Watford to MK return for less than £2/minute

[styles]

I have a prospective client in Milton Keynes who realistically would require 2-3 days on-site for a couple of months to kick things off.

I live near Edinburgh, so was looking at Caledonian Sleeper to Watford Junction, then short train north to MK, stay in MK, then back again a couple of days later.

Maybe I'm doing something wrong, but I'm finding it's a whopping £2 per minute on Avanti for this fare, or £1 per minute with WMT which takes double the amount of time (off peak and anytime singles/returns):

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Yet, going from Euston, the total fares come down from ~£40 return to ~£30 return, including on services which stop at Watford Junction (but because they're Advance fares, I can't actually start/end my journey short).

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It's not the end of the world having to go into central London and back out (though obviously dealing with the farce that is Euston would ideally be avoided), but is there any way of having my cake and eating it here?

In the grand scheme of things, I'll be paying for a room on the sleeper, a B&B in MK for 2 nights, and this fare, plus it's company expenses so comes off pre-tax so the ~£10 per week difference is nothing really, but it's more the principle!

 

[Bletchleyite]

Where's your client in MK? If it's near enough to Bletchley (or you're taxi-ing from whatever station) you might want to check the fares from Watford to there - they are Ovalled so are single fare priced.

Fairly obviously it's not about minutes, though, you don't determine that Bletchley-Euston is poor value compared to Ormskirk-Liverpool (both taking about the same time) because the latter is roughly 1/4 of the distance, just really slow! That's an enthusiast's take. The WCML is quite fast so the 30-40 mile journey is done much quicker than you may be used to.

Personally I'd not do the CS for that, though, particularly in summer where you could travel the evening before on a day train for far less money and enjoy the views on the way - the whole WCML is in my view quite interesting, and stuff like Shap is utterly stunning. And you could probably do a First Class or Standard Premium Advance on the direct service via Birmingham (not available in all hours now sadly) plus an extra Premier Inn night for far less than the Sleeper unless doing it in a seat - and there's no way I'd be doing a Sleeper seat for a business journey!

 

[styles]

Where's your client in MK? If it's near enough to Bletchley (or you're taxi-ing from whatever station) you might want to check the fares from Watford to there - they are Ovalled so are single fare priced.

Fairly obviously it's not about minutes, though, you don't determine that Bletchley-Euston is poor value compared to Ormskirk-Liverpool (both taking about the same time) because the latter is roughly 1/4 of the distance, just really slow! That's an enthusiast's take. The WCML is quite fast so the 30-40 mile journey is done much quicker than you may be used to.

Personally I'd not do the CS for that, though, particularly in summer where you could travel the evening before on a day train for far less money and enjoy the views on the way - the whole WCML is in my view quite interesting, and stuff like Shap is utterly stunning. And you could probably do a First Class Advance on the direct service via Birmingham (not available in all hours now sadly) plus an extra Premier Inn night for far less than the Sleeper unless doing it in a seat - and there's no way I'd be doing a Sleeper seat for a business journey!

They're a short walk NE from MK Central station, though I could take a folding bike on the train to Bletchley and cycle up to MK given how early I'll be getting there. Might look into that.

I choose the CS for work trips to London as it means less time away from home. Otherwise say Tue/Wed/Thu on-site means spending Monday afternoon/evening, Tue/Wed/Thu, Friday morning away from home. Plus I'm often away doing things on the weekends so it feels less rushed getting home at lunch or early afternoon on Friday. I wouldn't mind if it was a one-off, but for say weekly for 2 months, it's a lot of time. I would fly Tue+Thu if it wasn't so dire for the environment. Plus by the time I've paid for another two nights B&B, another dinner, another breakfast, etc, I'm not sure there's much in the price. I like the CS experience tbh!

 

[Hadders]

You could spend more time at home if you got Easyjet from Edinburgh to Luton departing at 07:15, arriving Luton at 08:35 then get a transfer to Milton Keynes. Probably cheaper than the sleeper.

 

[Bletchleyite]

You could spend more time at home if you got Easyjet from Edinburgh to Luton departing at 07:15, arriving Luton at 08:35 then get a transfer to Milton Keynes. Probably cheaper than the sleeper.

Even if going back by rail there'd be no need to leave it until Friday morning. You can get to Edinburgh after close of business on the Thursday, though admittedly not direct.

 

[styles]

You could spend more time at home if you got Easyjet from Edinburgh to Luton departing at 07:15, arriving Luton at 08:35 then get a transfer to Milton Keynes. Probably cheaper than the sleeper.

Yeah, but then having to live with the environmental conscience of domestic flying.

 

[Watershed]

Yeah, but then having to live with the environmental conscience of domestic flying.

It would always be possible to pay for CO2 offsetting. I suppose it depends on how you prioritise sleep, cost, convenience etc. vs the environment.

 

[styles]

Even if going back by rail there'd be no need to leave it until Friday morning. You can get to Edinburgh after close of business on the Thursday, though admittedly not direct.

Yes realistically on the way back I would probably leave site around 4pm and get home Thursday evening unless they have a spectacular reason for staying until 5 or later. It's the trip down more than anything.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 1 Jul 2025 ==

It would always be possible to pay for CO2 offsetting. I suppose it depends on how you prioritise sleep, cost, convenience etc. vs the environment.

I sleep exceptionally well on the sleeper. I think I'd prefer that to a 5am start to get to the airport for a morning flight.

It might be cheaper, but not sure it's especially convenient given the bus/train connections required. More time at home though.

 

[Joe Paxton]

It would always be possible to pay for CO2 offsetting. I suppose it depends on how you prioritise sleep, cost, convenience etc. vs the environment.

There's the whole question of how 'real' / effective CO2 offsetting really is. I am inclined towards the view that regards offsetting as 'buying off' the guilt of activities such as flying.