jimily

We're flying into Gatwick,(skymiles) Friday August 29. We want to know if we should go onto Edinburgh via the Northeastern?(decribed as scenic) or should we stay in London(since we would be competing with the Festival visitors in Edinburgh for lodging.
We would like to travel by train on this trip.After traveling through Ireland by car I hope to enjoy the scenery this time on the UK.
Or
Would it be practical to take the train from London to Oban(we plan on by-passing glasgow on this trip). Too long a travel day with too many transfers is what I fear on this option.
What we would like to experience:
Isle of Mull
Oban
Stirling Castle
Edenburgh
London
We arrive on Friday Aug. 29 and depart London Sept. 8.
We are a party of three. Any help with accomodations for 3 with AC in London would be helpful.
Last time I was in London chose a B&B that was unacceptable and had to look for a Hotel. Don't want that to happen again. Is the area around Victoria Station a decent area for lodging?
Thanks in advance for any help.
Emily

chas

Jimily: re the Scottish part of the trip - I wouldn't bother with the GNR train as the scenic part only begins north of Newcastle. With the limited time you have I would suggest you fly to Edinburgh from Gatwick - you should be able to get a cheap fare from Easyjet or BMI. You don't have to stay in Edinburgh, I would choose Stirling as it'll be easier to get accommodation and it's only about 30-40 minutes by train into Edinburgh.
The other advantage of this is that you can have a day trip to Oban by train from Stirling and see some fantastic scenery on the way. The train leaves Stirling at 0714 and arrives in Oban at 1149. It actually goes via Glasgow Queen St but you don't have to change trains. The return train leaves Oban at 1810 and gets back to Stirling at 2207.
Check www.scotrail.co.uk for details and booking.
Hope this helps
Chas

sheila

I think everything i know about Edinburgh, Mull and Oban is already on here. Please feel free to send me an email if there's anything you would like specifically to know about- [email protected]

Roger

The main problem in getting to Oban by train is they only have three trains daily, taking around three hours. The trains depart from Glasgow Queen Street station at 8:12 am, 12:40 and 6:12pm. To get From London to Oban you are taking a minium of 8 1/2 hours to a max of about 10 hours.

jimily

Thank you all for your info. The Britrail pass has picqued my curiousity. The way I read their info was 50% off the fair for a party of 3 or 4. Does that mean the third person gets 50% off or all three party members are entitled to a 50% discount. If each of us can travel for 8 days for a little more than 200lbs. first class than I can't see why we would go anyother way.
I am probably not understanding the fare discriptions. Please set me straight.
Emily