The cheapest flexible ticket Meadowhall to Gatwick

[Dannys]

Afternoon,

Hoping someone can help me find some cheap(er) fares!

Im booked to fly from Gatwick in Jan '26 and wanting to use the train to get to/from the airport if at all possible - to save the four hour drive after the flight home mainly - however I can't seem to find any, what I would consider, sensibly priced fares - Anyone help?

Its for 2 Adults, 2 children, with a family railcard, travelling from Meadowhall to Gatwick, and return.

Outbound, after 5pm on Tuesday 20th Jan, is no issue. I can get an advance ticket for 4 of us for as little as £54, which is great value. Even a reasonably flexible super off peak single is fairly ok at £130 (via LNER), and the cheapest EMR return of this better at £210

Coming back, however its a bit more challenging. We land at Gatwick at 1pm on Wednesday 28th January. We can get advances for as little as £98, however these are tied to a certain train, which is fine IF the flight is on-time and customs are playing ball, however there would be some anxiety - either having to stump up for a new ticket if things went wrong - or having to wait around for hours at the airport after a long flight for our train, when we just want to get home. The LNER 70min flex ticket would actually work quite well for us in this case, however its not yet available for journeys this far "south". It seems the only option available that is "safe" is the "Anytime single" at a whopping £270 - which puts the cost of the train at around £330 - which makes 8 days parking at Gatwick (£90) look very attractive, even if the 4 hour drive after a long flight is far less so. Just to add, the kids are back at school the next day, so ideally we wouldn't be getting back to MHS at like 10-11pm at night either, so hanging around until post 7pm to leave London doesn't really work for us!

Can anyone find a cheaper, "flexible-ish" way to do this trip - or do I just need to accept its going to be better to drive?

 

[Hadders]

You could consider the Euston to Sheffield tickets routed LNR/XC which would mean a change at Tamworth. They're good value but you'd need to factor in the cost of Meadowhall to Sheffield and Euston to Gatwick.

 

[TrainTraveler]

For the Gatwick to Euston bit, Thameslink to St Pancras and the short walk to Euston is probably best value.

It's probably less of a walk to go between the stations than down to the circle line and back at each end (or the other Underground options).

 

[Mcv378]

The forum ticketing website: https://tickets.railforums.co.uk/

will be able to suggest any split fares that would make your journey cheaper

 

[blimmo]

It's probably less of a walk to go between the stations than down to the circle line and back at each end (or the other Underground options).

The circle line doesn't actually serve Euston so using it requires a walk to Euston square anyway: very unlikely to be better than the direct walk between the stations.

If you do take the walk between Euston and st p I recommend the back way avoiding Euston road. There are even a few signs and it's much more pleasant than walking next to all the cars.

 

[TrainTraveler]

Yes, I was using the circle line as an example but from the Thameslink barriers, any Underground platform towards Euston is quite a walk (as is the Euston end) and crossing behind the British Library and through the back streets is a better bet in my view (in the dry at least).

 

[DeverseSam]

It’s always going to be difficult to compete with a car when four are travelling and you need flexibility after a flight.

I’d probably Park and Ride from Luton Airport Parkway or alternatively somewhere like Tamworth (as there are cheap flexible tickets there).

 

[anothertyke]

Would you be willing to travel via Reading taking the direct Gatwick to Reading train? If so, there is a super off peak flexible ticket from Reading to Sheffield. That way it would cost £170 Gatwick to Sheffield with a family railcard. If all went well, you would be in Sheffield soon after 1900.

 

[FinsburyPark]

If all esle fail stay in hotel or B&B on the night of your arrival and travel home the next day

 

[GilfachFargoed]

The circle line doesn't actually serve Euston so using it requires a walk to Euston square anyway: very unlikely to be better than the direct walk between the stations.

If you do take the walk between Euston and st p I recommend the back way avoiding Euston road. There are even a few signs and it's much more pleasant than walking next to all the cars.

Assuming a fair amount of luggage Euston Square also has the disadvantage that the exit on to the North side of the Euston Road (most convenient for Euston station) is only via steps. There is a lift served exit that is integrated into the Wellcome building on the South side of the road that has an exit on to the top end of Gower Street.

I had rather hoped that the HS2 Euston station would have been the catalyst to finally integrate Euston Square into the wider station complex (de-scoped from the 1960s re-building), but it seems that it isn't the case.

 

[Dannys]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone - much appreciated. No idea you could get a fare via Tamworth, getting it to show up on LNERs journey planner, my usual booking choice - doesn't seem to work, so I might need to look at buying on the day at the counter, old skool style, if we end up doing that.

Think the plan is to book an advanced down, then once we land at Gatwick, we should have a reasonable idea what time we can get into London and see what LNER on the day advances are looking like. If we land on time, we should have no issue getting to central London by 3ish, in time to either get a super off peak single via EMR back at 3.30 before the price increases - or see what advances LNER have on the day - such as today we could catch the 15.48 for £72, (plus £24 for a single from Gatwick to central London) - there's just the risk that they won't be any available on the day, at which point we can make a judgement call on best thing to do, either go via Reading, Euston, or stump up for the full wack as a last resort - or wait until post peak, put the cases in storage and have a wonder around London for a couple of hours - although probably not top of my to do list after a long journey - its slightly more preferable than the 4 hour drive up to Yorkshire!

 

[DeverseSam]

You could also buy in advance whichever advance you think might work, from a retailer that allows fee-free changes..

(you could tell a friend to monitor your flight and to change the train ticket proactively if you are very delayed)

 

[yorkie]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone - much appreciated. No idea you could get a fare via Tamworth, getting it to show up on LNERs journey planner, my usual booking choice - doesn't seem to work, so I might need to look at buying on the day at the counter, old skool style, if we end up doing that.

If there is any problem or issue with the forum site, do let us know.

I believe the forum site is vastly superior to the LNER site, but if there is anything that can be improved....

As for a ticket counter, yes they should issue it, but they won't give you a seat selector (to be fair if you do your research and ask for a specific seat they should provide that).

... £24 for a single from Gatwick to central London) ..

Use contactless and touch out and back in at East Croydon for a fraction of the cost.

The quickest journey from Gatwick to St Pancras is often by letting a train go anyway, so it may not even delay you, if you exit from the rear of the train.

 

[Trainman40083]

If one did opt for the Underground at Euston Square, I'd think maybe Farringdon would be a better interchange with Thameslink. Circle Line to Thameslink at St Pancras is all but one end of the station to the other

 

[Iggy12a]

If there is any problem or issue with the forum site, do let us know.

I believe the forum site is vastly superior to the LNER site, but if there is anything that can be improved....

As for a ticket counter, yes they should issue it, but they won't give you a seat selector (to be fair if you do your research and ask for a specific seat they should provide that).

Use contactless and touch out and back in at East Croydon for a fraction of the cost.

The quickest journey from Gatwick to St Pancras is often by letting a train go anyway, so it may not even delay you, if you exit from the rear of the train.

The OP's group is 2 adults and 2 children with F&F Railcard, so using Contactless isn't the best solution.

On the LNER website, the cost for the group is £24.95 to London Thameslink. Using the forum's site, the total price is £25.80. This is because the LNER site sells one child ticket for £2.85, to complete the F&F group discount, whilst selling the second child's ticket for the £2 flat rate for an accompanying child. The forum's site charges each child £2.85.

 

[pokemonsuper9]

If one did opt for the Underground at Euston Square, I'd think maybe Farringdon would be a better interchange with Thameslink. Circle Line to Thameslink at St Pancras is all but one end of the station to the other

Yes, connecting from Thameslink to Euston would probably be best to either change at Farringdon for sub-surface (Circle, Metropolitan, Hammersmith and City) to Euston Square, or change at St Pancras for Northern line (or just walk)

 

[DeverseSam]

On the LNER website, the cost for the group is £24.95 to London Thameslink. Using the forum's site, the total price is £25.80. This is because the LNER site sells one child ticket for £2.85, to complete the F&F group discount, whilst selling the second child's ticket for the £2 flat rate for an accompanying child. The forum's site charges each child £2.85.

Is it not the presence of the child that allows the adult discount? rather than the child using a specific discount? so each child need only pay £2

 

[Haywain]

Is it not the presence of the child that allows the adult discount?

No, it's the presence of a child holding a railcard discounted ticket.