edinburgh to london - air or train?
 

we need to go from edinburgh (staying at balmoral hotel) to london (staying at stafford hotel)on a weekday evening in march. is it better (based on time, hassle factor, etc) iyo to train or fly? cost not a consideration. thanks for the advice!

The train will probably be abit faster when you figure in transfers to EDI, into London from LHR plus advance check in and just general hassle.

Plus you are staying in the center of Edinburgh right at Waverly Station.

Train for sure . . . . .

I second what janisj said. It will take just a bit over 4 hours, but you will be in London on arrival and a short taxi ride to your hotel.

This should be a no brainer. Take the train every time. You cannot be any closer than the Balmoral hotel for the station and, of course, you can always take the overnight sleeper train to give you the maximum time in Edinburgh.

Train. Book sooner rather than later for cheaper fares. You said cost was not a consideration but you will pay much more to buy a ticket on the day (maybe 5 times as much).

Well, I'm evidently in the minority, but I do live in Edinburgh and it's been years since I got the train to London. The timings are pretty similar, door to door, but the train usually costs more & is more likely to go wrong. Especially if travelling in the evening, I'd fly. What sort of time are you thinking about leaving ?

Current trains after 5pm :-

dep 1700 arr 2144
dep 1730 arr 2220
dep 1900 arr 0028.

Then add on probbably half an hour to get from King's Cross to your hotel.

If you fly, you could get the following to Heathrow (again only listing those after 5pm) :-

BA
dep 1805 arr 1930
dep 1915 arr 2040
dep 2020 arr 2145

bmi
dep 1830 arr 2055
dep 2055 arr 2215

If you went for the 1830 bmi flight, for example, you wouldn't have to leave the hotel (taxi from there or bus from round the corner) until 5pm. How long it would take to get from Heathrow to your hotel would depend on which method you use - but the extra time to get from Heathrow as opposed to King's Cross would likely just about equate to the three quarters of an hour earlier arrival.

Alternatively, as almcd suggested, there is the sleeper train - but it doesn't have showers...

I am curious about this topic myself, as I am looking at a similar situation in may. Can anyone give me some more info on the overnight sleeper train, and their website?

shaytravels - see seat61.com/CaledonianSleepers.htm

I would take the train. In addition to not having to deal with airports, you can have a leisurely dinner in the restaurant car.

http://www.nationalexpresseastcoast.com/en/

Check "On Board Our Trains".

I'm inclined to agree with Caroline. If you were going during the daytime where you could enjoy the scenery, then maybe I'd take the train.

But we took a BMI fight that I booked online from Edinburgh to London and it was definitely cheaper than the train. As others have said, unless you book early and manage to get a decent fare, the train can be an expensive option.

<<< unless you book early and manage to get a decent fare, the train can be an expensive option. >>>

The same applies to flights

There's absolutely no simple answer.

I used to commute between an office close to Waverley and a house close to Kings Cross. If I had serious work to do, or just fancied a pleasant evening's uninterrupted reading, the train won hands down. If I needed to be in London for a specific time in the evening- like going to the theatre or out to dinner with people - it had to be the plane, for the reasons Caroline's timings show.

The "sleeper" really only has one advantage: you can cram a lot into your days, especially if there's something you want to do in one town in the evening but still make an 0800 meeting in the other the following morning. But letting you sleep isn't one of its advantages. Unless you really want to maximise use of your time, it doesn't come anywhere near getting a proper night's sleep in a proper bed.

" it doesn't come anywhere near getting a proper night's sleep in a proper bed." Interested by this. I've taken night trains all across Europe and Asia, and they've ranged from a night from hell (too hot, too much clanking and swaying, other passengers arriving in the middle of the night, even insect life on one occasion) to a perfectly good night's sleep (more often than not). seat61.com speaks well of this train - what did you find wrong with it?

<<< it doesn't come anywhere near getting a proper night's sleep in a proper bed. >>>

Speak for yourself, I sleep better on trains than on planes - of course my travelling companions might not agree as I snore

We are talking about March - the cheap train fares will have gone 2 months ago. However, cheapness wasn't the OP's priority.

Cost is important to me but I also find flying a lot less hassle amd more reliable.

If it matters: the train is a lot "greener" than flying.

Apparently not always - there was an article on the news here the other week saying that it varies between lines/operators/train types. Some - the older ones maybe ? - are more polluting than flying.

The trains between London and Edinburgh are electric trains, so will certainly be better for the environment than flying.

Doesn't that depend on how the electricity was generated ?