I am hoping that someone can help me.

I will be travelling with my husband from London to Edinburgh on 8 June 2014 hopefully by train. Could anyone tell me the cheapest site to buy tickets on line for this trip. We are wanting to travel on the Flying Scotsman as my DH is a train enthusiast.

Thank you in advance.

As far as I know, the so-called "Flying Scotsman" only services Edinburgh to London and not London to Edinburgh. But that issue aside, the actual Flying Scotsman is no longer in use and is the property of the National Rail Museum in York. The "Flying Scotsman" service out of Edinburgh uses regular modern trains.

Go to East Coast Trains (or nationalraill.co.uk which will refer you to east coast trains)

If either if you are over 60 consider getting a senior rail card - it will let you buy your tix at substantial discount.

"As far as I know, the so-called "Flying Scotsman" only services Edinburgh to London and not London to Edinburgh."

Whoever heard of a train that only runs in one direction? Also, there is a difference between the locomotive, LNER Class A3 4472, now retired, and the <i>route</i>, still in existence.

Does your husband want the day train, which has inherited the name, or the sleeper? For more info on the London-Edinburgh night train, see seat61.com/CaledonianSleepers.htm

Note that there is also a very expensive luxury train called the Royal Scotsman.

Of course there's return service from a London to Edinburgh, but it takes longer than the service now billed as The Flying Scotsman from Edinburgh to London. That service departs from Edinburgh at 5:40 am, stops only in Newcastle and is scheduled to arrive in London before 10. There is no equivalent service from London to Edinburgh.

In that case the enthusiast might well be better off on the night train. It is the same actual rails regardless.

Thanks for your replies. We are both over 60 and are Aussies so I don't know if we are elligible in UK for a senior's card, we have Seniors Cards for Australia only. Janis, how do we apply for one, that is if we are elligible?

We would like to travel during the day on the 8th anytime after 8.30 a.m. and don't require a sleeper. I wasn't aware that the Flying Scotsman no longer ran from London. I know it won't be a steam train, but I thought that the service still had that name and that it was a fast train. You can obviously tell that I am new to this and probably haven't listened carefully enough to what DH has said about the train.

Yes you can get a senior rail card. Download the forms from the nationalraill, east coast trains or other website. Then buy the discounted tickets from home (don't submit the forms - you don't need the rail cards in hand to purchase tix but you will need them before picking up the tickets in the UK )

So the procedure is to download the forms and complete them at home. Then buy your train tix on line at the senior fares, to be collected at a station.

Then when you are in London or wherever - go to a ticket window, submit the application forms, pay for the rail card, and collect your train tickets.

Hi Janis thanks for your good advice.

If you can, ask for seats on the right side of the northbound train to get views of the sea.

Book at www.eastcoast.co.uk, you get an extra 10% off their own advance fares booking directly with them.

You want seats on the Right Hand Side of the train going north for the coastal scenery north of Newcastle. You can't choose a side when reserving, so ignore your reserved seats and sit in any unreserved RHS seats when you board the train, if they happen to be on the 'wrong' side.

Either the 10:00 or 10:30 departure from Kings Cross has always been the traditional 'Flying Scotsman' departure, I can't remember which it now is, do some Googling to find out.

Thanks so much for all of your great advice. I am so glad you told me to sit on the right hand side. We will definitely do that, and will take the 10.00 or 10.30 whichever is available.

We are wanting to travel on the Flying Scotsman as my DH is a train enthusiast.>

If he is a train nut or enthusiastic like me then he at least may want to break his journey in York to see, adjacent to the main train station and free the National Rail Museum (http://www.nrm.org.uk/) and see all the historic trains, from I believe Stevenson's first one (not sure) a host of royal carriages and trains and maybe a Flying Scotsman - buy two tickets in this case - London to York and York to Edinburgh. If not on a tight schedule spend the night in York, one of England's finest cities with the fantastic York Minster and town walls to traipse around on and have tea at the Uber famous Betty's Tea Rooms (or whatever it proper name is!)

Thanks PalenQ, we stayed a week in York the last time we visited the UK and loved it, you are so right about it being one of England's finest cities. DH spent a couple of days at the Museum whilst I did my own thing (antiques) and visiting my grandparents' house. Loved Betty's Tea Rooms especially the Fat Rascalls. We are visiting another Betty's this time in Harrogate. Otherwise would have had to make a special trip back to York!

"The Flying Scotsman" is being restored. It's original departure was @ 10:00 which is why the 10:00 departure is now being called "the Flying Scotsman. " This is in name only. There is no difference from the 10:00 departure/train and any other departure. If you prefer to leave earlier, I suggest you do so.

DH spent a couple of days at the Museum>

wow - more of a rail enthusiast or nut than me - if he lived in Britain he could become one of the infamous Train Spotters - folks you see at stations and the ends of the platform recording head codes on every train (train numbers on front of engine) that rolls thru - compiling thousands of different trains they have 'spotted' - Calpham Junction in London is a station he may want to spend a few hours in - train spotters heaven with the most trains rolling thru it of any station in the UK - it says on the station walls "Britain's busiest train station."

Cheers!

Hey PalenQ, you are right he is quite a train nut. He with some other men organise a model trian convention every year here in South Australia which is very popular. He loves the 12" to the foot variety of trains(not sure what that is in metric lingo) but also HO scale. So, that is why I don't listen to every word he says about trains, what they are called and where they go, sometimes it goes in one ear and out the other. Nevertheless, he is quite happy to let me do all of the organising for this 6 weeks in the UK.

If he is a big train fan are you sure he wouldn't like to do the sleeper train?

<i>Train London to Edinburgh
Posted by: ingretha8339 on Mar 3, 14 at 8:07pm
I will be travelling with my husband from London to Edinburgh on 8 June 2014 hopefully by train. Could anyone tell me the cheapest site to buy tickets on line for this trip.</i>

If you are planning on additional rail travel you might consider the All-Brit Flexipass for England, Scotland, and Wales. For unlimited rail travel to be used anytime within a 2-month period a three day senior (60+) pass is $285 2nd class and $355 1st class. I rode with a 1st class pass from Edinburgh to London with a two night stopover in York. Great train and great stopover. The train had free WiFi and electrical outlets at the seats, and tea on every table. I bought my pass from B.E.T.S. in Michigan. Here is their site http://www.budgeteuropetravel.com/id11.html. I'm sue you can find a retailer in Australia.

ditto to the experience of the Caledonian Sleeper night train - get a first-class private compartment and you have one of the most luxurious night train rides in Europe - complimentary breakfast portered to your cabin in the morning!