Pippin

Am going to London in Nov. (took advantage of British Airways cheap deal) Since I have been there before, thought I would take the train to Edinburgh for a few days. Europe Rail quotes me a price of $128 one way. I then looked at Ryanair, I can go ROUND TRIP from London to Glasgow (then bus it Edinburgh) for 27 pounds (about $40)and this includes taxes. Can these numbers be right? Am I missing something? Has anyone flown Ryanair? Is it safe? Any trouble booking online? I realize Ryanair flys out of London Stansted. Anyone know how accesible Stansted is to Central London? Sorry for all the questions, but the price seems to good not to investigate. Thanks.

ron

I returned last week from a 4 week vacation in the UK. I purchased a 14 day advance return ticket between London and Glasgow for £29. I investigated the cheap airfares as you described and found they involved departures at unreasonable times to and from inconvenient airports - but they may work for you if they fit your itinerary. Ryanair and Buzz and Go are all legitimate no-frills airlines. <BR> <BR>Ron

david west

This is a reflection of the ludicrous train fares, rather than the cheapness of air travel. In all honesty Britain is too small to justify internal flights. However the rail companies are so rapacious that various budget airlines have seena niche in the market and gone for it. <BR> <BR>Stanstead's dead easy to get to, it has a dedicated, cheap, (oh the irony!) train service.

sandy

We flew into Stansted in September. It took about an hour and a half to get into London by bus. (We did this with a tour group, so the bus was waiting for us outside the terminal.) After about an hour on the bus, we drove right by Heathrow. It made me mad. <BR> <BR>I am one of those weird people that would rather go by train. I have taken the train from London/King's Cross to Edinburgh. It's a great ride, goes along the coast in places. By the time you get to and from the airport in London, ride the bus from Glasgow to Edinburgh, you could have been there already on the train. <BR> <BR>But if money is a big issue, Ryanair is OK. Went from Dublin to Birmingham on Ryanair charter once. Got there in one piece.

Jane

Stansted is about a 45 minute train ride to London (liverpool Street station) - from there you can change onto the tube. Stansted and Heathrow are at opposite ends of (outer ) London so I wouldn't have thought you'd go past either to get into London

Tangata

Have a look at the British Midland web site. My guess is that they will fly you London to Glasgow cheaper than rail or anything else. We used them last August and they were cheaper even than Virgin.

JP

The "ludicrous" train fares are similar to the "ludicrous" air fares that you get if you ask for an unrestricted ticket on just about any airline. If you want a cheap train ticket, you have to look for the bargain fares. GNER sells £36 London to Edinburgh round trip tickets. See http://www.gner.co.uk/tickets/.

Nigel Doran

Go to www.thetrainline.com and book ahead and get cheap fares on the train. You can also phone from abroad. Contrary to the other posters, there are good value tickets to be had. You can get a return ticket in standard class for about £40 or less. Or try www.scotrail.com (or .co.uk) for sleeper tickets from London Euston to E'burgh and back. It takes about 8 hours overnight and you get a cabin with shower etc., arriving early and saving money on the hotel. <BR>Or, take one of these cheap flights and try to take advantage of sometimes cheaper tickets for the rail link to the airport. I am not sure in Ryanair has a deal with the rail company in question. If not, it is £22 return, and is quicker by the bus by far. <BR> <BR>Why not go to www.go-fly.com for flights from S'ted to E'burgh and also www.easyJet.com for the same. British Midland is good to look at too.