3 weeks England/Scottland
 

My husband and I are traveling to the UK in June and have a few questions. WHat is the best way of getting to Bath from London Heathrow. We are arriving about 1:30 p.m. and we wonder how long it would take to get to the bus. Would we have to get tickets ahead of time? We wouldn't be able to know when we could board. We are staying 6 nights in Bath. We are planning some bus excursions there.
We are then traveling from Bath to York. It seems there isn't a lot of time to get from Paddington to King's Cross to get the train to York. The train to Bristol is more expensive? ANy suggestions or ideas? We are staying 7 nights in York. We have 4 nights left before heading back to London for 3 nights. We are not quite sure how to best spend those 4 nights. Lake District? Edinburgh? Those were some places we thought of visiting. We won't be driving and need to take trains and busses. We are aboth 60 and over.

THank you

The easiest way to get to Bath from LHR is the express coach. Otherwise you have to take a train into London or a bus to Reading and then take a train to Bath. Just take the coach from LHR to central Bath - no, you don't have to pre-book.

"<i>It seems there isn't a lot of time to get from Paddington to King's Cross to get the train to York.</i>" Not quite sure what you mean by that. There are multiple trains a day from Bath to London, and multiple trains a day from London to York.

York to the Lake District to London wouldn't be that easy/efficient by public transport.

But York to Edinburgh is easy as can be. You could fly from Edinburgh to London for less than the train -- IF you book far enough ahead.

I will try to write more later...but I promise you that you will LOVE Edinburgh if you go there. It's a wonderful, beautiful, friendly city.

Bob

We just got back from England on Friday. We bought an 8-day consecutive England only railpass for $285. (You would want one that includes Scotland of course.) It was just easier than trying to figure out exact trains to get the cheaper fares. It was also very nice to hop on and off a train at whim.

I got them at Rick Steves website. Do you have accomodation in York yet? We stayed at a wonderful flat if you are interested. It was well located yet quiet. Let me know and I will write more details if you are interested.

Thank you for your responses. What I meant regarding Paddington to King's Cross was that there is a train leaving Bath that stops in Paddington. Then one has to take the Underground to King's Cross to take a train to York. There is about a 40 min. difference, however, it seams that it takes a long time to take the Underground from Paddington to King's Cross and I don't know if we could get the connecting train. I got that information while I was trying to get an inexpensive train ticket.

I will look into the possibility of flying into London, and also looking at buying a 8 day consecutive railpass. Not quite sure how it works.

Thank you so much

PS I do have a place to stay in York.

Thank you again

MoniIlse - The problem with missing a train connection was one of the reasons we bought the railpasses. Go to ricksteves.com and check out the railpass for England and Scotland.

Even though we only used the train 6 days, and we had an 8 day pass, it was way cheaper and easier than trying to make sure we made our connection. It took us about 45 min to get from Paddington to Kings Cross on the tube - we were at peak rush hour, though, about 8:30 AM and we had tons of luggage.

Once you get the railpass validated, at the first station of your journey, you simply get on a train - no stopping to buy tickets. The conductor just looks at your railpass. You can reserve a seat if you want, but we never did and managed to get seats every time.

Dear Soogies,
I'm trying to figure out if it is worth getting the railpasses. We are two seniors. First trip by bus from LHR to Bath. Second trip 7 days later to York. 8 days later probably trip to Edinburgh, 4 nights there and then to London. That would be about $510 if I am not mistaken.

I can't seem to find one pass that works for two adults.

Any suggestions, soogies?

Thanks

Hi Moni

Did you go to the UK train site nationalrail.co.uk to price your trips first? I did a random check for you. For instance, I found your journeys from Bath to York, York to Edinburgh, Edinburgh to London the cheapest price would be about 167 GBP (about $210). This is just an example, as I chose random trains and times.

The prices vary greatly depending on day and time. Also remember, that if you choose an Advance Fare, you must take THAT train only. If you miss it for some reason, then that ticket is no longer valid and you will have to purchase another ticket. We found our journeys to be way cheaper through the pass and that buying an advance fare was too inconvenient and risky.

Since you are using the trains less than we did, it may work out cheaper for you to do point to point tickets. The cheapest pass that would work for you would be the 4-day flexipass. It's $315 each for standard class - for Seniors they only offer First class which is $399.

So you'll have to weigh the convenience factor. If you feel you can buy a ticket for an exact train on an exact day, I think point to point may be a bit cheaper for you. If you want more flexibility, then a pass may work. We totally like the freedom a pass brings - just hop on a train and go. But since your travel is more limited, point to point will probably be cheaper.

Hope this helps.

MoniIlse:

If you're 60 or over, for £24 each you can buy in Britain a Senior Railcard that gets you a third off ALL quoted railway fares (even the most heavily discounted), except some weekday morning peak ones. If you want to book tickets ahead of arriving, you don't need to have bought the card: simply check the "Senior Railcard" box when prebooking, then allow time when you get here to buy the card before taking your first train (= as long as it takes to queue at the ticket office then wait while he prints the pass). All you need to show is a passport or driving licence (from anywhere) that shows you're 60 (and I think, proof of address).

If you're spending any time at all in London, get your Senior Ralicard "attached" to your Oystercard (go to any Tube manned ticket desk and they'll explain). This reduces the daily cap by a third too.

Thank you so much for all your suggestions. Does the proof of address have to be in England? Does the Senior Railcard also work in Scottland?

Dear CherylNBob,

When you have time, I'd love to hear more. I know 4 nights is not enough, but perhaps we could squeeze in a day trip? There are a lot of good tour companies. Where would you go for a day on a tour (as we are not driving).

Thank you

For lots of British trains and BritRail Passes, which with your wide-ranging itinerary i strongly suggest you look into: www.seat61.com; www.ricksteeves.com and http://www.budgeteuropetravel.com/id11.html

As you are taking several different trains the pass should be more viable and it's key calling card is total flexibility to hop any train anytime - such fares in Britain are often very expensive. And you need not rack your brain and get out the calculator trying to compare and get cheap online fares.

And if landing in Heathrow you can then, using a day on the pass, hop the 15-minute train right from your terminal to London-Paddington and then hop the next of the at least hourly trains to Bath Spa - again total flexibility of the pass allows that - and this is crucial to folks who do not really know when their plane will arrive. As for taking the bus from Heathrow to Bath, getting to the unified bus stop may well mean changing terminals and then walking a bit - the Heathrow Express leaves frequenbtly right from your terminal to Paddinton - and no doubt the Heathrow Express to Paddington to train to Bath is the quickest and to me the most comfortable way - and you can do it all in one day on your pass. Again total flexibility can be priceless even if you could save a few bucks by perusing the cheapest fares and their conditions and black out periods, etc.

Hi MoniIlse.

Four days will work just fine. This is how I would do it... (in any order):

DAY ONE: I recommend allowing a full day exploring the Royal Mile (AKA The High Street), which at the bottom, begins with the Palace of Holyrood House (a royal palace where the royal familiy still resides when in Edinburgh) and ends at the top with Edinburgh Castle. It is an easy walk. You should take your time. There are great churches, shops, pubs, and even museums in the buildings between these two great historic monuments, as well as the new Scottish Parliament buildings. You may not need a full day here. But certainly 4-6 hours would be nice. Perhaps your concierge can recommend a nice place for supper.

DAY TWO: I would also recommend a one-day bus tour up into the Highlands. The tour I took began near Waverly Station the train station. You get a great sense of the beauty and charm of the Highlands.

DAY THREE: I suggest getting on one of those "hop-on hop-off" double-decker busses with a tour guide. It's a very cheap way to get around the city. You can find them passing by every 20-30 minutes or so, so if you want to you can get off, have a pint at a pub, and right back on the next one. (You may want to do this on your Royal Mile day, or your first day, just to get oriented.) There are several companies running these busses, I believe.

There are great museums and galleries in Edinburgh, too. So, depending on your tastes, you may want to look into them. Two great ones are right on Princes Street near the base of the Castle. Regents Gardens (I believe it is called) is nearby and is a lovely spot for photographs or relaxing.

There are many, many pubs too. Deacon Brodie's on the Royal Mile is a fine one. But there are plenty to choose from. I also strongly suggest finding a way to the top of Calton Hill in the early morning. Perhaps a taxi. At night, it's not recommended. But from atop Calton Hill you can see this great city from above -- Arthur's Seat, the Palace, Parliament, the Cannongate, St. Giles, the Sir Walter Scott monument, the Balmoral Hotel clock tower, and the Castle. An amazing place for photographs, especially in the morning.

DAY FOUR: If you want to venture out of town again, you may want to look into a way to get to the National William Wallace Monument, a tribute to the great Scottish here. (Yeah, the Braveheart guy.) It's near Stirling Castle (another WONDERFUL place to go -- highly recommended. Nearby is Bannockburn, the site where Robert the Bruce and the Scots defeated the English and won their independence after centuries of English domination. The Wallace Monument, Stirling Castle and Bannockburn are all very close to each other. I would see if you could find a "Stirling Tour" or a "Braveheart Tour."

I hope this helps. Feel free to ask about anything I have listed here. I love Edinburgh (been there five times) and I think you will too.

Bob

Dang typos. William Wallace a great Scottish "hero," not "here." Sorry, Sir William.

Bob, my son and I are going to be in Edinburgh for four days in June. I love the itinerary suggestions you've given here and am going to print them out. Thank you!

MoniIlse, if you like Bob's suggestion for a tour to Stirling Castle, here's the one we've booked:

http://www.rabbies.com/scottish_tour...our.asp?lng=en

CAPH52, I am so happy you like my suggestions. Perhaps others will offer their recommendations. I may have missed something. Any Scots out there who can improve on my itinerary?

Bob

Oh. These are also highly recommended, if you have time or interest. All are outside of Ediburgh.

Rosslyn Chapel
The Old Course (St. Andrews golf course)
St. Andrews Cathedral
Melrose Abbey
Linlithgow Palace

OK, just one more post. I promise!

There are several walking tours you can take in Edinburgh. Many begin near St. Giles on the High Street. I have taken two. One was the Mary King's Close tour which is underneath the city chambers. Fascinating. Sad. (See any ghosts?)

The other is the Witchery tour (or something like that), which takes you around the city at night. Entertaining, but watch out for the "jumper ooters!"

one slight <i>improvement</i> to Bob's Edinburgh itinerary:

"<i> . . . begins with the Palace of Holyrood House . . . . . . and ends at the top with Edinburgh Castle.</i>"

I'd suggest one do it in reverse - begin <u>up</u> at the castle and end <u>down</u> at the Palace/Abbey. Otherwise one is walking up hill all day long.