Rail Sail

[johnphilip]

Going to join a boat in Scotland in August and need a one way ticket from East Anglia, for April/ May prices are around £45. In June ( which is as far ahead as you can get prices) goes up to £155 or so. Anyone know if prices get better later or will I have to fly? about £40-£65 (with baggage) What happened in previous years?

 

[charles_reed]

Going to join a boat in Scotland in August and need a one way ticket from East Anglia, for April/ May prices are around £45. In June ( which is as far ahead as you can get prices) goes up to £155 or so. Anyone know if prices get better later or will I have to fly? about £40-£65 (with baggage) What happened in previous years?

Unfortunately all the rail cos over the whole of Europe have a 90 day outer threshold for pre-booking tickets.

Therefore we cannot be certain about what will happen to prices - however I'd take very long odds against them coming down over the summer period.

 

[pcatterall]

Going to join a boat in Scotland in August and need a one way ticket from East Anglia, for April/ May prices are around £45. In June ( which is as far ahead as you can get prices) goes up to £155 or so. Anyone know if prices get better later or will I have to fly? about £40-£65 (with baggage) What happened in previous years?

Cheapo tickets like 'APEX' used to be available only within a month of travel. Train fares are not usually seasonal. Is the train handier for you?

 

[johnphilip]

Cheapo tickets like 'APEX' used to be available only within a month of travel. Train fares are not usually seasonal. Is the train handier for you?

If they are not seasonal why are they curently showing £45 but £155 for June? Yes train would be easier, local station rather than 85 miles to Luton or Gatwick. Anyway Michael Portillo has made me think it would be a pleasant way to spend a day.

 

[awol]

Almost certainly the prices will drop in the next month or so. I have met this same situation visiting the southern colonies but can't remember the period when the price came down. If you query prices for various dates you should be able to work it out.

Don't blame me if I'm wrong.

 

[Bilgediver]

Unfortunately all the rail cos over the whole of Europe have a 90 day outer threshold for pre-booking tickets.

Therefore we cannot be certain about what will happen to prices - however I'd take very long odds against them coming down over the summer period.

Could be worth the OP checking other dates o confirm a trend also to break the journey to sections and see if one section is causing th problem. ie something like Norwich/Peterborough.....Peterborough York......York Edinburgh .....You can save money this way but believe you have to be on trains which do stop at stations shown even if you use one train. There will usually always be cheaper seats available at ay time of the year but have to dig them out about 30+ days in advance.


By the way on the Trainline website for middle of June I get £39 second and £73 First Norwich to Edinburgh???????

 

[Slow_boat]

I had this problem a few years ago when chartering in Largs. I looked at all options; For two of us, the plane was cheapest but meant a taxi at the other end and car parking fees at this end, the coach was next but took three changes and 15 hours for the journey. The car was next best, train was to expensive to even consider!

I drove it in about 8 hours. I'd love to use public transport, I really would, but it's just to damn expensive or inconvenient or both.

 

[jamie N]

Stagecoach?

 

[johnphilip]

Stagecoach?

As in Wells Fargo or do you mean the bus company?

 

[jamie N]

As in Wells Fargo or do you mean the bus company?

I believe that they've both had moments involving Cowboy's...!

 

[nevis]

Last year i travelled to the boat and back by train a few times. i got a railcard(valid for a year) for £28. Train from Saltburn by the sea to Oban return,
was approx £70.plus bus fare £5. 650 mile round trip by road would have cost me about £100 not a lot difference but nice and relaxed when i got there on the train.

 

[EdWingfield]

Read what Martin Lewis has to say of rail ticket savings on moneysavingexpert.com

 

[AntarcticPilot]

I regularly travel from Cambridge to Greenock, where I keep my boat. I haven't even considered using rail; it takes too long and is too expensive! For a single person, rail to the airport, cheap airline and then rail at the other end is OK; but over that distance, travelling by car is at least as cheap, and for two people, easily cheaper; the cheapest fare is in the region of £60 (per person return) once you take into account airport taxes. And it is not far off the same time, once you've figured in travelling at either end and the inevitable 2 hour waste of time at the airport. Snag with air transport is that either you've got to get everything in a hand-carry bag or put the cost up substantially! And, of course, difficult or bulky items can't be taken at all.

 

[alteredoutlook]

Try breaking the journey down into different segments and then add up the sum of the parts
e.g. E Anglia to London, London to Manchester, London to Oxenholme (the lake district), and on to Glasgow, and then on to your final destination.
Try also megabus.com - for trains! - they do a limited number of stations (Oxenholme for one). You can often get a journey for £5 or less! - provided you book a long time in advance.
Another tip is to go midweek - a tues,weds or thurs ticket is often less.

 

[Lucky Duck]

If you are happy with it taking a little while longer it usually works out cheaper avoiding London by going Ipswich - Peterborough - Manchester

The last couple of years I used the megatrain to get between London and Southampton (for the boat show) for less than a fiver for the return journey. This did mean booking a specific train which was a stopping rather than a 'fast' service.