Train fares to the Extremities
This complicated rail system in Britain has cost us hours and hours of puzzling. At last, we've managed to have all bookings confirmed. The pricing policy remains enigmatic, though. We're travelling to Penzance by First Great Western for € 67; that's for two adults and two bikes. But the return from Wick to London costs us € 485! And we booked two months before...
And as we're not from London but from Almere in the Netherlands, we're not even halfway there This turns out to be the most expensive cycling holiday we did so far.
And as we're not from London but from Almere in the Netherlands, we're not even halfway there This turns out to be the most expensive cycling holiday we did so far.
Greg wrote:Vernon, when do you want to travel? We're doing it in June/July and got £20 tickets to/from York for both trips. We've both got railcards, but that only makes it £30 for you - a price which is still available on the NXEC website.
There's nothing on the cheap side that's available for my window of opportunity. I don't have the luxury of skipping a week or two and going later as I'll be in Crete. I can'y go earlier as the school term will not have finished.
I'm not terribly upset as I have several alternative tours sorted.
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Come to think of it, perhaps the CTC should campaign for something along the lines of 'The Knowledge' which London taxi drivers must study and be tested on before they are licensed. Come to think of it, this would be a lot more complicated, so perhaps the CTC might campaign for the govt., to implement its promises about integrated transport and all the rest of the cycling promotion. Come to think of it, why bother?
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Aleik wrote:Is it cheaper to ride during the week than at the weekend? Also i think there's something to be said for sleeper trains for those wanting to skip accommodation expenses the first night and save a day of being bored on the train, but I imagine these aren't ten a penny are they?
It's cheaper to ride when there's cheap tickets available. I suspect that more might be available during the week but even so, the bottleneck is the bike capacity of the trains. You might be able to get a cheap ticket but if the bike spaces have been booked by someone else then owning cheap tickets is pointless.....
Thanks.
I was at the train station yesterday and was advised to book tickets a little later to get them cheaper. Our trip begins 9 weeks on Saturday and I've been told by other people to book 12 weeks in advance when possible to a) be sure of reservations, and b) get cheaper tickets.
I've checked on ticket sites and booking nearer the date (I used this Saturday) seems to yield cheaper tickets.
...?
Which advice flies - sooner or later?
I was at the train station yesterday and was advised to book tickets a little later to get them cheaper. Our trip begins 9 weeks on Saturday and I've been told by other people to book 12 weeks in advance when possible to a) be sure of reservations, and b) get cheaper tickets.
I've checked on ticket sites and booking nearer the date (I used this Saturday) seems to yield cheaper tickets.
...?
Which advice flies - sooner or later?
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- Joined: 24 Apr 2008, 4:05pm
Personally I'd prefer the security of having a ticket and a bike reservation than the possibility of saving a few bob by hanging on. I'm not even sure if the railway companies use the airlines' 'demand-led pricing model'. But if they do, then the cheap fares come either by booking as early as possible or as late as possible. But then choosing the latter option, for a journey that you need to make, seems exceptionally high-risk!