Family of four touring Britain next August. Contemplating tickets for

a) Edinburgh to York (one-way)
b) York to London (one-way)
c) London to Cambridge (round trip)

Two very basic questions

a) How far in advance can one purchase tickets?
b) Is it generally necessary to purchase tickets in advance (do they ever sell out)?

Thanks

Rick

This has nothing to do w/ BritRail. That is a marketing company that sells (over priced) passes - not a train company.

Generally you can buy discounted tickets 12 weeks out. If you buy at the last minute they will cost more. Check either on nationalrail.co.uk (not a train company either but will direct you to the right site) or East coast trains.

I think this is the single best source of information, for the UK and elsewhere. Here's the UK page:

http://www.seat61.com/UK-train-travel.htm

Yikes - that is embarrassing about the BritRail thing.

Thanks for the FAQ site.

Nah - not embarrassing

They do a lot of promotion so lots of folks think BritRail = trains . . .

The seat 61 is an excellent website but since you already have your itinerary, go to the site janisj suggested www.nationalrail.co.uk It's very straight forward with all the information you'll need.

In any case no BritRail Pass would be cost-effective for your limited train travel and yes as janisj points out the web sites where you can get nifty discounts if you book far enough in advance - full fare can be dauntingly steep so do not just show up and buy a ticket - but check restrictions on the discounted tickets - they often are non-changeable non-refundable and as sold in limited numbers to guarantee must be booked in stone weeks or months in advance often.

the Est Coast site for your Edinburg York and London trains give I think a 10% discount over www.nationalrail.co.uk.

Yes the best source for info on British trains is www.seat61.com, owned by a British train guru whose specialty is discounted tickets and also for general info on British trains www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com.

http://www.eastcoast.co.uk/

the official site for East Coast Trains that run many of the London-York-Edinburgh route trains.

No need to buy London-Cambridge tickets in advance as there is no discount on buying in advance.

You could consider BTW travelling York-Cambridge which normally involves a change of train at Peterborough.

As for costs - do a dummy booking on the eastcoast website for today, then do the same for several weeks time. See the difference in price

I assume that you know about the "odd event or two" that happens in Edinburgh in August. This tends to raise the price of accommodation somewhat

BritRail yes means a BritRail Pass but not long ago all mainline trains in London where run by British Rail - now there is no more British Rail as the system has been privatized with dozens of independent franchises running the former national rail system.

for the tourist this makes no difference - www.nationalrail.co.uk books tickets on all franchises.

But yes forget the word BritRail unless talking about a BritRail Pass.

"but not long ago" P we are showing our age...

well yeh time is relevant ain't it.

Well -- <i>IF</i> one considers 1997 as 'not long ago' . . .

Where on the OP's post was anything said about a rail pass????

It wasn't - But the title says 'BritRail' so need to clear up the semantics . . . .

1997 - seems just like yesterday - dementia from too much gloss setting in.

My prediction: we will witness a return of a nationalized rail system in Britain - a new BritRail within a decade or so.

only if the adenoid idiot gets in

only if - a good chance though I know not of who you speak - Milktoastabrand?