My friend and I will be going from Edinburgh to York (for 2-3 hours) to London in July. Do we need to buy 2 separate tickets, or can we get one and just get off in York and get back on? Also, can anyone recomemend which ticket to get?

Bath- We will be heading to Bath for a day from London. Is there a train which does that or do we need to take a bus tour? Any recommendations?

Thanks

Have you priced a Britrail pass?
I always get a Rick Steves book when I travel to Europe. Look at this website.
http://www.ricksteves.com/rail/greatbritain.htm

I had used a Britrail pass for my family's travels a few years ago and we all thought it was the way to go. No hassels at all. We bought it before we left.
Choose to cover all of these trips.

In Bath I recommend the double decker bus tours that you hop on/off. We got one from the train station.
Look at this website http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/desti...itain/bath.htm

<<< Do we need to buy 2 separate tickets, or can we get one and just get off in York and get back on? >>>

Depends on the ticket. Only the most expensive single tickets allow you to break your journey (click on the ticket name for rules) but it would generally be cheaper to buy 2 separate tickets which if you book in advance will cost somewhere around £20 in total.

It's very easy to take the train to Bath. Trains leave about every half hour, from Paddington station, take 1.5 hours. You can easily walk to all the sights of Bath from the train station. See www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk. (For destination you want "Bath Spa".) If you want a tour, there are free city walking tours almost every day. See www.visitbath.co.uk

agree that you'll need two separate tickets for Edinburgh > York > London if you want to save money.

Paddingto station to Bath is fast and easy.

A britRail Pass probably won't make sense for you - unless the rest of your itinerary involves several other train trips. just buy point-to-point tickets

<A britRail Pass probably won't make sense for you - unless the rest of your itinerary involves several other train trips. just buy point-to-point tickets>

this is perhaps good advice but it depends on some factors - namely whether or not you wish flexibility or not - full fare walk up tickets can be astronomically high and thus the BritRail pass could be a great deal if you want flexibility.

But if you know excatly what trains you want and when then the generally non-refundable non-changeable and perhaps hard to get online discounted fares at sites like nationalrail.co.uk are hard to beat for your itinerary.

But passes can also be interesting to groups of more than two traveling together as the 3rd thru 9th folks on the same pass only pay 50% of what the first two pay.

Families? kids under 16 get a free family pass to match the adult pass.

UK resident - BritRail passes allow a relatively little known thing where a UK resident, normally not allowed to use BritRail Passes can get a free pass to accompany foreigners who have a pass.

And Nov-Feb all passes are 50% off

So there are many factors with passes. A 4-day flexi pass (2 mo period) would allow also free travel on either Heathrow Express or Gatwick airport trains to London.

Passes only sold in UK in London i believe at BTA central London so basically have to buy in home country. ricksteves.com has great info but i always recommend BETS (www.budgeteuropetravel.com 800-441-9413; request the excellent free European Planning & Rail guide on the site that has a good chapter on British trains and places you are going) for their expertise and willingness to answer any questions whether you buy a pass or not. Also don't charge steves mailing fee. Also check www.britrail.com.

So easy to do the homework with nationalrail.co.uk or thetrainline.com and see whether a pass fits your profile or not. But always consider its benefits of complete flexibility and valid on all of Britain's 28 or so privatized rail franchises.

You will love both Edinburgh and York.

Here is a link to the GNER website where you can check train times and prices and even buy tickets.

http://www.gner.co.uk/GNER

GNER (named for the old company called "Great North Eastern Railways&quotis the train compnay that runs the trains from London to York and Edinburgh (the "East Coast Main Line&quot but their website works for trains anywhere in Britain.

You can use the website without registering if you just want to look up train times, but you will need to register if you want to check availabilty and pricing of tickets (it is easy to register, and they don't send you spam).

If you hurry, you might just be in time to get the cheapest tickets (called "GNER Advance&quot. They are much much cheaper than the full fare - but they do tie you to a particular train, and you cannot break your journey, so you will need separate tickets to York and then to Edinburgh. If you ARE in time to get an advance ticket, it will be only a little dearer to travel first class, and it really is worth it - wider seats, more legroom, and less-crowded carriages (even if the carriage is full, it feels much less crowded than "standard" class because the seats are "3 across", not "4 across&quot. A bonus of first class on GNER is free broadband WIFI (post your journey log from your seat!). WiFi is avilable in standard class, but at a cost.

The GNER trains are very fast and comfortable. They even (at a price) have real dinings car with white tablecloths and proper cutlery). It must be the restaurant with the best views in the country. If you get cheap enough train tickets, you might treat yourself to a decent meal. Note that even if you have only "standard" class tickets, using the dining car means you get to travel FIRST class for the two hours or so that you can make your meal last (ie just about all the way from London to York, and a good fracion of the way from York to Edinburgh). The price of the meal is a lot less than the full price difference between first and second class - be warned that they only offer dining seats to standard class passengers AFTER they have offered them to First class passengers- though there are usually some spare seats for standard class passengers).

These days, it is usually cheaper to buy SINGLE tickets than a return.

If you are too late to get advance tickets, then the next cheapest option is a "Saver", which you can buy even on the day of travel. They are reasonably priced, but nowhere near the bargain that Advance tickets are. They do not restrict you to a particular train, but a single (or the "outward portion" of a saver) has to be used on the stated day. They are not valid for "peak" trains, which usually means trains leaving or arriving in London (and perhaps leaving York and Edinburgh) during the rush hour.

I am pretty sure that the Advance tickets will be much cheaper than a Britrail pass - but I do not know about the Saver. If you get a Britrail pass, be sure to also reserve a seat on the trains you want (this is included with advance and saver tickets - I don't know if it is extra with a britrail pass).

A tip - If you can, travel on the right hand side going to Edinburgh - a little while after Newcastle, the train travels along the clifftops, and the views down to the sea and lonely beaches of Northumberland are spectacular.

The web site lets you pick a day and time, then shows you a set of trains. You can move to and for through the day, and then (if you are registered) see a list of what tickets are available at what price on which trains).

From York to Edinburgh, you have a choice of GNER or Virgin trains. Virgin do not have a dining car or Wifi, but do provide a waiter service of free food (not free for hot meals) in First Class.

Please do ask for any more information ...

I'm not sure what to advise you to do in York for 2-3 hours ! Perhaps just time to walk round the walls, or to go in the Minster. But it would be very tight.

I realise now that you are only going one way from Edinburgh. Two advance single tickets will definitely be chapest way to do this - so do check the GNER website quickly. And you will need to be on the LEFT of the train to see the cliffs and beaches.

I am leaving for UK this Sat and need some train help. We will be flying into Stansted airport from Estonia on Wed AM. We then want to take a train from there to Durham England to see family. We will stay there for one or two nights and then want to head to Edinburg. We have to be back IN LOndon OCt 6, hopefully in early AM(sleeper train from Edinburgh?) Please help. How do I book? I don't know exact times. I need help booking th sleeper train tool. Can I do all this when I get there? Do you advise that? Help Please
Christine

Sweetness: You have tacked your question to the end of an old, long thread asking a different set of questions.

I would start a new thread so your questions do not get buried. Use a title something like " Stansted to Durham to Edinburgh to London by train. Help w/ itinerary and booking tickets"

Correction to my earlier post - BritRail passes are 25% off Nov-end Feb, not 50% as i stated.

But if you have more than two travelers the third thru ninth pay just 50% of what the first two pay - even at the reduced 25% off-peak rate.

And kids under 16 get a free pass - so for some groups and families the pass can be especially cheaper than normal, esp Nov-Feb