; Leeds to Carnforth, then bus 555 from outside the station, every hour, all the way to Keswick for £2 for the 2:30 journey [book the train as 2 tickets]. Equally you could stay on the train to Lancaster then train Lancaster to Penrith
That would allow the option to see the Brief Encounter Museum at Carnforth, and use the wonderful refreshment rooms

You could do one route out, another back

On 10 September the bus 554 to Carlisle leaves at 0845, 1035, 1200, 1315, 1630 and 1740- the 553 is a weekend only service (via Caldbeck)

Thank you so much for all your helpful information. I'll wait a few weeks until I purchase. I like the idea of taking 2 different train routes which will give me the opportunity to see different parts of the country.

To give you some idea of the kind of advance fares you should end up paying (may vary on your dates a bit up or down), all with Senior Railcard-

Route 1 via Preston- £13.05 + £7.55= £20 to £21 ish

Route 2 via Leeds/Carlisle- £3.75 + £10.40 + £4.25 = £19 ish

Route 3 via Carnforth- £3.75 + £7.30 +£7.55 = £19 ish

Route 4 via Newcastle- £7.05 + £4.45 + £4.25= £15 ish

On Routes 2 and 4 deduct the final £4.25 if you opt to use the bus 553/554 to/from Carlisle. York to Newcastle especially for £7 is a fare many people don't realise is so low on Advance (Fixed train time) tickets.

Sometimes if you book at the 8 week point you can get Carlisle to Newcastle for £2.20, rather than over £4.

Thank you for the fare information. Very helpful. Is it usually best to book around 8 weeks out to get best prices on UK longer distance trains? I might have made a mistake yesterday booking a senior ticket one way from Bath to York on Sept. 9. I chose the route from Bath to Bristol then York so I could see that part of England. Paid 74 pounds ? (It was a bit cheaper going via London)

Northern are now the outlier at 8 weeks- most other companies are now back at 12 weeks ticket release.

Northern advance fares don't sell out very fast and are often still there minutes before travel. Personally I still get wonderful fares 2 to 4 weeks out. You certainly don't need to be up at 0001 UK time on the day of release to bag the best bargains.

Bath to York you should have found via London for around £40 booked as 2 tickets. Personally I would always route via London due to the crowding issues on Cross Country via Bristol and Birmingham where the train capacity does not meet demand by a good margin.

As stated on another thread more train cars are now starting to arrive at Cross Country to relieve their crowding issues.

I wouldn't see your decision as a mistake, rather the sub optimal choice.