Train Traveling in England

For train travel - http://www.nationalrail.co.uk

Here is a map of the rail system:>http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/static/documents/content/routemaps/nationalrailnetworkmap.pdf

I would suggest you land at Heathrow and go straight to Oxford - possibly by bus - or use shuttle bus to Reading & train. (Do London last). Anyway, if you wish to do London first, for the Cotswolds - you leave from Paddington station and go to Oxford - which is within easy tripping distance of the Cotswolds - or continue to Moreton-in-Marsh = nearest station to the best Cotswold villages. (There are tour buses but it is easiest of you hire a car - which is unlikely from MIM).

Anyway, when you wish to leave the Cotswolds for the Lake District, you need to firstly go by train to Birmingham (New Street) - which you can easily do from Oxford, Stratford-upon-Avon or Cheltenham but not MIM - unless you backtrack to Oxford first. From Birmingham, you need to take a train to Winderemere to put you in the Lake District. (This will entail 1 or 2 changes en-route > click details on National Rail website and it will tell you what to do). You will probably find it cheaper to split the ticket at Birmingham.

When leaving the Lake District - you will need to travel to London (Euston).

Longer journeys are cheaper if pre-booked in advance - with the cheaper fares being loaded about 11 weeks out.

Also read:>https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/england/uk-train-questions
http://www.lakedistrict.gov.uk/visiting/planyourvisit
http://www.carlberry.co.uk/rfnshowl.asp?L1=MOR0010

Just agreeing with James that if you do decide to go to Oxford first, the from Heathrow to Oxford is an easier and less expensive option than trying to take a train. I've done that a few times now for a conference at the University. Most of the drivers are very helpful, too, to make sure you get the stop you want if you want to get off closer to where you are planning to stay in Oxford, rather than going all the way to the bus station.

Thanks so much, this is what I was hoping for. One question, are all train options included at this website, ie Virgin or others?

I believe the National Rail website includes all train services, at least in Britain.

Here is the link to the bus service between Heathrow and Oxford, known as "The Airline." It worked very well for us.

www.nationalrail.co.uk has EVERY train service in Britain - well apart from small private heritage lines. When you select a service - it normally routes you through to the company on whose train(s) you will do most if not all of your journey. You are asked for your debit card details and given booking reference numbers - that is assuming you are pre-booking Advance tickets - which is a cheaper way of doing it than just showing up on the day - for longer journeys. (Short hops are usually the same price to just pay and go).

Just curious, what is the comparison between GoEuro and NationalRail? NationalRail more England centric? Also when checking train travel between destinations it is not unusual to have 4 changes of trains. Is this problematic making connections?

National Rail is the trade association for all the railway companies in Britain. It is their joint operation.
It lists all the trains in Britain (apart from preserved tourist railways), and when you want to buy it links to the actual train operating companies and offers all tickets with no mark-ups (no booking fees).

GoEuro is a reseller. And, like all resellers, you cannot guarantee it will have all the trains listed, and it may have a markup.
It is always best to go direct to the company running the trains, and in the case of Britain, if you don't know, that is National Rail.

Changing trains is not unusual. If you are travelling any distance it is normal to have to change trains. Trains services are designed as an interconnecting network. Long distance trains on the main network, and connecting trains to get to all points.

I wouldn't like a train journey with four connections, especially with luggage, but service is very reliable, platforms are close together, and schedules are designed to fit well together. So don't worry about a short connection time in most stations.

The big exception is London, where connecting between one station and another can take quite awhile.

This path of travel is pretty well set because we are coordinating meeting other friends. We are starting in London for several days and train to Cotswolds (Burton of Water) for some more days. Then we are going to the Lake District and that is where the four connections occur, Moreton-in-Marsh to Windermere. Any help would be appreciated. Lifting luggage four times isn't exciting but it is only one day.

It is starting at MIM that is the ‘problem’ as this lies on a line that sort of runs east>west and you really want to go south>north. I said in my earlier post about the possible routings. Are you getting a price of £91 for the through ticket form MIM > WDM (Windemere)?

I would suggest you do it this way:> Pullhams bus from Bourton-on-the-Water to Cheltenham - (It takes you downtown = 1 mile from the railway station - frequent local local buses do this but I would ask the Pullhams driver to tell you where to catch the bus to the railway station). Here is the present timetable for Pullhams route 801:> https://www.pulhamscoaches.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/801-NEW_from-14th-November-2016-_Sue-edited.pdf
(I would re-check there schedules nearer the time if you do decide to go via this route).

I see (for mid-May - booking now) that a train leaves Cheltenham at 14.11 to arrive Windermere at 17.55 (including changing at Birmingham New Street & Oxenholm) with a price of £30.70 (3 hours 44mins. total from Cheltenham to Winderemere). So, consider pre-booking that and then just match it up with the Pullhams departure from Bourton-on-the-Water for Cheltenham - allowing time to get to the railway station. (If you want to reduce the rail fare for the same trains - pre-book CNM > BHM for £7.50 and BHM > WDM for £13. The departure from Birmingham New Street will be the 15.15 Virgin express to Glasgow. However, by splitting the ticket, should the first train be late, then you might have a problem with Virgin letting you on a later train at the low price).

Usually, British trains run bang on the minute - and they often don’t hang about in stations for more than 2 minutes - so, when approaching a station at which you disembark, you need to get your things ready to get off. You will not have steps to climb up into tall trains - as in America. Most platforms are almost level with the carriages - with just a step up over the gap.

Of course, you can always do it another way such as going from MIM to Oxford (buy a separate ticket from MIM to Oxford on the day). Pre-order OXF > WDM advance ticket. OR go via Worcester.

You can see if the trains run on time by clicking this link and inserting a station in the Location box. (Note how long they wait at stations. For trains you might use, note the platform numbers as these are likely to be the same when you visit the UK). Sundays can be different due to engineering work and reduced services.
http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/search/advanced

If hoiking up luggage a short distance into a train is a problem that must be heavy luggage - sorry - and I think it would be even worse up into a coach or a bus. Cheltenham station is quite a way out of the centre of the town, too.

If you split Advance tickets at Birmingham New Street be very sure that you won't miss the second train. New Street is a large station with 23 places trains can come to and go from - all platforms have both an "A" and a "B" end and it can be confusing. Add to that that platforms are bunched together into three coloured "lounges" with ticket barriers into and out of each of those areas. All that boils down to the fact that enough time needs to be planned into changes there. Official connections are for a minimum of 15 minutes, if you don't know the station I would allow more.

You need to get off the Cotswold line (Oxford to Worcester via Moreton-in-Marsh) at either Worcester or Oxford before you can start heading north.

Looking at James' comment about trains stopping for 2 minutes or so, that is only at very major stations. At minor stations like Moreton-in-Marsh and other smaller stations expect the doors only to be released for 15 to 30 seconds, only as long as it takes for people to visibly leave the doors and people on the platform to step on. If you are actively putting luggage and people on the guard won't close the doors until everybody is on, but if you dawdle getting off and she or he can't see you moving towards the door you may find the door closed and locked before you get around to stepping off.

And one other bit of knowledge, the guard remotely releases the doors at a station and closes them, but it is the passenger who actually opens them by pressing the lit up green lighted button after it has lit up. If you don't press the button and there is nobody on the other side pressing it on their side the door will not open - unlike the Tube where all the doors open and shut together. Green to open, red to close. You will almost never push the red one unless a cold wind is coming in, but do be aware that when the doors are released that it must be the green one pushed.

Thanks much to everyone, I learned a lot. Will keep my fingers crossed the day of 4 connections, and hustle on that day!

Do note that on the Cotswold line you may travel on one of the remaining HST where there is no inside handle or button to open the door and you have to drop the window and open with the outside handle. I'm always doing it for confused tourists. The point about the train not stopping long is also important as I have also witnessed people being carried beyond their intended stop by not getting off quickly enough.

Looking at the connections from the Cotswolds to Lake District on train, there is a arrival in Oxenholme at 12:20. There is a departure at 12:26 to Windermere. How fast will I have to run (with luggage mind you) to make this connection? Also, if you miss this train and connect at a later time for another train, does that affect your ticket purchased prior to leaving?

I'm not at all familiar with that station, but the diagram shows there are ramps to the underpass that you'd use if you had to change from Platform 1 to either Platform 2 or Platform 3, or vice versa. Unlike elevators, ramps do not go out of service, leaving you to struggle with stairs.

If you put the whole journey, not just the legs into the National Rail Planner, if the connection you have noticed does not appear it means that it is considered to be too short. If it is, then it is legal.

The crew of the Oxenholm to Windermere train will be well aware that a Virgin express is due in from the south and that people will be transferring to the local train. If the Virgin express is a few minutes late, they will probably hold off departure. If you happen to miss the local train, the next service from Oxenholm will be at 13.33 (based on current schedules). You will not be charged extra for missing the pre-booked local service. You could be charged extra if you miss the pre-booked Virgin train out of Birmingham - but not if your ticket includes an earlier stage of your journey that got delayed. However, you may well find it is cheaper to split the ticket at Birmingham New Street.

Please note that if you are going via Worcester, that Worcester has 2 stations. It is the second one = Foregate Street - where you must disembark to change for a train to Birmingham.

Your Virgin train will be a Pendolino = a high speed train that tilts to take the bends at speed. Be sure that you are ready to disembark at Oxenholm promptly as it will not hang around. Click this link to see how the Pendolino coaches are lettered to get some idea of where to stand ready to board at Birmingham:>https://www.virgintrains.co.uk/experience/our-trains