London-Edinburgh by Train

Go to this website. It will give you the trains available, the times, and the cost of tickets. (However, it only works for trips less than 90 days out.)

National Rail Enquiries

Yes, standard class is the way to go. Last minute walk up fares for long distance routes in the UK are very expensive, even for standard class (over £100 for London King's Cross-Edinburgh Waverley). Advance online discount fares are posted around 60 days out. If you book at www.nationalexpresseastcoast.com as soon as your travel date shows a discount fare, a ticket can cost as little as £12. There is a range of discount fares and the cheapest ones sell out fast. The site accepts North American credit cards.

I agree totally with Tim that the National Express buses are the way to go. It takes 9 hours from London to Edinburgh by bus but the savings are enormous and the buses are extremely comfortable with snack and beverage service and stops along the way. I NEVER travel by train in the UK.

Margaret,

The discount fares I gave, starting at £12, are for National Express East Coast trains, not National Express buses.

I would take the train. The bus (also operated by National Express) is also really quite expensive. Be sure to book your tickets on the day that they're released (around 90 days before the date of travel). The dates for ticket release used to be posted on the National Express East Coast website, but I'm not sure if they still are. Another possibility is to look at the Megabus, which really is very cheap, but slow and basic. Tickets are available for travel in mid-July from £7 per person (single). These tend to sell out quickly, though.

Mark

Megabus tickets are available on the 16th of July for £1 per person single.