Train trips

The train works best for transit between cities. There’s almost no place you can’t reach by train, but some of the smaller cities might be accessible only to trains that make numerous stops along the way.

I’d start off by figuring out where you want to go. It’s easy enough to take a train from Newcastle to Edinburgh. But, if you want to meander along the route, obviously a car would be better.

I’ve mentioned before that I’m a city person when in Europe, so the train is perfect for me. Last trip I flew into London, train to Newcastle (day trip by train to Durham) then train to Liverpool and finally a train to Manchester.

Hi Sharon -

For all it’s popularity with visitors to the U.K. the Cotswolds is poorly served by rail.

Given what you’ve said you want to see, and if you haven’t previously visited, York might tick many of the boxes. You can take the Tube from Heathrow if flying into there, and go directly to Kings Cross to catch a north-bound train (I deliberately use this phraseology because York is often a stop on the Edinburgh trains). Plenty of hotels near Kings Cross including Premier Inn near the station if you needed to stop overnight or for a couple of days in London.

York’s central area which contains most of the historic sites is quite small and is steadily being cleared of motor traffic, to be walker friendly, so a hire car while you are there is as much use as the proverbial chocolate teapot. However, a car will come in handy if you want to venture further afield to such places as Castle Howard, Nunnington Hall, Beningborough Hall, Ripon, Fountain’s Abbey, the North Yorks Moors (which has its own railway running between Pickering and Whitby on the coast) etc.

Hope you can organise a suitable itinerary from the advice you receive via this forum.

Ian

Thanks to both of you. We have been to York twice - it's wonderful, and I had considered that as a possibility for my son. Even though we've been there, we want our son to experience the UK, and we just so much love being there, we can do things again. Last year we made our 26th trip there!! That's a good idea you have suggested - York, then we would get a rental car to see sites around there, and when done back to train to go further. Thanks!

A mix of train and car is a good idea.
Faster inter city trains will get you to the places you mention not so much the Cotswolds.

There are thousands of destinations that are not served by a railway line.
Unfortunately during the 1960s around 4500 miles of railway track in Britain was taken up, along with about 2000 stations, so now whole regions such as East Anglia, South West England and much of Wales, have no railway connections to the market towns and smaller communities, a bus service is often very limited, non existent and expensive.

If you are making many train journeys it might be viable to buy a Railcard, different versions might work for the three of you, perhaps a two-together and a 16-25 or 26-30 for your son, gets you a 34% discount off most fares.
https://www.railcard.co.uk/

Have a look at the map below, it shows railway coverage in GB in 1964 then in 1984, makes your heart sink with what we've lost.

shorturl.at/sKLP4

HI Sharon, I'm planning a trip in September also using just train travel. I am finding that England train fares - like airplane fare's - are best purchased in advance (tickets go on sale about 90 days in advance). Its made my trip planning interesting to say the least.

Yes, last-minute rail fares in the UK can be 4 or 5 times the cost of Advance tickets purchased shortly after the tickets go on sale, which I think can be about 120 days in advance [oops--it's apparently 11 weeks; see post immediately following]. Traveling outside the peak period can be significantly cheaper than during rush hour, and the rail cards may prove worthwhile, especially if you are unable to snag Advance tickets early.

You can buy rail tickets eleven weeks in advance at.....nationalrail.co.uk.

Have you been to Liverpool, Manchester, Chester, or Glasgow? These are four places that I can personally vouch for as being easy to reach by train, very interesting, and very different from the places you mentioned having visited. They are also close to places you've mentioned being interested in such as York and Edinburgh. I'm sure with some research, you'll find many more places to visit.

Don't let the tail wag the dog - don't go someplace just because it's easy to get to on a train. Instead, look at some guidebooks, figure out places that interest you, then start seeing how well they connect with each other. Then, you can determine what places you want to see, and how to get between them.

Don't forget the plethora of places easily reachable by train from London as day trips - Oxford, Cambridge, Bletchley Park, etc.

Do look at using the Advance tickets. They've saved me a fortune!

Hi Sharon, just a thought, but if it's the UK you are heading to, have you been to the Snowdon Mountain Railway Gwynedd, north-west Wales?
You can get to it by usual railway network and then enjoy a historic steam railway journey running for 4.7 miles and the scenery is nice too.
Gwynedd is steeped in history and even has 5 castles. Just a thought if you fancy something a little different.

Portsmouth is a great train trip from London - lots of historic ships. I did it as a day trip from London and wish I'd spent at least one night. In fact, it might make a circuit with the Tank Museum in Bovington (Wool is the nearest station): train to Portsmouth, stay a few days, train to Wool, taxi to the Tank Museum, stay all day, taxi to Wool, train back to London. My grown sons loved the Tank Museum and I was surprised at how interesting it was.

I haven't done this one yet but I think I could find it easy to spend several days in Cambridge. I'm interested in the Imperial War Museum in Duxford, for example. Maybe go from there to Lincoln. Or rent a car and explore Suffolk for a week. My father was stationed at Parham Airfield (during WWII), which has a lovely small museum that I've visited twice.

I have some of the same interests as your son and I think the Cotswolds are totally missable. York and Edinburgh definitely sound like his kind of places.

Don't even start researching trains in the UK before consulting www.seat61.com

Thanks to everyone. I'm getting some great ideas. Harold, I've been to all the places you've mentioned except for Manchester and Glasgow. Do you think flying into Manchester would be better than Heathrow for getting to Edinburgh. Also, powisN - love the idea of the steam railway. Will look into that also. Thanks!

"Do you think flying into Manchester would be better than Heathrow for getting to Edinburgh."

Well, flying into Edinburgh is even better, but of course Manchester is closer to Edinburgh than London is. As always, the "best" airports to use depends on your itinerary.

Since you're looking to use trains, one big advantage of flying into Manchester is that it not only has a train station, but its station has direct trains (no changes needed) to places like York and Liverpool. Furthermore, with one change in Manchester Piccadily, you can get express trains to anywhere in the country. Heathrow, on the other hand, only has trains to London Paddington; if that's not the station in London you need, you have to get from Paddington to the other station.

If you haven't booked flights yet, see if you can wait until you've figured out your itinerary. This avoids having to backtrack excessively. With a change in London, Dublin, or Amsterdam, you can get to many UK airports; cast a wide net.

As always, the "best" airports to use depends on your itinerary.

And where you start. If you can get a direct flight to Manchester, it is better than Heathrow. But if it is a choice between a direct flight to Heathrow and a one stop-flight to Manchester, Heathrow wins in my opinion.

Heathrow, on the other hand, only has trains to London Paddington; if
that's not the station in London you need, you have to get from
Paddington to the other station.

And a direct tube to King's Cross/St Pancras.

If you’ll have a car in the Cotswolds, then Sudeley Castle is nearby. Closer to Bristol is Thornbury Castle. To me, both are manor houses, more than castles. Cross over into Wales and there are castles all over. Near Monmouth are White, Grosmont, and Raglan castles. There’s another nice one in Chepstow. Ludlow castle is further north. If you pick up the car in Newcastle you could head west to Caernarfon, Conwy, and Beaumaris castles in northern Wales.