Train from Conwy to Stratford-upon-Avon

Thanks. I might have to go to a travel agent, one site indicates the trip is 9 hours and another indicates it is 4 hours. Possibly there is a long layover somewhere.

I plan to leave Conwy on 16 Sep 2014 and would like to get to Stratford-upon-Avon in time to see some of the attractions.

Pat B.
USA

Don't bother going to a travel agent. US travel agents won't know as much as me about British rail travel!

The journey should take around 4 hours 22 minutes and does not involve any long layovers. When you got the longer timings, you probably put in for the 'wrong' Stratford. The one you want is Stratford-upon-Avon which has the code SAV. So, your journey is from CNW > SAV and you will see that the cost is £69 - but you don't want to pay that do you? So, follow my advice and you will save about £40 & can do the trip for about £29.

You should buy split tickets with the split being at Shrewsbury (SHR). The fare from SHR > SAV stays the same whenever you buy = £14.90 so you can buy that on the day. On this leg of the journey, you will have to change. If you leave SHR on a London Midland Train, you change in Birmingham (New Street) and then take a walk to Moor Street station for your train to SAV. Although humping luggage, it can be quite interesting to have a look at many of the fine Victorian buildings in Birmingham city center - even though it might involve a slight detour from the direct walking route. So, you might like to make a note of the train timings from Birmingham Moor Street to SAV should you wish to wander around. Go to www.nationalrail.co.uk and put in for SHR > SAV and those timings that come up mark (2) changes are the ones that involve the Birmingham 'walk'. The others marked (1) change involve using Arriva Trains Wales services and on these, you can change at Smethwick Galton Bridge for a train to SAV and thus avoid the Birmingham 'walk'.

Now for the first leg from Conway (CNW) > Shrewsbury (SHR). By booking in advance, you could get a fare for this leg of £14. It will cost you more if you pay on the day. I have just put in for Tomorrow and get fares of £14 to £18 so my advice would be to decide which train you wish to Conway on and buy the ticket at least the day before. You will probably leave Conway on the 9.19 (to Cardiff via SHR) or the 10.19 (to Birmingham International via SHR = the service you could stay on all the way to Smethwick Galton Bridge for the 1 change to the train for SAV even though you split the ticket at SHR). You could still stay on this train to Birmingham New Street - should you wish to see Birmingham city centre and then leave for SAV from Moor Street station (BMO).
http://visitbirmingham.com

You could further make your journey part of your holiday by visiting Shewsbury en-route. (If doing this, ask if you can leave your bags in the station for an hour or two - the worst part of humping them is the slight hill up to the main street from the station with the Castle on your left) .http://www.shrewsburyguide.info

Of course, should you have a Britrail Pass, all this split ticket information is irrelevant. Please acknowledge that you have come back & read this message.

Thanks. I plan to buy a BritRail Pass. Your detailed directions have been very helpful.
I read somewhere that Conwy is not a scheduled stop from York and that I will have to ask the train to stop there. That should be fun (LOL).

I am traveling with my husband and this is our Itinerary so far. We land in
Glasgow on the 7 Sep and leave from Heathrow on 20 Sep.
Glasgow 2 nights. (Tour to lakes and highlands)
Falkirk 1 night (Falkirk Wheel, Kelpies, Stirling Castle).

Edinburgh 2 nights.

York 1 night.

Manchester 1 night.

Conwy 2 nights. (Conwy Castle, Llandudno, Caernarfon Castle)
Stratford-upon-Avon 1 night.

London

So far we only have accommodations for Glasgow so are open to any suggestions.

Pat B.

I would not bother staying in Manchester. Consider Chester instead or going straight through to Conwy.

York - this might be of interest. http://www.nrm.org.uk

On the day you take the train to Bangor and then bus to Caernarvon, if weather is looking good, I would then take a bus (hourly and takes 22 minutes) to Llanberis in order to take the train to the summit of Mt Snowdon. (You may need to pre book). http://www.snowdonrailway.co.uk

When in Stratford-upon-Avon, you may like to take a local bus (hourly Bus 21 of Johnsons) to the typical Cotswold village of Chipping Campden. See www.transportdirect.info
http://www.chippingcampden.co.uk/contentok.php
(If you hired a car for 1 day, you could see a whole load of Cotswold villages but you would need to add a day to this area).

Carefully check rail fares v Britrail pass. If buying longer distance rail fares - it is cheaper to buy in advance for specific trains. Note how I reduced the price of the Conwy > Stratford-upon-Avon run by splitting the tickets at Shrewsbury.

Buy your BritRail Pass before 5 p.m. ET of August 28 in order to get an extra travel day for free. Don't wait until the last minute. A nice benefit of the pass is not having to choose a particular schedule in advance; you will have the flexibility to jump on any daytime trains on your counted travel days. For train schedules, use either www.nationalrail.co.uk or the DB site that works for all of Europe. Be sure to spell out Stratford-upon-Avon to get the correct town.