Hello Travelers,
First let me thank everyone on this site, both the ones who ask questions and the ones who give so generously of their time to answer questions. I have learned a great deal from both.
Most of our trip planning is done, leaving mid-October for 16 days, Scotland, England and Paris. Hotels are booked, timed entry tickets reserved where needed, dinner reservations made.
As this trip will be done on public transportation our final piece is train travel. Any suggestions or advice on any leg of the trip would be appreciated.
Glasgow to York- travel on Monday. May be day trips to either Durham or Scarborough.
York to Cambridge-only staying one night so no day trips.
Cambridge to London- travel on Thursday. Will be day trip to Windsor and either Bath or Moreton-In-Marsh.
London to Paris-Eurostar (already booked)
So my main questions are: Is there a pass or some type of ticket that would be beneficial?
Is there any part of this trip that I should be pre-booking, and how far in advance?
Who should I be booking with?
Again, thanks so much,
Jim
Posted by
Preston UK
1087 posts
I assume that you will be able to book specific trains for your travel? If so, the sooner you book the tickets the cheaper they will be.
The quickest route to York will be from Glasgow Queen St with a simple change at Edinburgh Waverley. It will take 3.5 to 4 hours. Right now you can buy a single standard ticket from £31.70 on Monday 21/10. That price is for a specific train and the price will only go up. The same principle will apply to your other two journeys.
You may benefit from buying a railcard. If there are two of you (or multiples of 2), you can get a TwoTogether railcard. It costs £30 and gives you roughly 1/3rd of all ticket prices. So, if your total spend will be £90 or more you will save. You can buy all the tickets now saying that you have the railcard but you only actually need the card as you get on to the first train. You can also buy the railcard online now and have it on a phone or wait until you get to Glasgow and buy a physical one there. Go to www.nationalrail.co.uk- that’s a national site for all train travel and will direct you to a train operator to buy tickets.
Note that your train from Glasgow will go through Durham on the way to York so you could stop off there. In that case you would need to buy tickets from Glasgow to Durham and then Durham to York, or buy more expensive off peak tickets for the whole journey. You would also need to work out what to do with your bags in Durham.
Posted by
Lake District, England
7396 posts
There is no domestic pass which will cover this itinerary. A BritRail would but is not worth the money for the main trips, but the side trips may make the difference
Yes, book the tickets now. 4 to 5 weeks out is a good time to do it.
The Scotrail website is the best place to do it, as they will split the fares for you to get the cheapest deal, and for free. All the fares given below are Advance fares for specific trains
Glasgow to York- There are two ways to make this journey- Glasgow Queen Street to Edinburgh Waverley, Edinburgh Waverley to York
OR Glasgow Central to Carlisle, Carlisle to Leeds via the Settle/Carlisle Railway, Leeds to York (by far the more scenic but slower).
The first on Monday 15 October is £48 on the 0900, arrive 1229, The Second is £15.10+ £18.50+£6= £39.60
on the 0909 CAR 1032/1058 Leeds 1338/1408 York arrive 1430 (has to be booked manually as 3 tickets)
York to Cambridge, change at Peterborough- Say 1002 arrive 1241- £29.50
Cambridge to London Liverpool Street 0920 arrive 1045 £14.20 (a split fare across Tottenham Hale)
Cambridge to London Kings Cross 0909 arrive 1004 £30.50
Cambridge to St Pancras 0923 arrive 1029 £30.50
(so you take your choice of cost over speed over convenience of arrival station)
York to Durham Off Peak Day Return, any train £37.30
York to Scarborough ditto £25.70 (or £4 on the Coastliner bus)
London to Windsor Off Peak Day Return £14.60
London to Bath Super Off Peak Day Return £72.60 out after 1030 am or £100.10 between 0930 and 1029 (Timed Advance Fares = £62.50)
London to MiM Off Peak Day Return £68.80, Super OPR £51.70, Advance Fares £35
So if you know the cost of a 5, 6 or 7 day BritRail you can do the Maths from there. I wouldn't waste a pass day on Windsor or Scarborough, just pay for those out of pocket.
Posted by
OP
41 posts
Thanks so much. Most are booked, very helpful information. Thanks again.