I am planning to take a round- trip train from King's cross to cambridge on a Saturday in early July. do I save money by buying the ticket in advance. thanks.

just check www.nationalrail.co.uk for all the fares and various conditions - discounted tickets may have black out times or perhaps you cannot leave London before a certain time, etc. But on this route I think there are few major savings. To really save money take the bus.

quick look appears that a very few trains have very cheap fares so booking ahead could save a lot of money - if you can live with the restrictions on those discounted tickets. I see a few 8 pound fares but mainly 20-22 pounds on most trains.

i'm looking for july 6 and I see only 23 pound fares

Look at trains from Liverpool Street instead of Kings Cross - £12 return

1. Any generalisation about British train fares is subject to the proviso that they're run by individual businesses whose policies change in response to their perceptions of customer needs. So what might have been true the last time a respondent took the journey concerned probably isn't any more

2. But as a general rule, trains from KX to Cambridge don't offer savings if you book in advance. Most Saturday KX-Cambridge trains are eligible for offpeak rates

3. However, trains from Liverpool St to Cambridge DO offer advance discounts, and on Saturdays on practically all ex-L'pool St trains. These Advance fares average about 30% of the offpeak walk-up fare (ie.70% off), and typically are available up to 1800 the night before. L'pool St - Cambridge by train takes about 20 mins longer than the KX service, but about 45-60 mins less than the bus.

4. Unless you're actually staying in a KX hotel, the door to door time from most London hotels to (say) King's is almost imperceptibly different whether you take the train from KX or L'pool St