Glasgow to London
 

Fall train trip or plane trip from Glasgow to London: Is the scenery on the train trip worth the extra cost of the train?

How big's the difference - and have you checked out all the train fare options at www.nationalrail.co.uk? What's the total en route time door-to-door in each case?

Glasgow to London isn't as scenic as the east coast route from Edinburgh.

Don't forget to add in the costs (and time) of getting to/from the airports, plus any baggage fees. The budget airlines like Ryanair and EasyJet are particularly notorious for their fees. I plugged in a date in October to National Rail and got a fare as low as £40.50 and a journey time of 4.5 hours, dropping you off near the center of London. For me, unless there's a big savings, the train is easier, even if it isn't more scenic.

OP - which websites are you checking for prices? What prices are you getting and for what dates?

What dates are you intending to travel as currently only cheap train tickets up to the 12th October are available?

Have you checked the Bargain Berths on the Caledonian Sleeper or the Megabus Sleeper coach?

The scenery is nothing special - industrial for most of the run through England. Some hills and fields to look at once you get into the Lake District and southern Scotland, but not remarkable in any way. Work out what works best for you in terms of total cost / time / convenience but you can safely leave the scenery out of the equation.

If I was going from city centre to city centre, I would take the train. I probably wouldn't even check airfares. I prefer to avoid the general hassle of air travel, including the opportunity to be brutalized by airport security, when there is such an attractive alternative.

I've done that route at least two times in each direction. I agree that it is nothing spectacular, but I don't remember it as being particularly industrial for the most part. After you get through London suburbia, it's pretty well pleasant agricultural countryside until Stafford or so. From there until Wigan or maybe Preston, there is a fair amount of industry. Beyond that you've got Lancashire countryside and then you are in the broad valley between the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales up to the Scottish border. Then the Scottish Lowlands to Glasgow.

Are you trying to get to London - or to one of the airports? That makes a big difference.

Thank you for your suggestions. We are spending the night at Heathrow, so it seems to make sense to fly from Glasglow and spend the night by the airport even though we come in terminal 4 and go out to US from 3. Our flight out is about noon in late September.