UK rail pass question
 

I will be travelling in August. How much travel would one have to do to make the Britrail passes worthwhile. So far, I know I will be taking the train

Cotswolds to Bath

Bath to London

London to Glasgow

Glasgow to Edinburgh

York to Haworth

Haworth to York

York to Manchester

My question is within a 16 day period - Which pass is better? I think I have decided that I would rather have some flexiablity than risk missing a ticket if I prebook. What are your opinions and experience. Thank you so much.

Are you eligible for a senior discount? My gut feeling is that you are better off with the pass, but you have to do the arithmetic.

No - not a senior - yet.

First I could not find Haworth, Heworth,yes. To answer your question it would be helpful to know the total number of days your trip will cover.

We were totally happy with a BritRailFlexPass in 2008--we took 4 day trips from London in a two-week period. I know we could have saved money (how much? don't know) by pre-booking, but the total flexibility, both as to picking a day to travel and choosing the timing of the trains that day that worked best for us, was worth tons for us.

Roger, perhaps you can't find Haworth because it is on the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway line, which is not part of National Rail.

Kelsey, you seem to be asking a lot of us. You want us to look up the current prices of Britrail passes and then spend a fair amount of time on the National Rail website, to determine individual fares for the journeys you want to take, so you can decide which is the better buy. Although perhaps someone here has the time and generosity to do this for you, I don't know why you can't do this yourself.

ron is right, you really need to do a bit of research yourself using www.nationalrail.co.uk I've seldom found the Britrail pass a value, although it can be convenient. Advance and off peak travel tickets will save you money.

@Ron - I am sorry if I wasn't clear in my question. I am not asking for anyone to try to calculate my voyage. I have never used a rail pass. I am just looking for others' experience. Thanks Texasbookworm for your information and opinion.

The Britrail Pass is convenient, but only you can determine whether it's worth it. Generally speaking, the more trips you make the better value the pass. I always use the rail website to calculate ticket prices, and it's always been cheaper for me to buy individual tickets. That's exactly what ron and I have been trying to say in our posts. One year I opted for the Britrail Flex Pass because of convenience, but it actually cost me $100 more than if I had bought seperate tickets.

Sorry I misunderstood. If it's just an opinion you want, I think a Britrail Pass is a total waste of money. I have used the Britrail pass twice and didn't feel I got my money's worth. For the subsequent 10 or so times that I have visited the UK, I bought individual tickets, advance where possible, and am absolutely confident that I saved money relative to a pass.

Since I know where I want to go and what I want to do and like the comfort of a reserved seat for longer journeys, I put no value on the flexibility the pass offer.

@Ron - Thanks for your input. I think the pass would cost me about $500 so I now have to decide the cost of flexibility as I am sure by pre-booking I could save money.

I should post this separately, but while we are talking rail travel...Have any of you taken the Settle - Carlisle route? I have heard it passes through beautiful areas. I am looking for one really nice train journey. Thanks.

Kelsey, I would post that questions separately as there are people with knowledge about that area of England that may not look at this post.

Yes, the Settle and Carlisle is fabulous. It can be used as part of a London-Scotland journey by going London-Leeds, Leeds-Carlisle and Carlisle-Glasgow/Edinburgh.

At www.nationalrail.co.uk, try asking for London to Edinburgh with 'Settle' in the 'via' box.

But the best route in Britain is the West Highland Line, Glasgow-Ft William-Mallaig.

Thank you so much for all your advice.