Train tickets London to Derby
 

Hello! I'm trying to purchase train tickets online and am very confused. We want to buy one-way from London-St Pancras to Derby, and five-days later from Derby to Gatwick. Is it better to buy online or when we get there?
The nationalrail site asks me to select a vendor, but when I do, it loses all the information I entered about the train, etc and I have to register all over again. One site says we save money buying as early as possible, but is it worth this hassle? Can someone advise? We've never reserved tickets before.

Once you have completed your trip departure date and time you enter search and you will get a list of various times. You need to click on one of the circles and then enter the fare search section. Once you have clicked the circle for the price you will pay, then enter a Vendor. You can elect say "The Trainline" hit search and you simply comlpete the form. Hope this helps. If not, let know.

The circles don't appear until you reach the price stage & they are under the times at which you can book at that price.

I'd personally use www.nationalrail.co.uk as it links to the company (Midland Mainline in this case) that runs the particular service. Unlike thetrainline not of the train companies charge for CC use and you may even get a discount for booking via that company.

You can use the Fastticket option to pick up BOTH sets of tickets from St Pancras. If you have problems with the address you have to give just use any UK one

You may find it's better to book a return (there and back) ticket for London to Derby and a separate ticket for Kings Cross Thameslink to Gatwick

As to whether it's worth booking ahead -

A single walk up fare London to Derby is £44.70 (£45.70 for a return ticket), a one booked 10 days in advance is £12 (£45.70 return)

- so if you can book ahead it's going to be cheaper to buy two single tickets plus £10 for the London to Gatwick leg which can be bought on the day as there aren't any disocunts on that route

Note that the cheap tickets have limited availability. You can travel for £6 one way, but that fare may not be available at the time you want to travel. These tickets are not exchangable, so you need to pay more if you want flexibility. If you pay for a flexible ticket, it will almost certainly be cheaper to get a return (round trip) from London St Pancras to Derby, then a single (one-way) ticket from St Pancras to Gatwick.

Thanks so much for your help. It did finally work and we have our tickets. Also, thanks for the tip about the fastticket pickup. All your suggestions are really appreciated.

Just a follow-up. Our travel by train to Derby went so smoothly. Thanks again for the suggestions you gave. By the way, we stayed at Thornhill Lodge - a B&B about a 20-minute walk from the town center, with easy access to buses and train station. This B&B was one of the nicest we've ever encountered. The hostess, Rea, was absolutely charming and so helpful in every way. The house is beautifully decorated and there's a very nice pub about two blocks away. We would definitely stay there again. If anyone needs accommodation in Derby, we highly recommend it. The web page is http://www.thornhill-lodge.com