Traveling to England & Scotland summer 2014, I have some questions about trains.

You need to visit the Man in Seat 61. It will be invaluable for you. We are making our next trip to the UK this summer. We will purchase our tickets in the US well before we leave. In many cases, you can save huge amounts of money with the early purchase. It is a tiny hassle to remember how to get your tickets once you arrive, but http://www.seat61.com/ will answer all of those questions and will have answers you didn't even ask questions about. In all things, with a modicum of alertness, your bags will be safe. Don't pack too heavy, you will have to get the bag into the train. Fun Fact: I left a piece of medical equipment on a train in the Cotswalds last time. After panic and freakouts for hours, I finally contacted the train line we were on. The advice was to get back on the same train to its terminus, that station should have my item in the office. I made the mad dash to the train station, discovered that my train terminated an hour away in Worcester. Hopped aboard, waited for the station manager to get back from lunch, he said "let's look around" and there it was! I handed him a 10 pound note, said "buy a couple of pints on me" and finished my two weeks of amazing vacation.

Back to your question: So, if you buy tickets in the US, you'll provide a credit card to make the purchase, when you get to the UK, you'll visit a train station that has ticket machines that have credit card ability, slide your card in and print all of your tickets. Then you just need to keep track of your tickets. My wife did an amazing job with this part.

Bon Voyage!

jan_roses12,

i can only speak for the stations/trains i used and that isnt alot. But i did take the train from Edinburgh to London and some trains in other countries too.

Stairs - there are stairs there in the station. all the stations i have used have stairs.

Luggage- this is a personal thing. what you may feel safe doing, i or others may not and vv.

There are overhead luggage racks on the trains. So, if your luggage is something like a "carryon" on size, you could toss it above. There maybe some space between seats too. Worse case, get a seat near the luggage racks at the ends of the cars, and keep an eye on it.

" Any advice??" - have loads of fun too.

happy trails.

Hi Jan,
The cleverest thing I ever saw someone do to safeguard their luggage on the train was to take a cable bicycle lock and thread it through the bars of the luggage rack and back through handles on the suitcases themselves. There was no way a casual thief was going grab those bags and jump off at station wherever with them. So smart!

"Also, how is it to get luggage on the train as well as safe guard it on the trip? I once had to travel on a rush hour commuter train from Gatwick thru London to Hertfordshire with luggage & it was awful - drag luggage up stairs & stood next to it all the way!"

Your other questions have been answered; so I will say, travel light. When you talk about dragging luggage around, hauling it onto the train, it is an indication that you may be taking too much. It is our tendency as travelers to think we need a different outfit of clothing every day. That is not true. Many travelers find it liberating to travel with the bare basics; two pairs of slacks, two tops, extra pairs of socks and underwear, one rain jacket, or a similarly pared-down list. Remember, you will be wearing your outfit number three; that which you wear onto the plane. Many people here on the Helpline travel with one carry-on bag plus either a purse or a small day pack or messenger bag with maps, guidebook, camera, water bottle, etc. in that. Many experienced travelers have ditched the large, overstuffed rolling bag because it is far too much trouble to drag around. Have a look here http://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/packing-light at Rick Steves' advice about packing light. And the two people pictured in this photo are probably still taking about twice the amount they need. Remember what Douglas said, "Don't pack too heavy, you will have to get the bag into the train."

You mentioned "want to travel to Durham/Hadrian's Wall & on to Scotland". At Hadrian's Wall, you may have all your luggage with you, and have to carry it around with you. At that point, you may wish you had brought only a backpack with you. Getting off of the train, going to see a sight for the afternoon, and then getting back onto the train to travel to another city sometimes leaves you no option but to carry it with you. Sometimes there's a luggage storage facility at the train station where you can drop your luggage and pick it up later. Always check for that. Have a great trip!

Depending on where you catch your first train, you can purchase the "Two Together" Railcard at the station. You'll need to have passport type photos for each of you. If you want to purchase the railcard on-line, you'll have to provide an address in Great Britain that the card can be delivered to, but you'll need to have the railcard with you when you board the train with tickets purchased at the Two Together price. Check www.nationalrail.co.uk for more info.

As for the tickets themselves, I've purchased them on-line ahead of time, printed out the vouchers, and picked them up at the station. If your credit card is the "chip and pin" type, you'll have no trouble retrieving your tickets from the machines at the station; but if your card doesn't have a chip, you'll need to go to a person at the ticket counter.

Regarding your luggage; my husband and I usually travel in First Class, and we just put our bags in the luggage rack at the end of the train car and find a seat where we can keep an eye on it. We have never had a problem finding a spot unless it's on a peak travel route during prime commuting times. But as others have mentioned, you do have to lift your luggage on and off the train as well as through the stations. You can check out the walking route through a particular station on the national rail website I noted earlier. That way you'll be aware of any stairways or if elevators are available.

Have a good trip.