Train to London?

[Umar]

Hi there,

I've not got a lot of experience with the rail network, having only sparsely travelled on it before. I was wondering if anyone could point me in the right direction in regard to tickets and where to get the best ticket prices? I've tried having a look myself but I can only seem to find ludicrously expensive fares.

I'm travelling from Manchester. I'm hoping to try and make the trip as cheap as possible.

Thanks

Umar

[wonderlust]

look at splitting the tickets, it is often cheaper.

Ie manchester to birmingham (i am guessing) then birmingham to london.

I know it can be silly cheap doing it that way compared to one ticket

[Lorem-Ipsum]

Tickets from brum are really cheap now, look at the network rail website.

[nft99]

www.trainline.co.uk is not bad, when are you going to London?

[Toonshorty]

I find http://www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk/ fairly good too.

[cerberus]

my mum booked through her local travel agent and got great fare of £36 single from newcastle to mk

[Umar]

Thanks guys, I will have a look at those links :)

I've tried a few sites, such as Virgin's where I am able to book a return journey for £33 (£11 there £22 back) and it lets me choose the times as different times have higher/lower prices respectively. Shortly before I get to the final screen it tells me that there is no availability of my chosen leg and that I must select another time/date most of which are considerably more expensive. Clever marketing tactic? I think so.

Umar

[InvaderGIR]

www.nationalrail.co.uk is the official train ticket site...I only use it for times, if I buy I always buy at the station as I have no real interest in prebooking 5 years in advance or something silly for a slightly cheaper ticket.

[michaelkenward]

www.nationalrail.co.uk (http://www.nationalrail.co.uk) is the official train ticket site...I only use it for times, if I buy I always buy at the station as I have no real interest in prebooking 5 years in advance or something silly for a slightly cheaper ticket.
My favourite too.

Offers enough options to get a good price.

Book online and user your credit card to collect tickets at the station. Avoids the queues.

Probably not the best option if you want to save every penny, but for reasonable prices with flexibility, something that you lose with the cheapest deals, it works.

If you really want cheap, go by coach.

[nft99]

or uber cheap go by megabus :D

[Hydey]

I regularly get the train to Brighton from Telford. I go:

Telford -> Birmingham New Street -> London Euston -(Underground)- London Victoria -> Brighton.

Costs me £42 on a railcard, usually about £60.

[Avatar]

MSE has a good travel guide with links to cheap travel, a good starting point, worth checking it out.
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/deals/cheap-coach-train-ticket-deals