Ideas: Glasgow - Canterbury (overnight), then Tunbridge - Glasgow

[jamesontheroad]

Howdy folks. This isn't so much an enquiry about the details of fare types, but more a kind of open minded query about how best to pay for a forthcoming trip down south... it's a little complicated, so suggestions about getting the best value would be appreciated.

1) I have to be in Glasgow until about 8pm on Thursday 18 November.

2) I have to be in Canterbury West for 9am on Friday 19 November.

3) Therefore I have to take the southbound Caledonian Sleeper from Glasgow to Euston and then on to Canterbury West, departing GLC on the evening of Thursday 18 November and connecting from St. Pancras to Canterbury West.

4) I will be staying in Canterbury for two days, departing for Frant (near Tunbridge Wells) on the evening of Saturday 20 November.

5) I can then return to Glasgow on either Sunday or Monday... the second part of the trip is open ended. I don't mind taking a daytime train instead of a northbound sleeper.

6) I have a 16-25 Railcard.

So what's the best combination? At such short notice, surely it's some kind of Off-Peak return, but how to book it if I want to go to Canterbury West but come back from Frant? Off-peak return to London, plus one-way sleeper supplement, plus one way walk-up fares for London - Canterbury West, Canterbury West - Frant, and Frant - London?

Additionally, I might be able to leverage the current Scotrail Advance club £99 first class sleeper return offer, but that would only be to London. I would also need to prove that this would be cheaper than the cheapest available comparable standard class fare, because all of the above *could* be reimbursed to me as a travel claim.

Thank you so much for any suggestions!

 

[W-on-Sea]

On past experience, I would expect that, if you can can get a through ticket from Glasgow to Canterbury, that should almost certainly be substantially cheaper than splitting at London. The South-Eastern fares are rather expensive for the distance they cover, and no advances are available for that part of the journey.

I think that ticket would also cover most of the journey back from Frant too - from Tonbridge onwards (as that is on one of the routes to Canterbury).

I guess for the other part you would have to buy separate tickets from Canterbury to Frant, and Frant to Tonbridge, but possibly there may be ways round this that someone else can tell you about

 

[jamesontheroad]

I think that ticket would also cover most of the journey back from Frant too - from Tonbridge onwards (as that is on one of the routes to Canterbury).

I guess for the other part you would have to buy separate tickets from Canterbury to Frant, and Frant to Tonbridge, but possibly there may be ways round this that someone else can tell you about

Aha! I hadn't thought about that. London Bridge - Canterbury does indeed pass through Tonbridge. I can see an Anytime return for £30.25 that eastcoast.co.uk says would be valid on those times/dates (out early Friday morning, back some time on Sunday evening).

I could combine that with the £99 Scotrail promo and then just add the Canterbury - Frant and Frant - Tonbridge tickets on the day.

Cheers!

 

[John @ home]

I could combine that with the £99 Scotrail promo and then just add the Canterbury - Frant and Frant - Tonbridge tickets on the day.

Canterbury - Tonbridge would also be covered by the return leg of your return ticket to Canterbury. You only need two singles between Frant and Tonbridge.

 

[jamesontheroad]

Canterbury - Tonbridge would also be covered by the return leg of your return ticket to Canterbury. You only need two singles between Frant and Tonbridge.

Thanks for that! It might seem obvious but I'll befuddled with all these train times and fares flying around.

So:

GLC-EUS £99 first class return
LBG-CBW £30.25 Anytime return
FRT-TON £3.60 Anytime single
TON-FRT £3.60 Anytime single

£136.45

Thanks all!

 

[button_boxer]

LBG-CBW £30.25 Anytime return

That's the anytime return not HS1, if you want to be able to make the outward journey via St Pancras you'd need either the £30.70 Off Peak Return plus high speed (if returning on Sunday) or the £37.50 Anytime return plus high speed (if returning on Monday morning).

 

[John @ home]

FRT-TON £3.60 Anytime single
TON-FRT £3.60 Anytime single

With your Railcard, these singles are reduced to £2.40 if you can avoid Mon-Fri before 1000.

 

[jamesontheroad]

With your Railcard, these singles are reduced to £2.40 if you can avoid Mon-Fri before 1000.

Thanks, I will be able to do that.

That's the anytime return not HS1, if you want to be able to make the outward journey via St Pancras you'd need either the £30.70 Off Peak Return plus high speed (if returning on Sunday) or the £37.50 Anytime return plus high speed (if returning on Monday morning).

I'm not going to pay the HS1 premium. I'll head across town to London Bridge and take the regular service from there.

 

[John @ home]

LBG-CBW £30.25 Anytime return

There appears to be a Weekender Return London - Canterbury which may suit you, but this ticket is not adequately documented.

My understanding is that The Manual, the internal industry document, does not mention this ticket at all. The Southeastern web site mentions a £24.70 London - Canterbury Weekender Return "which allows passengers to travel off-peak on a Friday or Saturday and return on the Saturday or Sunday, for little more than a normal off-peak day return". £24.70 is not a Railcard discounted fare.

The National Fares Manual NFM 07 CD shows:

Origin : LONDON TERMINALS
Destination : CANTERBURY STNS
Standard Class Return
WK2 - SE WEEKENDER
Restriction : SF
No restriction text.

Route : 00130 - NOT VALID ON HS1
1 Adult @£ 24.70

Route : 00131 - PLUS HIGH SPEED
1 Adult @£ 29.60

With NFM 07 CD, adding a Railcard causes the fare to disappear, suggesting that Railcard discounts may not be valid with this fare.

Alternatively, there is an Off-Peak return London - Canterbury which does offer Railcard discounts. With a Railcard, this costs £16.65 (NOT VALID ON HS1) or £20.25 (PLUS HIGH SPEED), is valid out on the date shown on the ticket, return any day within a month, and valid by any train except those timed to depart Mondays - Fridays before 0930.

I'm not going to pay the HS1 premium. I'll head across town to London Bridge and take the regular service from there.

Remember to include the cost of cross-London transfer when calculating the cheapest option. Euston - London Bridge will probably involve tube or bus costs, but St Pancras is within easy walking distance.

 

[jamesontheroad]

Thanks John for the insider tip... sadly this trip I have to get to Canterbury asap on Friday morning, so I can't wait for an off-peak departure from London. Perhaps next time, because this trip might be repeated some day.

 

[4SRKT]

If you can get any sort of deal one way on the sleeper, then surely the way to come back is on a Sail Rail from Tonbridge to Belfast for £46 (before railcard), and don't use the Glasgow > Belfast bit of the ticket.