Edinburgh to London
Apr 14th, 2004, 08:24 AM
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Edinburgh to London
Has anyone ever taken the night train from Edinburgh to London? I will be in Edinburgh for 2 days and will then be heading down to London for 4 days. Since I only have a few days I don't want to spend too much of my day on the train to London, so I've been considering the night train. Is it worth it to take this train, so my first day in London I have the full or would it be better to just get an early morning train from Edinburgh down to London? Also, how is the cost for the night train and is it safe?
Apr 14th, 2004, 01:09 PM
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I looked at both options and ended up flying from Gatwick to Edinburgh on Easyjet.
The flight was very affordable--I think it was about 44 GBP for 2 people and a nice quick flight.
It worked out best for us as we flew from the states into Gatwick and time was very precious.
I have also taken many overnight trains in my travels throughout Europe and it does work out well when trying to save $$ for a hotel---but, you will probably want to pay for a sleeper for each person and when you add the train tickets, sleeper supplements, time involved & discomfort---you might be better off staying at a lower quality hotel or B & B and flying.
By the way, you can get some real good deals on Priceline or laterooms.com. for hotels. For example, in London, we stayed at the 5* Le Meridian in Piccadilly for around $150 US dollars on priceline.com. on April 4th. If you are going to use Priceline, I would suggest 1st going to the website biddingfortravel.com as you can then see what the prevailing rates are for the dates and areas that you are interested in bidding on.
Regardless of what you decide to do, I am sure that you will have a great time as Edinburgh is a really nice town and London has a lot to offer. Enjoy your trip!
The flight was very affordable--I think it was about 44 GBP for 2 people and a nice quick flight.
It worked out best for us as we flew from the states into Gatwick and time was very precious.
I have also taken many overnight trains in my travels throughout Europe and it does work out well when trying to save $$ for a hotel---but, you will probably want to pay for a sleeper for each person and when you add the train tickets, sleeper supplements, time involved & discomfort---you might be better off staying at a lower quality hotel or B & B and flying.
By the way, you can get some real good deals on Priceline or laterooms.com. for hotels. For example, in London, we stayed at the 5* Le Meridian in Piccadilly for around $150 US dollars on priceline.com. on April 4th. If you are going to use Priceline, I would suggest 1st going to the website biddingfortravel.com as you can then see what the prevailing rates are for the dates and areas that you are interested in bidding on.
Regardless of what you decide to do, I am sure that you will have a great time as Edinburgh is a really nice town and London has a lot to offer. Enjoy your trip!
Apr 15th, 2004, 05:56 AM
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Thanks for the input! I did consider flying. I thought one of the upsides to taking the night train would be saving $$ on on a hotel. Peyton, you make a very good point about the costs of the sleeper adding up (and the discomfort). I think I will look into flying down to London.
Apr 15th, 2004, 06:32 AM
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I would definitely consider flying. The trains from London to Edinburgh were definitely more expensive than the flights and it takes you longer (obviously) to get there. Check out a couple of the no-frills airlines, such as ryanair.com and easyjet.com.
Good luck!
Tracy
Good luck!
Tracy
Apr 15th, 2004, 06:56 AM
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The night trains are run by Scotrail (www.scotrail.co.uk). The supplement for a sleeper is about £30 per person, including a small breakfast (the compartments have two bunks but the first class fare entitles you to a compartment to yourself; in standard class, you share). There is a lounge car where you can get drinks and snacks, and a button in the compartment to call for the attendant in the night. You are allowed to stay on the train after it arrives at Euston station. They have various special offers which can be a lot cheaper. The sleeper would allow you to spend an evening in Edinburgh, followed by a full day in London, which you would not get by flying.
Apr 15th, 2004, 11:14 PM
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Last year we did the sleeper from London to Edinburg. We sipped in the bar car till 1am and then slept like babies until morning. Mary the Stewardess gave us breakfast in a bag at sunrise and we couldn't have asked for more.
I felt like we made very good use of our travel time (it takes time to get to and from airports). I also got the pleasure of finding that my well-traveled husband had never slept on a sleeper car before and was getting a kick out of it.
The experience gave our trip a little restful kick and gave us a little bit of a slow down too. I am looking at this board tonight to figure an overnight train ride into our itinerary for our holiday for this years holiday.
I hope yours is as nice as ours was last year.
Emily
I felt like we made very good use of our travel time (it takes time to get to and from airports). I also got the pleasure of finding that my well-traveled husband had never slept on a sleeper car before and was getting a kick out of it.
The experience gave our trip a little restful kick and gave us a little bit of a slow down too. I am looking at this board tonight to figure an overnight train ride into our itinerary for our holiday for this years holiday.
I hope yours is as nice as ours was last year.
Emily
Apr 15th, 2004, 11:35 PM
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AAFF:
Geoff's absolutely right.
If you're working, the earliest flight (0610 Easyjet) will get you to Luton in time to get to Kings Cross for 0800 - thus inevitably being late for the first meeting of the day. And having to get up at a time that's fine on business but really isn't the way most of want to spend our holidays.
If you want to get up at a remotely civilised vacation time, the earliest flight would be around 0830. That gets you to LGW for 10, which means you won't get even to Victoria till 11 - ATC allowing (which it rarely does)
The overnight train is the only way you can spend a proper evening in Edinburgh and put in a full day in London.
PS: How do you get your posts to appear in bold? Much more effective and polite than caps.
Geoff's absolutely right.
If you're working, the earliest flight (0610 Easyjet) will get you to Luton in time to get to Kings Cross for 0800 - thus inevitably being late for the first meeting of the day. And having to get up at a time that's fine on business but really isn't the way most of want to spend our holidays.
If you want to get up at a remotely civilised vacation time, the earliest flight would be around 0830. That gets you to LGW for 10, which means you won't get even to Victoria till 11 - ATC allowing (which it rarely does)
The overnight train is the only way you can spend a proper evening in Edinburgh and put in a full day in London.
PS: How do you get your posts to appear in bold? Much more effective and polite than caps.
Apr 16th, 2004, 01:03 AM
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There is always BA or BMI that offer almost hourly flights to Kondon with the latest leaving Edinburgh aroung 21:00, arriving at Gatwick or Heathrow an hour later.
That will allow youa nice evening in Edinburgh and a full day in London.
<b>bold</b> - <=b> in front, and <=/b> in the back, wrapped around the word, sentence, etc. Take out the <b>=</b>. I just used the <b>=</b> so <=b> will not disaapear and make <b> (in front, and</b
bold. For italics use i instead of b.
That will allow youa nice evening in Edinburgh and a full day in London.
<b>bold</b> - <=b> in front, and <=/b> in the back, wrapped around the word, sentence, etc. Take out the <b>=</b>. I just used the <b>=</b> so <=b> will not disaapear and make <b> (in front, and</b
bold. For italics use i instead of b.
Apr 16th, 2004, 02:57 AM
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If the plane is leaving Edinburgh airport at 2100, then you do not have an evening in Edinburgh - you have to get to the airport before the check-in time. The night train leaves Waverley station, right in the centre of the city, at 2340, giving time for dinner or even a theatre, concert, etc.
Apr 16th, 2004, 05:43 AM
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Geoff says it all. More time in both places and a rare experience (these days) too. Put another way - flying is for business people, and people with VERY little time - and for tourists. Travelling by train is for travellers.
I am just slightly miffed (no, rephrase that - I am extremely offended), OP, by your question "is it safe"? The UK is not a third world country. But maybe you think it is (despite Blair and Bush's love-in).
I am just slightly miffed (no, rephrase that - I am extremely offended), OP, by your question "is it safe"? The UK is not a third world country. But maybe you think it is (despite Blair and Bush's love-in).
Apr 16th, 2004, 10:45 AM
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Hi! We looked at the various options for travel between London and Edinburgh and decided to take BA from LHR to EDI. A couple of reasons, 1) we are attending a wedding in EDI and could get there more quickly and have an extra day in EDI, and that we could fly directly back into LHR and stay there on our last night before flying out. In our particular case, the train was our first choice, the airplane was the practical choice for the time constraints we have. We got a RT $50.00(USD)rate through Travelocity's fair tracking system under the "My Stuff" feature. We leave mid morning and arrive by noon, return mid afternoon and have time for one last dinner in London. Have fun planning!
Julie
Julie
Apr 16th, 2004, 11:22 AM
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alice13 - You are an ornery bird aren't you!
Did you ever consider that it is the first time this person will be travelling to Europe or to anywhere for that matter?! A simple "yes, the train is safe at night" would have sufficed, rather than getting soooo offended.
Perhaps you should sort out your priorities as to what you find so offensive and just offer friendly advice, which to my understanding, is what this message board is all about.
Did you ever consider that it is the first time this person will be travelling to Europe or to anywhere for that matter?! A simple "yes, the train is safe at night" would have sufficed, rather than getting soooo offended.
Perhaps you should sort out your priorities as to what you find so offensive and just offer friendly advice, which to my understanding, is what this message board is all about.
