London-Manchester- Edinburgh

Hmm_Messiah

Hi - am bringing some Chinese friends on a Uk trip . They arrive in London on a Tuesday and I have booked flights to Ireland from Edinburgh on the following Tuesday

I've been to London a few times - but they will have seen nothing , so just wondering if this timeline seems ok

(1) Arrive London Tuesday morning / Wed/ Thursday

(2) Leave London for Manchester Friday Afternoon/Evening

(3) Leave Manchester Sunday midday-ish to arrive in Edinburgh Around 4 or 5 pm Sunday and leaving Tuesday night


Is 3 full days in London enough ( 2 of the party are in their 60's but travel a lot inside China

And finally there is an option fro a cheaper train ( virgin train sale) to Manchester Sat morning - is from Saturday morning to Sunday afternoon enough for a glimpse of the city ???


And finally ( sorry they want me to plan everything but its their one opportunity in UK so trying to make best of time ) - some one suggested Oxford maybe as a one day trip - would any one have an opinion on Oxford over Manchester 9 i.e. skip Manchester) for "sight seeing"

Thanks a lot

Fr Tod Umptious

Hmm_Messiah wrote: »

Hi - am bringing some Chinese friends on a Uk trip . They arrive in London on a Tuesday and I have booked flights to Ireland from Edinburgh on the following Tuesday

I've been to London a few times - but they will have seen nothing , so just wondering if this timeline seems ok

(1) Arrive London Tuesday morning / Wed/ Thursday

(2) Leave London for Manchester Friday Afternoon/Evening

(3) Leave Manchester Sunday midday-ish to arrive in Edinburgh Around 4 or 5 pm Sunday and leaving Tuesday night


Is 3 full days in London enough ( 2 of the party are in their 60's but travel a lot inside China

And finally there is an option fro a cheaper train ( virgin train sale) to Manchester Sat morning - is from Saturday morning to Sunday afternoon enough for a glimpse of the city ???


And finally ( sorry they want me to plan everything but its their one opportunity in UK so trying to make best of time ) - some one suggested Oxford maybe as a one day trip - would any one have an opinion on Oxford over Manchester 9 i.e. skip Manchester) for "sight seeing"

Thanks a lot

Would your party be more into culture or football ?

If its the former then skip Manchester and stick with London, Oxford and Edinburgh.

I'm not sure if there is much to see in Manchester to be honest, but London and Edinburgh are great.

schemingbohemia

I go to Manchester a lot, to visit friends and watch City. If I was bringing people to the UK for their only visit I definitely wouldn't include it! How about York instead? You could get the Edinburgh train and stop off for the guts of a day to wander around. Whilst it's very touristy it is a very pretty/quaint town with lots of history.

LXFlyer

A BritRail pass may be cheaper and more flexible than buying individual train tickets.

It offers unlimited travel on trains across the network for a variety of different periods.

www.britrail.net

VG31

I'd skip Manchester, there isn't much things to do there for tourists.

Hmm_Messiah

lxflyer wrote: »

A BritRail pass may be cheaper and more flexible than buying individual train tickets.

It offers unlimited travel on trains across the network for a variety of different periods.

www.britrail.net

thanks - I had a look - it is only 2 trips on train so does not look like cheaper ( as not in the one region)

Hmm_Messiah

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

Would your party be more into culture or football ?

If its the former then skip Manchester and stick with London, Oxford and Edinburgh.

I'm not sure if there is much to see in Manchester to be honest, but London and Edinburgh are great.

thanks - I've been to both a few times myself - Manchester was suggested by one of the party - might try oxford or York as suggested - hauling luggage is the biggest nuisance

Hmm_Messiah

schemingbohemia wrote: »

I go to Manchester a lot, to visit friends and watch City. If I was bringing people to the UK for their only visit I definitely wouldn't include it! How about York instead? You could get the Edinburgh train and stop off for the guts of a day to wander around. Whilst it's very touristy it is a very pretty/quaint town with lots of history.

sounds great but I am now struggling to see how I can book a London- Edinburgh train that we can hop off and back on to - looks like have to do as 2 separate trips

schemingbohemia

Yeah but it's the same route so no back-tracking, you could overnight there as well. Have a look on www.seat61.com to see if there's any legal way of "breaking" the journey. Do not chance your arm, the fines are huge and it will ruin your holiday if caught.

Vic_08

Hmm_Messiah wrote: »

sounds great but I am now struggling to see how I can book a London- Edinburgh train that we can hop off and back on to - looks like have to do as 2 separate trips

2 options;

A walk-up ticket London-Edinburgh cheapest is £128.20 off-peak which is not valid for part of weekdays, a break of journey can be used with this ticket.

2 separate "advance" fares London-York and York-Edinburgh. These are strictly tied to the specific trains you choose. Fares vary but they are cheaper booked as far in advance as possible. weekday fares are normally available 24 weeks ahead, weekend 12 weeks. There are group discounts on some services when 3 or more travelling together. It is also worth looking at first class fares, they are sometimes not much more expensive than standard and include more luxurious seating and complementary food+drink.

https://www.virgintrainseastcoast.com/

schemingbohemia

Might you be better off hiring a car? How many in the group in total?

finbarrk

Just fly up to Edinburgh. €80.

Hmm_Messiah

finbarrk wrote: »

Just fly to Edinburgh. €80.

3 have check in luggage which adds 85 gbp to price

Hmm_Messiah

london - eidnburgh booked for 4 @ 221 euro

skipping York sadly as they have large cases and are in their 60's so wanted to use the train trip as a rest - free wifi added on so can catch up with home

I was going to buy off peak tickets with virgin to oxford day trip but its confused me - says in only place can be used on any train , but when i select and go to pay its giving a train time - I was hopping it was a ticket to hope on any oxford bound train there and back so not tied to times
Any chance some one familiar with this type of ticket ?

Vic_08

Hmm_Messiah wrote: »

london - eidnburgh booked for 4 @ 221 euro

skipping York sadly as they have large cases and are in their 60's so wanted to use the train trip as a rest - free wifi added on so can catch up with home

I was going to buy off peak tickets with virgin to oxford day trip but its confused me - says in only place can be used on any train , but when i select and go to pay its giving a train time - I was hopping it was a ticket to hope on any oxford bound train there and back so not tied to times
Any chance some one familiar with this type of ticket ?

£25 off-peak day return London (Paddington) - Oxford fare is valid on ANY train leaving Paddington between 09.20 and 16.00 weekdays, and ANY return services from Oxford. It is valid on ANY service Sat or Sun.

The booking websites force you to pick a single service and will give a seat reservation on the chosen service but this type of ticket is NOT tied to a particular train. The reservations (if issued) are not compulsory and are on printed on separate ticket cards that can be thrown away if you are not going to travel on that train.

This fare is a walk-up fare. It is available at the ticket office immediately before travel at the same price so if there is any question over the trip being taken there is no need to book in advance.

Hmm_Messiah

Vic_08 wrote: »

£25 off-peak day return London (Paddington) - Oxford fare is valid on ANY train leaving Paddington between 09.20 and 16.00 weekdays,

This fare is a walk-up fare. It is available at the ticket office immediately before travel at the same price so if there is any question over the trip being taken there is no need to book in advance.

Exactly what I suspected and hoped for but could not be definite with all the rules - cheers