IN UK: TRAIN, PLANE OR BOTH?
 

Ok - I know you guys out there are mostly pros.... I'd like to apologize in advance if I'd sound so naive. but here goes.

We will be travelling to London and Edinburgh in 3 weeks and I am overwhelmed by all the info online regarding transportation withint UK.

We are a family of 5 (2 adults + 3 small kids). We will be staying 6 or 7 days in London and or 6 days in Edinburgh. here's the question:

Would buying a train ticket be cheaper if we were to travel between London, Stonehedge, Bath and EDinburgh? If so, where should I look? there's quite a few websites around, I know but was wondering if any of you have any particulars.

I thought about just taking the plane from london to edinburgh too, but since we wanted to go to STonehedge and bath, i thought maybe it'll be better if we take the train and or MAYBE even get a Pass. Is it worth it if we get a pass instead? My kids are ages 8, 5 and 1.

Thanks!

First, no trains go to Stonehedge, second, were you thinking of going from London to Stonehedge, Bath and Edinburgh on the same day? Sure hope not. You could do Bath and Stonehedge as a day trip from London then either a train or plane up to Edinburgh. Me, I like trains and would prefer the train.

A good website for rail questions is www.nationalrail.co.uk It will give you times and prices and direct you to which train company does which journeys. There are lots of different train companies in the UK, all have different ticketing rules and prices.

We have found that train prices here in the UK are very expensive though I believe they are much cheaper if you book weeks or months ahead. You could play around on the site above and check. You should be able to get pretty cheap (cheaper than the train) flights from London to Edinburgh with someone like Easyjet. You will have to factor in the cost of getting to the airport in London though. For example, it's pricey to get to Luton airport on the train.

Have you thought about getting a hire car after you have finished in London then drive to Stonehenge, drive on to Bath, drive up to Edinburgh and leave your car there (not all on one day!)? Just a thought, might be easier with the kids. You could catch the tube out to Heathrow, collect your car then head out to Stonehenge as you'll already be on the outskirts of London.

Kay

Please - it's StoneHENGE. (tearing out hair and mumbling under my breath)

>>>>>
Please - it's StoneHENGE. (tearing out hair and mumbling under my breath)
>>>>>>

i don't see anything wrong with 'stonehedge'...it does sort of look like a stone hedge with some bits missing but that's just because it's so old.

azzure - just the sort of construct advice for which this place is famed.

dainty23 - be very very careful with our rail system. Basically it isn't totally extensive and can be expensive to the extent that you feel the operator is trying to extort money from you.

My wife (her company) paid £333!!!! to travel Manchester to London return first class. One friend was quoted such a high fare for a London journey he did the following whioh has become a legend in our parts - to avoid a silly Manchester to London rail return.

- flew Manchester to Barcelona with a low cost flight operator
- stayed two nights in Barcelona
- ate well and had lots to drink
- flew low cost flights Barcelona to London return
- then finally flew Barcelona back to Manchester

All for less than the Manchester to London rail ticket first class.

You have to book well in advance to avoid National Rail's ridiculous pricing policy.

I may be wrong but it is not possible to get a national rail pass unless you are a student.

In short - rent a car.

At three weeks out, you've probably missed the best train fares. Might have missed the best air fares, too.

The train isn't expensive if you book early. I appreciate it's probably a bit late for the OP, but in the interests of balance, my first class ticket from East Anglia to Exeter is usually £24 each way.

RM67

how long do you book in advance?

that price is amazing.

For some unexplained reason, the London-Manchester train fares are unacceptably high. I speak from years of experience of refusing to pay them and going by National Express. Other fares are much more reasonable. Dunno why.

Usually a minimum of one month. Two singles are almost always cheaper than a return, BTW. I use Trainline.com or whatever it's called. The 'One Railway' part of the journey is crap but the Paddington onward bit with FGW is nice - first class lounge with free lunch, papers and snacks on board, plus appropriately sycophantic staff!

ok... let me get this straight.

so, would you all agree that i should probably just rent a car in london to go to stonehenge (sorry for the spelling earlier...)and bath? and then look for airtickets from london to edinburgh?

do you think that's a better way?

thank you guys!

With 5 people I would just rent a car, drive to see Bath and Stonehenge and stay somplace in the area. The next dday drive to Edinburgh (stopping on the way to see things as you have time or not). It will be way cheaper than either train or plane for 5 people - and with 3 kids probably easier to negotiate.

I agree with NYTraveller. With 3 kids, having a car will be easier. Plus the cheap carriers like Easyjet don't have allocated seating on the planes so it can be a bit of a bunfight getting on.

For driving travel times check either www.rac.co.uk or www.viamichelin.com

We have found Europcar and Hertz good to deal with.

Kay

with those numbers go for a car. Try for diesel to get some efficiency and bring your wallet. If Hilary C thinks you guys pay a lot for gas....

just rent a car in london to go to stonehenge (sorry for the spelling earlier...)and bath?>

rent a car if you want to do a 2-night out loop from London IMO

but not for day trips as the train will be much cheaper, faster (figuring in picking up and returning car, etc.)

Day trips trains are the best IMO even with toddlers

Actually a car would be good if you do London- Stonehedge or Stonehenge then go to Bath and from there up to Edinburgh - why come back to London to fly - getting kids and all to airport, etc.

just drive up there from Bath, stopping by the famed Lake District for example

A car could save you hundreds of £. But - please don't try London > Stonehenge > Bath > Edinburgh in one day. Even 2 days will be pushing it.

Since you say "6 or 7" days in London and 6 days in Edinburgh - does that mean your lOndon bit is flexible and the Edinburgh portion is set? Edinburgh is one of my favorite places on Earth - but 6 days is longer than one needs there.

I'd plan on 6 days in London, Pick up a car early a.m. of day 7. Drive to Stonehenge/Salisbury. After lunch drive to Bath and stay the night. Day 8 explore Bath that afternoon and the next morning then head north after lunch. The next night (day 9) could be in Chester - or a bit farther on the edge of the Lake District. Then you could drive on to Edinburgh (day 10) -- or -- take some time to explore Hadrian's Wall and get to Edinburgh on day 11. Leaving you about 3 days in Edinburgh.

W/ little kids, you'll have to stop more often so breaking the journey into more manageable chunks would make it easier on everyone.

One thing to definitely do is to return the car once your reach Edinburgh and book the train NOW to get back to London.

It'll save you the cost of renting a car that will sit at the side of the road for a number of days accumulating parking charges

It also means you won't be spending a whole day driving back to London

Even better see if you can change your plane tickets so your homeward flight starts at Edinburgh

It seems the OP is ending in Edinburgh? At least she says nothing about returning to London Town