European Railroad Discussion > Visiting Great Britain

I'm a California resident planning a visit to Great Britain next July/August. I'd like to visit some interesting cities and travel within GB by train. I'm flying into Heathrow. My plan now is to go to Bath, to York, to Edinburgh, to London. 4 nights in each city, 5 in London. How does this sound? TIA.

Plenty of threads related to travel in the UK by people from there and here in the US and Canada. I have been there twice and would gladly go back if I had the time and money. Your plan, if this is all the train travel you plan on doing would best be done using Advance Ticketing. You can use the National Rail website http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/. To start playtesting your trip. You can even try it several ways to see if you can beat the ticket price by using a different route or different day or simply traveling at different time of day. Once you get an idea create sign in accounts for the various Train Operating Companies that you will be using. The Advance tickets are usually available anywhere from two to three months out. I found that I could pay using my US issued American Express card then when I got to the stations I would have the station agent retrieve my tickets. I was able to travel for a whole month on mostly Advance Ticketing using this method and was even able to use the ticket machines in Sheffield when the agent said the queues were backed up longer than what it would take for me to use the machine http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?17,3185926,3185926#msg-3185926. Right off the bat you will definitely be using First Great Western to go to Bath Spa https://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/. Since you most likely will be using East Coast Trains http://www.eastcoast.co.uk/ to go to York you may even want to purchase your tickets through them. You can accrue points using East Coast and likely have enough for something simple like using the First Class Lounge somewhere for a day. Coming back from Edinburgh there is no better way then to take the sleeper. By the time you are there though I am not sure who will be operating it but definitely take the sleeper train from Edinburgh to London. Start playtesting with the dates on it to figure out when the ticket prices drop so you can get the value tickets early for less than £100 for two people even. Right now First ScottRail operates the Sleeper Trains but this should change http://www.scotrail.co.uk/. As far as where to stay I have not stayed in the three places you are going to but merely passed through. In London I've stayed at the Travelodge in Feltham which is an easy busride to and from Heathrow and also right on the Southwest Trains route from Reading to London Waterloo. I guess it depends on what kind of hotel you like but I have never had a problem with Premier Inns http://www.premierinn.com/. If you book in advance you can stay for non-refundable rates as low as £29 per night. They are located within walking distance of many stations. For public transit, including how the trains will work you can use traveline although it has been redone and I don't like the new version as much as the old http://www.traveline.info/. Edinburgh has a great bus system as well as commuter rail and the Fourth Bridge is absolutely worth checking out. You can visit the Forth Bridge by alighting the train at North Queensferry and walking down a steep hill. Going back you can take the Stagecoach operated bus from North Queensferry to Inverkeithing to avoid that steep (or stupid) hill. http://www.stagecoachbus.com/PdfUploads/Timetable_16452_89%20Fife%20.pdf. Any other questions there are plenty of people in the know here.

Most of all Have Fun!

Jim

Thanks, tq-07fan, Jim. You've given me a lot of info to check out. Appreciate your response.
Carl

If you are a steam fan, there are numerous steam railways, most within a days reach of where you are staying. Check out www.heritagerailways.com You might also want to consider the overnight sleeper train from Edinburgh to London to save on time and a nights hotel. Just a short tube ride over to Paddington from Euston to get back to Heathrow for the flight home. As for hotels, Premiere Inns are fine. For confidence, either the Paddington Hilton or Heathrow Hilton are well located for Heathrow. Just roll out of bed and your either a 2 minute walk to the Heathrow Express to the airport or the airport itself at Terminal 4 where most of the U.S. flights arrive. But most important, bring an umbrella.

I live in California and was born in London and trainspotted in the 60s. I go back every couple of years and watch trains but cannot talk to places for photography.

In London I stay at Premier Kings Cross which is next to station and very close to St Pancras where the Eurostar trains leave from. Its not cheap but nothing is. Not expensive for location either. Not many discounts.Be very wary of some of the cheaper hotels in Kings Cross and Paddington - some deals in older places but can be disappointing.

I usually take the Piccadilly straight up from Heathrow to Kings Cross and schlepp the bags up and a couple of hundred yards across the station forecourt to the hotel. its very purple and yellow - their hallmark. This is very close to central london and great for trains to York and Edinborough. We update our Oyster cards for transport in London which are a must - thats documented well elsewhere. Tubes are getting horribly crammed now. Paddington is great for all places west and the only way to go for Bath. There are pluses and minuses on where to stay in London. Paddington is not central London and you have to allow that time to go the extra few miles. A real dog in rush hour.

Theres a lot of construction going on for Crossrail which tunnels under London West to East.Very interesting and a huge project.

http://www.crossrail.co.uk/route/maps/route-map

I use the website the man in seat 61 http://www.seat61.com/ to do research and initial planning.

A lot of people use real time trains app or website http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/search/advanced which tells you when passenger trains are real time and has a map of individual routes.

In London the termini are very interesting. The London Transport museum is in Covent Garden (which is great anyway). I have fun using the Oyster card to the max and riding out of different lines - like the Docklands light railway. Its the cheapest rail tour. Look for where the overground and underground surface near the main lines out of London and pick a window seat at the right angle.Get out where interesting and catch the next train.

I recommend the Bluebell railway - take train from Victoria.It will be an all day event.Arguably the first standard gauge Heritage railway in UK and still one of the UK's best Heritage experiences.There was something about the SECR and LBSCR locos and the Southern Railway. Lovely countryside.

Its a couple of hour ride to York and museum is just around the corner from the magnificent station.

A few years ago I bought some combination of passes (when still BR - its extremely more expensive and confusing now) and went from York through to Harrogate then to Leeds and somehow up the Settle and Carlisle line to Carlisle and over to Newcastle and Durham. Lot to see.

I don't know how much you want to focus on trains but if that is everything I recommend thinking about spending time in the North East - cradle of railways. You have Causey Arch, Tanfield Railway (colliery line with the most dedicated volunteers), Shildon Museum, Bowes Railway and the Wenslydale Heritage line and one more (getting senile). The North Yorkshire Moors Railway is my second favorite after Bluebell and a long run. Its cold in the North East be prepared.

Personally Edinborough is interesting historically but it does not have the Railway history of the North East. A day in Edinborough is enough for me. Glasgow is canny. Others opinions may be different.

Enjoy your trip.

Igor

If you are in the Northeast, in addition to the National Railway Museum at York, there is the open air tramway museum at Crich. York's evening walking ghost tours are a lot of fun; the guides are generally "resting" actors.

All the advice above is pretty good - speaking as a Londoner! In particular I would support Jim (tq-07fan) as being that rare specimen - an American prepared to go native and use public transport and his feet if necessary. Don't be put off by strangeness or unfamiliarity - no one bites! It does very much depend upon what you are after in the UK, but I guess that you can't go wrong with your original itinerary - just make sure you see some steam action!

Have a good trip.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/16/14 16:37 by spflow.

good going, jealous. I have been to Britain maybe 10 times in the past 30 years to ride trains, broken by an escorted tour.

I normally get a First Class Britpass in the US. Some trains get mighty crowded, especially around peak periods, holidays and game times. Unlike the US many spectators use trains, and being on a train with a bunch of footballers can be quite interesting. It was rare that I could not find a First Class seat even in peak period, of course depends if there were no delays or strikes. You can make reservations for free. One or two long distance trips pays for a pass. I always manage to hop on board a Virgin about breakfast of dinner time, good food and included with pass. I use the Nationalrail website to plan trains down to the minute, with a 'planner' beware. On one train I was glad i checked ahead of time at the customer service in St Pancras, there was a one day strike, so had to do some rearranging. With the dozen or so Operating Companies sometimes a pass is easier for a US traveler. It is rare that my preplanning did not become a reality.

The Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester is interesting, short walk from Manchester Picadilly. The first station (Liverpool Street, Liverpool and Manchester Ry, 1832) is part of museum.

I recently returned from a European trip that included the UK. You mentioned York and I highly recommend it for both rail action and general tourism. There is plenty to do here. The National Railway Museum is of course a must see. I stayed in an excellent B&B called the Apple House about a 10 minute walk or less from the station via city streets. It is only about five minutes via a short cut through the station car park. You can also stay in the Royal York, which is right next to the station. There is also a place called Judge's Court in the old town that has good reviews. I have included photos of one of a favorite coffee shop and a pub which are on platform three at the station.

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The York Tap, from outside, the platform side and arrivals/departures. Numbers 6, 10 and 15 have departed.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/17/14 16:00 by Latebeans.

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Bath is not only a beautiful and interesting city in its' own right it can also act as a gateway. For instance Salisbury is about an hour by train and there's an open top double deck bus tour of the city that also takes in Stonehenge. Mind you, a stop in Salisbury en route from London to Bath would be another way of doing it. You could also go from Bath to Wells a small town that is considered a city because it houses a Cathedral. The adjacent Bishops Palace garden is also worth seeing and the Cathedral Close is something of a trompe l'oeil. Bristol is only a quick train ride away; The SS Great Britain (built by Brunel) is in a dock there with associated museum plus the Suspension Bridge which is another Brunel design.

The train from Bristol to York will take you through Gloucester (the old docks and another Cathedral), Cheltenham (Regency architecture) and Derby (trains!) which would be worth a stop if you wanted. However, since you're going to be coming back from Edinburgh it might be worth getting off the train in Birmingham and then continuing north on the west coast main line. There are a few through trains from Birmingham to Edinburgh but an alternative would be to go via Glasgow where you would have to walk across the city centre to get the train to Edinburgh (just to get a feel of Glasgow).

York is, in some ways, similar to Bath with a long history and lovely architecture. As others have said there are various excursions that can be had. I'll add another. On the journey from Edinburgh to York get off at Durham (worth seeing) and then take the local train to Shildon which is an extension of the National Railway Museum in York. Come back to Durham and rejoin the mainline to York.

It could be worth considering flying to Edinburgh. You'll have to change planes in Chicago (I think) to do that then go York, Bath, London. The half round trip California/Edinburgh plus 1/2 London/California will be no more than a simple round trip. If you fly to London consider going straight from the airport to Bath. From Gatwick there's a train to Reading which connects on to Bath. From Heathrow there are coaches (bus) operated by National Express from Heathrow to Bath or a coach to Reading and a train to Bath or a Heathrow Express to Paddington and a train to Bath or a Heathrow Connect (local train) to Hayes and Harlington local out to Reading and then on to Bath; the one thing I would avoid is taking the Piccadilly to London and then another tube (there are a number of options) to Paddington. It may be a cheaper route but it will take a while. On the other hand, unless you are stying close to Paddington the Piccadilly may be a better way into the city centre.