How best to travel from London to Sunderland then on to St. Andrews
 

Our family of four will land at Heathrow Mar. 28 in a.m. from the U.S. We plan to attend the Manchester United vs. Sunderland match Mar. 30 at the Stadium of Light, Sunderland. After the match ends at approximately 15:35 p.m., we need to get to St. Andrews to stay two nights, then see the university on April 1st and get back to the U.S. as soon as possible afterwards. Have heard a recommendation to take the GNER up, sitting on right side, then fly back Edinburgh to London to home. Could someone tell me if that's a good idea? Also heard staying at Marriott Sunderland is good option for night before the match-could walk to stadium.

Nice full service place to stay St. Andrews less expensive than the Old Course hotel?

Deeply appreciate any advice. Thanks.

GNER lost the franchise for that route in December 2007, after its parent company went bankrupt. National Express operated the route for 2 years before it abandoned the franchise. It is now operated by the UK government as East Coast.

To get to Sunderland, you can either take East Coast to Newcastle, transferring to the Tyne & Wear Metro service to Sunderland. Or you can take a Grand Central train direct from London Kings Cross to Sunderland, a somewhat slower and less frequent service.

Both East Coast and CrossCountry operate trains on the Newcastle to Edinburgh route.

http://nationalrail.co.uk/ is the place to find schedules and fares.

If a match finishes at 1530, you're going to have to get out, get to where your bags are then get to the Sunderland Metro station by 1647 to get to St Andrews bus station by 2100.

Only you know where you're staying, but there's no left luggage at Sunderland station and you won't be able to take luggage into the ground. There are metros till 2017 that generate connections getting into St Andrews "that night" - but do you really want to arrive after midnight?

I wouldn't, BTW, waste energy worrying about what side of the East Coast or Grand Central train to sit on. Windows on British (and virtually all European) trains are big enough for there really not to be much of a difference which side you sit: you get the same view of both sides, both sides.

FYI it's going to be pretty dark at the time you're travelling so you won't see a thing

Also locally the stadium is referred to as 'The Stadium of Shite" be sure to use it when asking for directions ;)

First, can you amend your flights to fly into Newcastle? Or check the cost of buying a flight from LHR to NCL with britishairways.com

It won't be that much more expensive than the train www.eastcoast.co.uk and avoids the hassle of going into central London then a 3 hour train journey.

<<Also heard staying at Marriott Sunderland is good option for night before the match-could walk to stadium.>> This is about 2.5 miles from the Stadium so you could walk through the delights of Sunderland, hmmm...

Alternatively, stay in Newcastle - far more hotels (check tripadvisor). On your check out day leave your luggage at Newcastle Central station. Go the match on the metro, return to Newcastle on the metro (40 mins), pick up your luggage and catch your train.

This is the Easter weekend so accommodation will be getting booked up. Newcastle is popular for weekends and the Sunderland Marriot may be full of Man U supporters already. So book asap.

Tickets for Newcastle to Cupar (for St Andrews) are on the www.eastcoast.co.uk website but the cheap ones are not yet on sale for the Easter Saturday.

Looking for somewhere to visit? Washington Old Hall is the ancestral home of George http://tinyurl.com/b6lo2lm

The match kicks off at 12:45 and should finish around 14:40 not 15:35 and as flanner says, you will certainly not be allowed to take luggage into the ground and there are no facilities round the area for left luggage. If you stay the night before, either in Sunderland or Newcastle, then leave your luggage at your hotel or station, pick it up after the game and head for St. Andrews.

Be aware that getting away from the ground post match and trying to catch public transport will be a problem, as many thousands of people will be trying to do exactly the same thing as you. Try and find a wandering cab and/or be prepared to leave a bit earlier than the final whistle. Sunderland should be irretrievably losing to United by 80 minutes.

Ignore Geordie's description of the Stadium of Light and do NOT ask for it in the terms he mentions. This is just a Geordie/Mackem Newcastle/Sunderland argument. Don't get involved, especially as he's got nothing to shout about at the moment football-wise at St.Aimless Park.

<i>Tickets for Newcastle to Cupar (for St Andrews) are on the www.eastcoast.co.uk website but the cheap ones are not yet on sale for the Easter Saturday.</i>

Yes but the closest and most convenient station for St Andrews is at Leuchars - take the local bus or taxi from there into St Andrews (approx 6 miles).

<<Yes but the closest and most convenient station for St Andrews is at Leuchars - take the local bus or taxi from there into St Andrews (approx 6 miles).>>

Yes indeed Leuchars is closest- mea culpa (or mea Cupar!)

Thanks to all for the great advice and the English football humor, which my United-loving son greatly enjoyed. Can always count on the detailed knowledge of the Fodors crew. Working on plane vs. train from London to Newcastle, and train to Leuchars. Had a vision of our uninitiated American family clad in United fan gear after the match walking around Sunderland trying to get to the Marriott or to our luggage and get to a station. Maybe not so smart. Perhaps we should invest in a private car to pick us up outside the stadium and take us back to our hotel.

Also, do you think that the town of St. Andrews will be closed down on Easter Sunday? Would we be able to attend services and find at least a pub or somewhere to dine out?

The private car is a good idea to get you back to your hotel. I take it that your seats are in the United end, especially with your outfits? If so, you will probably be kept in the stadium for 20 minutes or so after the match to allow for the Sunderland fans to make their disappointed way home. If you're not in the United end, then don't wear it but you will get out sooner.

Build the delay into any car arrangements.

Easter Sunday in England is a very quiet day. Most stores are shut but pubs and restaurants should be open. You will need to book to get in anywhere popular. Maybe someone who lives in the St Andrews area can confirm whether this is the same in Scotland,

I was at Uni at St.A's back in the day - too far back for me to me admit to myself let alone anyone else - and I can assure you that Easter Sunday in St.Andrews will be fine for your requirements; an Easter Service in the Kirk, a bracing pier walk or longer ramble along West Sands to see the seals and back again and mumerous dining choices. Recommend you ask your hotel to recommend the latest and best establishments and have them make a reservation for you.
Not sure if it still carries the caché it once did but The Peat Inn just 6 miles out of town (get a taxi) was for a long time a very fine restaurant indeed - but I'm not sure if chef David Wilson is still there.

Have a good trip - if you've any specific St. A's questions please don't hesitate to ask. I may have been a student resident eons ago but have been back regularly many times since - a testament to my abiding fondness for the place - and I'll do my best to furnish you with answers.

Dr D.

Thanks, Robicund and Dr. D., Decided on car after match and will make note of the required exit delay. I don't see evidence of chef Wilson remaining there, but menu at The Peat Inn looks great and TA reviews are very positive so we may make a reservation. Thanks to all for the tips.

We've updated our itinerary for Scotland and the match. We decided to invest our tour guide money in a private car from Scotland to Sunderland and back instead. This saves the stress of the train transfers and getting out after the match and back to Scotland. I'm now wondering about what time we should have the car pick us up in Edinburgh. The match appears to start at 12:45. According to Google Maps, the travel time from The Caledonian hotel in Edinburgh to the Stadium of Light is about 2 hours and 45 minutes. However, with match day traffic and our unfamiliarity with the stadium plus time for unexpected delays, I'm thinking that we should leave the hotel no later than 8:45 a.m. My guys will probably want to take in the sights a bit as they have looked forward to seeing a Man U match for a long time. The date of the Match is Saturday, March 30. Advice?

Also, Dr. D or others, we will spend the end of our trip in St. Andrews so that our son can visit the university. We do plan to attend services and walk the pier and Old Course on Easter Sunday. Besides this, we will visit the university, walk the town and beaches weather permitting, and then still probably have one full day left. We won't have a car. Would you do Scone Palace, Glamis Castle, land yachting, salmon fishing? Something else? There are four of us and the "kids" are boys ages 20 and 17. Thanks!

You'll want to be in your seats or at least at the ground by 11:45 (wander round, pick up the atmosphere). Be in your seats for no later than 12:30.

Leave Edinburgh no later than 8am "just in case". Maybe we can wave at each other!

<i>We decided to invest our tour guide money in a private car from Scotland to Sunderland and back instead. </i>

I hear this expression "private car" a lot on this forum - I gather it's a US term for a pre-booked taxi? You do realise the 260 mile round trip in a car big enough for 4 passengers is going to cost you a small fortune - have you had any quotes for this?

There's plenty to do and see in St Andrews for a couple of days (if it were me I'd just stay there for such a short duration). If you did have a car, there's a large choice of interesting places within easy day-trip range. But as you don't have a car of your own, that will make things more restrictive. You could take local buses, assuming they are running at Easter, or a taxi (based on your plans to go to/from Sunderland you can obviously afford it :) ) down the Fife coast to the pretty fishing villages of Anstruther and Crail.

Thanks, Robicund and Gordon_R, the match day is a gift to my husband and sons. I won't be going- -just the three boys so they will fit in a standard car, which has been arranged. Used miles for plane tickets and wanted the guys to have a nice day at the match. Thanks for the tips.

Hope they enjoyed it, good result!