Absolute cheapest way to visit London

[Merseysider]

I'd like to take my old man down to London for the day, on a Saturday or Sunday. I'd be getting the train from Mauldeth Road and meeting him at Manchester Piccadilly.

Putting aside advances, the cheapest option appears to be getting VT Only CDRs to Stoke and then an LM Only return to London.

Notwithstanding RG anomalies (happy to use but pm) are there any cheaper ways of doing MAN - London Terminals and back in one day?

 

[Welshman]

Depends on just how old your "old man" is!
Does he have a Senior Railcard?

 

[maniacmartin]

Check out 19C splits if you have a season ticket. That part of the WCML is very suitable for them

 

[Polarbear]

Although the OP doesn't appear to want advance tickets, one option to consider if travelling on a Saturday would be the Saturday Day Travelcard at £39.80 return? This of course includes a Zone 1-6 travelcard for getting around London.

Yes, this does need to be pre-booked by 18:00 the day before & you need to stick to your outward train. However, return travel can be made on any Virgin train & is fantastic value compared to the "walk on" fares.

 

[Merseysider]

Depends on just how old your "old man" is!
Does he have a Senior Railcard?

He doesn't have one but is eligible for one. I have 16-25.

Although the OP doesn't appear to want advance tickets, one option to consider if travelling on a Saturday would be the Saturday Day Travelcard at £39.80 return? This of course includes a Zone 1-6 travelcard for getting around London.

Yes, this does need to be pre-booked by 18:00 the day before & you need to stick to your outward train. However, return travel can be made on any Virgin train & is fantastic value compared to the "walk on" fares.

How would one go about purchasing that product? And are railcard discounts available on it? It does seem very good value for money at half the price of the walk-up CDR.

Check out 19C splits if you have a season ticket. That part of the WCML is very suitable for them

A good idea - sadly I won't have a season until Aug

 

[30907]

How would one go about purchasing that product?

Online IIRC. In theory they are quota-controlled - worth testing how near the time you can get them.

 

[Polarbear]

How would one go about purchasing that product? And are railcard discounts available on it? It does seem very good value for money at half the price of the walk-up CDR.

As mentioned by 30907the Saturday Travelcard can be booked on line (though ironically, not on Virgin's website which given it's priced by Virgin is strange). Any staffed station should also be able to sell this.

On line, try East Coast or London Midland's sites as I have used both of these previously to buy the ticket. When selecting your destination, enter "London All Zones Travelcard".

Yes, it's quota controlled but unless there is a big event taking place in London, there is usually some availability quite near to the date of travel. For example, there appears to be plenty of availability for Saturday 12 July as of this morning.

No railcard discounts are available with this product so other tickets may be better value/more flexible if someone has a railcard.