My husband and I are meeting friends in London for a week in mid-Sept, then off ourselves by train and bus to other UK adventures. Tentative train plans: Fri am: London to York. Sun am: York to Edinburgh, Wed: Edinburgh to Windermere. Sat: Windermere to London. Then fly back home to US on Sun am.
I've looked at the nationalrail.co.uk website and used some mid-June dates (12 weeks out) to help estimate costs. My questions:
1. Do point to point advance fares make best sense with our (known) schedule?
2. Estimated "Advance" Fares (in pounds) were 21 for London-York, 27 for York-Edinburgh, 9 for EDB-Windermere and 105 for Windermere to London (either Paddington or Kings Cross). Do these wide-ranging prices make sense?
3. We are seniors, but it looks like the senior discount is for 1st class only - and as we are mostly traveling off hours and less than 4 hours on each segment, so std/2nd class would be fine? Any advantage for the senior card?
4. "Two-together" is also advertised, but is there some discount we could use and should be aware of?
5. If I call to reserve (12 weeks out), do we pay at that time online, and somehow get tickets, or pick up our tickets somewhere when we are in London? (We will be using Oyster card in London to get around.)
6. Seat reservations available? Advised?
7. We'll be hiking and exploring in the Lake District and using buses. Any special things to know or look for?
Thanks!
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16895 posts
There are lots of ways to save money over buying full-fare tickets on the day of travel.
Advance rail fares do start very low for advance purchase at www.nationalrail.co.uk, locking you into specific travel dates and times. You pay in advance and these tickets are not refundable. If booking online, some tickets can be printed at home; if booking ahead by phone with multiple railway operators, you'll probably have to pick up tickets in the stations. Some of the fares you've quoted are only good on a few train departures per day. For instance, the £9 rate from Edinburgh to Windermere is only on a few departures operated by a particular railway brand [OK, several departures, now that I look at a larger sample].
If you booked in time to get all those low rates, then I would not worry about a Senior or Two-Together Card. But if you get mid-range prices, then the Senior Card discount can be combined.
If you choose the BritRail pass for 4 days of travel within a month at $334 per person in 2nd class, then you can keep travel times flexible. Seat reservations are optional and free if you book at least a day ahead. This simple option can be purchased up to a week before your departure (allowing time for home delivery), if your other strategies don't work as expected.
Posted by
Oxford, United Kingdom
5466 posts
The absolute cheapest available fares are:
London-YRK: £11.20 (Grand Central)
YRK-EDB: £10 (East Coast)
EDB-WDM: £9.20 (TPE)
WDM-London: £17.50 (Virgin WC)
The quotas on some of these fares are going to be very low, and restricted to times of day, so would need to book as soon as available.
Posted by
Leesburg, VA, USA
342 posts
A Two-Together Railcard was a better deal than two Senior cards for my husband and I. It is £30 total for both of you, saves 1/3 off each ticket, and is good for any class of travel outside of morning peak times. When I purchased rail tickets I used the nationalrail website, indicated that I had a two-together railcard, and paid by credit card.
Once in London you would go to the Kings Cross rail station ticket counter with your passport size photos, the two-together forms you downloaded and printed out at home, and purchase the rail card (this took about 10 minutes). You then show the ticket vouchers that you received by email and ask the ticket agent to print out all your tickets for you. Depending on how busy it is, they may just print out the first trip tickets and send you to one of the ticket machines for the rest. If your credit card is not one of the "chip and pin" ones, tell the ticket agent that it will not work in the machines. If it does have the "chip", there will be other station attendants at the machines to help you. Just be sure and use the same credit card that you used to make the initial purchase on-line.
BTW, we love the British rail system - clean, efficient, and reliable.
Have a great time,
Mary
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
33992 posts
Some of the fares you've quoted are only good on a few train
departures per day. For instance, the £9 rate from Edinburgh to
Windermere is only on a few departures operated by a particular
railway brand.
Every two hours all day isn't exactly as rare as hens' teeth. Trans Pennine Express.
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
33992 posts
The Two Together card is a good investment for many couples of related or not related people who will travel together. It is valid on most tickets - even Advance tickets - with a few restrictions in London and the Southeast and a few others.
The discount is 34% for both people.
To decide if they make sense for you look at all the tickets you intend to buy, and note if any of them are early morning in the southeast, add 'em up, and see what 34% of the total is. If it is much over £30 - the price for the one year card plus the photos you need - then you are ahead. If less or a wash, no use to get the card.
Posted by
OP
22 posts
Thanks all, very helpful information. Followup questions - Do I have to wait until June (12 weeks out) to find these low fares for our specific later September dates? Are any really cheap fares available online before that? Would any cheaper fares display later - like 8-10 weeks out? Then reserve the lowest point to point fares, along with figuring if a Two-together and/or some kind of area special pass might be added to that......
Posted by
Oxford, United Kingdom
5466 posts
The precise date that tickets are released vary slightly from one operator to another. their sites. Generally prices only go up as the cheapest tickets are bought, but at 8 weeks unless you were looking at a popular travel date there would still likely to be some reasonably priced tickets available, if not the absolute bottom.
Posted by
Troy, Oh, USA
2805 posts
Book your tickets 12 weeks out, it will save you a lot of money. You can print off your tickets at home if you want to. That's what I did for our September last year.