Traveling from London to Scotland in Aug
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Anonymous
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I've never been to the UK. I see recs to take the train to Edinburgh or Glasgow rather than rent a car. I saw a comment that the train ride is prettier to Edinburgh than to Glasgow but I'm thinking it'd be less crowded in Aug. to take the train to Glasgow (because of the fringe festival) and then just go for a day trip to Edinburgh one day since they're close. So it looks like the train company that goes to Glasgow is Avanti.
Can you buy a ticket that allows you to get off the train and spend a couple hours in another town on the way? Is there a town worth stopping to see? Maybe Northampton? Similarly, if we did end up taking the train to Edinburgh (which I think would be through the Linr or Lumo companies), can we stop somewhere? If so, what would be a recommended town? We'd like to see a nice spot along the way rather than just roll by the whole way. |
Anonymous
| I recommend the train ride London to Edinburgh on LNER in first class. The tickets are not super crazy expensive, the views are beautiful and it takes 4 hours. |
Anonymous
| Worth booking as far in advance as possible for best prices, as it can get very expensive |
Anonymous
| York |
Anonymous
Yes, but generally on UK trains the farthest in advance you can book is around 2 months. Also, if travelling as a couple or family, get a railcars, the discounts are a lot. |
Anonymous
| Don’t go to Northampton. York is very nice, maybe Lancaster on the west coast line but honestly I would just stay on the train. First class is the way to do it- less people drinking 8 tims of beer at 8am. |
Anonymous
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Ok, thank you all for the tips!
Sounds like we should skip Northampton. If we did want to hop off at York for lunch or something, how do you do that? I didn't see a way to book tickets online that way. It just asked for departure and destination city. And lol about the drinking! |
Anonymous
Just buy separate tickets- one to York and one from York to Scotland. They are generally distance based costs so it won't be more, generally |
Anonymous
Not true, you can book months out. Try thetrainline.com right now, for example |
Anonymous
| York is a great stop— probably even worth an overnight. |
Anonymous
Go to Avanti website right now and put in London to Glasgow. Furthest date you can select is June 30. |
Anonymous
York does seem nice, but FYI if Glasgow is your main Scotland destination, it's not on the direct line. From York to Glasgow you will end up going to Edinburgh and then taking another train across from there to Glasgow. Nothing wrong with that, it's around an extra hour total. Just mentioning it. |
Anonymous
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What about flying from London to Glasgow? or Edinburgh? Are there discount airlines besides Ryanair that you'd recommend?
And I just looked at these videos - are they representative of the train trip views? Edinburgh- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugpHj_e6ARo Glasgow - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1gzSwkhTpc |
Anonymous
This site is excellent with every detail about train travel in Europe. https://www.seat61.com/london-to-edinburgh-by-train.htm |
Anonymous
And EasyJet is a good flight option as well to either Glasgow or Edinburgh. Remember to include train to the airport and checked bag costs when comparing to train cost. LCY is great and super close to central London, but probably more $$$ for flight. Gatwick and Heathrow super easy to get to, many trains that are under $15. Stansted is further, and the train is pretty expensive. Luton is the furthest and train is very expensive. I'd take the train to Scotland personally if booking well in advance and can get a ticket under say $75. If going into the Highlands it's worth it to fly to Inverness. But if going to the main cities, train is a bit better than flying generally. |