We are now wanting to take the train from London to Edinburgh. Any suggestions on the best train to take, from which station, for the best view of the countryside?
Natalie, I'd suggest travel with East Coast Rail, as it's a very pleasant ~5 hour trip. As I recall, the train departs from London King's Cross and arrives at Edinburgh Waverly station. Happy travels!
Yes, it's East Coast Rail (www.eastcoast.co.uk). Buying tickets on the day of travel will be very, very expensive, so book online there at least a month in advance and preferably earlier.
The main station-Waverly- is under construction and a mess. Allow plenty of time to make your connection. Also, it appears that quite a few trains stop at both stations so check your departure/arrival carefully.
As Philip said, last-minute fares are very expensive. If you wait until you get to London to buy a ticket, you will pay around £120.00 for a 2nd class ticket. If you book ASAP (usually up to 12 weeks in advance) on the East Coast site, you can get a discount fare as low as £17.00. For example, as of today booking is open through 8 February. Discount fare tickets are for a specific departure date and time and are non-exchangeable and non-refundable. Be sure you can commit before booking.
We took East Coast Rail from Edinburgh to London and bought our tickets several weeks in advance online. We got a great deal on the tickets and didn't even realize until we got there that they were first class tickets, so that meant all the food, alcohol, wifi--was all complimentary! So we got a great meal too! It was a very pleasant train ride.