We are spending two months near Stroud this winter and hope to take the train into London several times - and maybe to other places. I went on www.thetrainline.com to look at ticket prices and schedules. (The ticket prices are staggering!! The most expensive option is 177.50 pds.) The cheapest return Stroud to London is 39 pds (Saver Return).
But it looks like you can buy even cheaper one way tickets (First Minute Fare Leisure A to E) - as low as 8 pds each way. These are restricted by time (so is the Saver Return) and are not always available.
On www.nationalrail.co.uk I figured out how to generate a PDF of the schedule from Stroud to London, so that will help.
On www.railcard.co.uk they offer two discount cards that might be worth it for us: - Senior Railcard for people over 60 (Steve) - Network Railcard
The Senior card is 20 pds and gives you 1/3 off most fares. But the Network card seems to do the same and lets you bring up to 3 other adults with you for the same discounts.
Does anyone use these Network Cards? Are they worth it? Is the Senior one better (but only Steve can use this)? On the website it says in one place that you have to have a UK passport or drivers license to get the Senior card, but in another place it says visitors can get one.
Pauline, I have a Network Saver and it saves so much that I just have to take two trips from Moreton to London and it is already 'paid for'. However the fare is still ridiculously high.
Using a card like this restricts travel times a little - I have to be careful not to take a rush hour Friday night train from Paddington, for example and I think there may be an early morning train outwards on which it is not valid. I don't know about the Senior card I'm afraid but I have taken friends on my Network saver which is a big bonus.
I haven't looked at the Stroud trains but the cheapest option is usually a DAY return (same day travel) and the next cheapest a SAVER return, the latter being valid for a month, I believe.
UK rail travel can be frighteningly expensive as you discovered. I would add to Felicity's comments that you might also consider getting a rover ticket, if you are doing a travel binge. Another option is to split your single tickets; I regularly save £5 a journey by doing this (where the regular single costs in the region of £30). It is slighly more inconvenient since you have to open a couple of browser windows to check that all legs of your journey are available).
I've just got my Network Railcard today - my husband has an annual season ticket (for a huge amount of money, considering we are within the M25) and as a perk, he can get me a Railcard for £1. I'm still reading through the list of exclusions, which is always the problem with these things - most of my travel is Off Peak all zones into London, and it is only useful for weekend travel for that. Still, at a £1, I will get a couple of valuable savings off it.
Our rail pricing is complicated, to put it mildly, and I have found unfortunate variations in the quality of information available- the websites aren't always the best for finding the cheapest tickets, though they should be. Our local ticket office is a mine of information, due to the excellence of the staff there - I have also found the telephone information services can be good - they can suggest routes that don't come up on Trainline, but which can save considerable amounts without taking much more time, depending on where you are going.
What about Megatrain/Megabus - any good for that part of the country ?- I think they go from Swindon and Gloucester and can be very cheap.
Posts: 928 | Location: London, UK | Registered: 20 September 2006
Since you're in the general vicinity, John Goldrick at Ledbury station is always worth a phone call. He is a most helpful and charming individual, offering free advice and always gets the best ticket. Contact details at: Ledbury station home page
Ledbury is quite charming and set in the beautiful Malverns, should you get tired of the Cotswolds!
Thanks for the train info! That is a great site for Ledbury! I think we will go in and talk to the people at the Stroud train station to see if we should get a Network card or a Seniors card for Steve. I will report back.
I am a fairly frequent rail user but I have found some new and useful sites through this correspondence. I have no hesitation in saying that rail provision in this country was not good before de-nationalisation and has been many times worse since. Fares are now increasing faster than inflation so there seems little chance of any improvement. I suggest you check with whoever handles your rental on whether Stroud is likely to be a good place to check. In my local station on some days you would be told that some things are impossible, when on another day you might get a better alternative suggested, depending on who is on duty. Other stations are notoriously useless for advice on fairs but, to see the least dark side, Ledbury will not be the only really helpful place.
I would strongly recommend also taking a look at www.megatrain.com and seeing if you can incorporate any into your schedule as you'll save a huge amount of money. Some train journeys are £1. My wife and I have used Megatrain many times. It;s the same as megabus but trains.
