Rail Pass Reservations in UK and Station Question

Don't know about the reservation question, but the answer to the Euston vs Kings Cross station is simply whichever one has the departure at the most convenient time for you and the best connections for Leuchars. They are only about half a mile from each other so there won't be much difference in time/ease of getting to them whichever part of London you are in.

Its your choice for East Coast main line or West Coast main line. Me, I'd pick West Coast via Birmingham, Crewe, Preston, Carlisle to Edinburgh for the beautiful scenery going along the Grand Union Canal before Rugby, the gorgeous rolling hills of Cheshire. If you take the WCML (Virgin Trains) from Euston (just Euston - no street in the name) you will have to make at least one and probably 2 changes. ¶ Using the East Coast main line (ECML) from Kings Cross can be easier. It can be done every couple of hours with no changes. Come to think of it I think Virgin run the occasional Aberdeen train from Euston. ¶ In any event, the ECML - now operated by the government run East Coast trains since the last 2 lots of private owners went bust on the line - has always prided itself on its speed. Virgin on the WCML have the tilting 125 mph (now not planned to reach its top speed of 140 mph) Pendolino, while the ECML run the tradional HST stock. ¶ You pays your money and takes your chance with these. Are you confused yet? ¶ Reservations? I should have thought that with a week in London you can get reservations at any rail station with plenty of time. Its a long trip, around 6 hours, so I would get them so you have peace of mind and the kind of seating you want. I'd be astonished if, on a Tuesday at the end of September, you couldn't just walk on and find >n< number of seats reasonably together sans reservations. BTW, if its a Pendolino there are no reservation cards on the seat backs - look under the luggage rack over the seat for the reservation (by destination, not by name). I haven't used the ECML for several years but I think they still use the seat back cards. ... . Enjoy your journey

Dave: Doing a quick check on the National Rail Enquiries website, it appears that while you can indeed get to Leuchars with trains from either King's Cross or Euston, the ones from King's Cross (which go up the east coast of England to Edinburgh) are your best bet. They involve at most one change of train, in Edinburgh, whereas the west coast route from Euston seems to require at least 2 changes and an additional travel time of 30 minutes or more. More expert posters can chime in on the issue of reservations, but I must say that I have never found them necessary when traveling in Britain.....

Thank you all very much for your replies. We are traveling all the way to St. Andrews so we will probably opt for the East Coast line since it is a bit faster. Can't wait. Happy travels to you and yours. Dave