BritRail Passes
 

I used to think that I was reasonably intelligent. I've been looking at the BritRail website and have been trying to determine whether I need a Consecutive or Flexible Pass. I will be traveling by train on the19th of October, then again on the 22nd, then the 26th and finally the 29th. With the Consecutive Pass does one need to travel by train each day, ie, the 19th, 20th, 21st, etc?

Don't know. But have you tried pricing up the individual journeys instead? BritRail isn't always very competitive.

You will need a flexipass, if any pass, good for X number of days of travel over a two-month period. - unlimited travel on all day trains in Britain for a calendar day - just show up and hop on.

What are your train trips?

Go to www.nationalrail.co.uk to see the various fares and conditions attached to each. If you want to be able to be fully flexible in your travels and just show up at train stations and hop any of the zillions of daily trains then the pass often is the best deal as full fare and fully flexible tickets often cost a fortune as you can see on the site I give above.

If you can put up with various restrictions - the cheapest fares often being non-changeable nor refundable I believe, then for a few train trips that could be the best for you - if you do not wish flexibility and can lock yourself into the cheaper (and limited in number) fares that often have to be bought far in advance to secure. (Easy to do IME on the www.nationalrail.co.uk web site.) If the pass turns out to be a deal for your requirements and again IMO do not solely judge the efficacy of a pass simply by price, buy it before going to the UK as they are not sold at UK rail stations TMK as Brits themselves cannot use them - though if someone visiting a Brit has a pass you can then get the Brit traveling with you a free companion pass.

Folks traveling in groups find passes greater deals as the 3rd person on traveling in a group pays only 50% of the regular pass price. Families with kids under 16 get a free Family Pass where their kids get a free pass as well. So those demographics also make a difference. And there are special pass prices for seniors 60 and over and youths under 26.

To me sponteneity and fully flexible tickets are priceless and that is why I have had zillions of BritRail Passes for years and always found them a great deal - but I travel on trains more than the average person.

and my years of traveling on British trains also exhorts me to tell the average tourist on the trip of a lifetime to go first class if taking long-distance trains as there is a world of difference - much much bigger seats - always a table in front of you and oodles of room for luggage - I always have an empty seat near me to put my bags on and also many long-distance trains give complimentary beverages and snacks the whole way in first class only. A pass can be especially cost-effective if comparing first class fares to the cost of a first-class pass. Man in Seat 61 who has gained fame for his www.seat61.com web site and who is a Brit said in a recent post that he is also an afficinado of first class train travel so take that advice from a real expert!

Anyway check out these fab IMO sites for lots about British trains and passes and online discounts - www.seat61.com (great info on all the various online discounts; www.budgeteuropetravel.com (from whom I always buy passes for their great customer service by phone) and www.ricksteves.com

Thank you for your help.

What journeys are you intending to take?

Heathrow to Clacton on Sea, Clacton to Glasgow, Glasgow to Manchester, and Manchester to Gatwick.

Those are fairly long trips so if you wish to just be able to show up at station, especially in first class, and hop on I would think the railpass would be a boon - but again you can do all the math at www.nationalrail.co.uk for the various fares and accompanying restrictions that are compatible to your plans and travel style.

I wouldn't take the train from Clacton to Glasgow - I'd fly with Easyjet from Stansted. I'd also consider a car service to take you direct to Clacton from Heathrow (check out Clacton taxi companies)

Personally I would rearrange your trip to fly from Heathrow to Glasgow, train from Glasgow to Manchester, train from Manchester to Clacton then a local taxi service to Gatwick. That routing makes more sense and saves you a couple of awkward trips.

At the very least consider flying Manchester to Gatwick.

alanRow is giving really good advice. A couple of those will be GAWD awful train trips.

Must your itinerary follow that exact order of things? If not, there are much easier routes/combos of transportation to get you to the same places - just in a different sequence.

Can I ask why you are going to Clacton?

Is it worth buying a BritRail pass? A pass is only worth it ...
www.seat61.com/UK-train-travel.htm

pass rarely if ever worth it for me

hop regionals train like a local

skyscanner.net econoair for the long legs booked in advence

always best cheapest for me.

Good luck!

Nona1 - I'm going to Clacton to visit my aunt and uncle. As far as the "time of travel" by train, I'm not in a great hurry. What I may do is take trains to Liverpool Station, take a taxi to Euston, then get an express to Glasgow.

....What I may do is take trains to Liverpool Station....

I think that you mean Liverpool STREET station.
We had a horror story on this forum about a poor soul who wanted to go to Ipswich. He was told to go from Liverpool Street and ended up in Liverpool.

If traveling Nov thru end of Feb then BritRail Passes are off-season discount of about 20-25% - so compare those prices is traveling between those periods - % off regular price.

"What I may do is take trains to Liverpool Station, take a taxi to Euston, then get an express to Glasgow."

Minimum of 7 hours travel time

there are also overnight trains between London-Euston station and Glasgow - save a night in a hotel - about a $200 value for the average tourist it seems - and sleep whilst you travel. Passes are valid on overnight trains but you must pay for an optional sleeping berth if not willing to sit all night in upright seats without additional charge.

Caledonian Sleeper trains, sleeper train London to Scotland ...
www.scotrail.co.uk/caledoniansleeper/index.html - Block all www.scotrail.co.uk results
Buy train travel tickets for the ScotRail Caledonian Sleeper Trains, overnight train services operating between London Euston and Scotland

And if no pass there are some nifty deep discounts on berths if you act far enough in advance as they are sold I believe in limited numbers.