Good cheap ranger for an afternoon from London?

[321362]

I would be able to leave from any London terminal at around 12:30 on a weekday. What good options are there for a 1 day rover/ranger, covering a lot of lines and relatively far from London?

Was looking at http://www.railrover.org/ but unsure how up to date pricing is, last updated march 25 apparently. Eyeing up West Yorks Daysaver, any other good options?

Price range: ranger itself ideally less than £15, travel to/from location ideally less than £40

 

[jfollows]

Cheshire Day Ranger £20.75 with railcard if you can get to Stoke on Trent or Crewe for £40.
LNR & WMR only off peak return London-Crewe £36.65 with railcard, restriction SK, meets your planned times.

Obviously more without a railcard.

 

[JonathanH]

Eyeing up West Yorks Daysaver, any other good options?

Tickets with an afternoon restriction (eg West Yorkshire / Manchester) aren't ideal if turning up somewhere mid afternoon.

 

[The_Train]

I would be able to leave from any London terminal at around 12:30 on a weekday. What good options are there for a 1 day rover/ranger, covering a lot of lines and relatively far from London?

Was looking at http://www.railrover.org/ but unsure how up to date pricing is, last updated march 25 apparently. Eyeing up West Yorks Daysaver, any other good options?

Price range: ranger itself ideally less than £15, travel to/from location ideally less than £40

I find Rail Rover to be very up to date to be fair to them. A last update in March 2025 would figure because the last rail fare increase happened then so they would have updated all the ranger/rover prices to the new prices.

 

[jfollows]

No afternoon restrictions on the Cheshire Day Ranger (B3).

​ Outward Travel & Return Travel​ Time and/or Train Restrictions for this Rover ​ Restriction Code: B3 Restricted Days: Monday to Friday Mondays-Fridays​ Not valid on trains timed to depart after 04:29 and before 09:00.

But afternoon restrictions are absolutely a consideration here in general for other tickets.

 

[Snow1964]

There is one in Kennett valley (Berkshire, East Wiltshire, north Hampshire)

Only covers 2 lines but includes Reading which can be reached on Elizabeth line, so must be one of the cheapest including travel from London

 

[The exile]

Does the North Downs one still exist. Alternatively Southern day Save as you can get out of London before the pm restriction kicks in.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

West Midlands Day Ranger at £36.00, or less with an appropriate railcard. Valid from Leamington Spa/Northampton/Rugby. Super Off Peak Day Return from London Euston so as to start from Northampton would be an additional £31.80, a little more if from Rugby. Marylebone to start at Leamington Spa would be an extra £40.00. A lot of potential route mileage once you're in the zone.

 

[CaptainHaddock]

If you like scenic branch lines I'd go for the Anglia Plus Day Ranger at £29.70.

Anglia Plus

Explore parts of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire with an Anglia Plus ticketThe beauty of these train tickets is that you can 'hop on and hop off' the train - so you can visit more than one destination in a day.You can choose between a One Day Ranger, 'Three Days in Seven' Flexi Rover, or a...

www.greateranglia.co.uk

 

[The exile]

Does the North Downs one still exist. Alternatively Southern day Save as you can get out of London before the pm restriction kicks in.

Sorry - missed the stipulation that it should be far from London. However, your £40 for the out and back isn’t going to get you that far…

 

[321362]

Cheshire Day Ranger £20.75 with railcard if you can get to Stoke on Trent or Crewe for £40.
LNR & WMR only off peak return London-Crewe £36.65 with railcard, restriction SK, meets your planned times.

Obviously more without a railcard.

That's one I looked at and am considering, but I doubt I'd be able to cover enough ground to make the £20 worth it as I would only have a couple of hours. That's why I'm leaning towards a slightly smaller area.

 

[321362]

Tickets with an afternoon restriction (eg West Yorkshire / Manchester) aren't ideal if turning up somewhere mid afternoon.

What are the specific afternoon restrictions for those?

By the way, thanks to everyone for the help so far

 

[jfollows]

That's one I looked at and am considering, but I doubt I'd be able to cover enough ground to make the £20 worth it as I would only have a couple of hours. That's why I'm leaning towards a slightly smaller area.

Your requirements are a bit vague!
Nonetheless I hope that whatever you end up doing you have a good day out.
PS I’ve already given you the (non-existent) afternoon restrictions on the Cheshire Day Ranger. For other tickets you should use https://www.brfares.com/!roverhome.

 

[JonathanH]

What are the specific afternoon restrictions for those?

The West Yorkshire Daysaver and Greater Manchester Day Ranger have 1600-1830 restrictions during which time trains can't be boarded.

https://www.brfares.com/!roverdetail?nlc=I046&rvr=DWT

The restriction after 16:00 and before 18:30 includes any connecting train departing during this period (or re-commencing your journey following a break of journey)

 

[321362]

thanks

 

[gazthomas]

Seems a bit ambitious

 

[mmh]

Seems a bit ambitious

Yup. If I couldn't start a day out til 12:30 I don't think I'd consider going half way across the country for it.

I was going to suggest Southern Daysave but see someone else already has.

 

[gazthomas]

Yup. If I couldn't start a day out til 12:30 I don't think I'd consider going half way across the country for it.

I was going to suggest Southern Daysave but see someone else already has.

Or even a zone 1-6 travelcard!

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Alternative suggestion... 'Thames Branches Day Ranger' at £27.50 before any applicable railcard discount. London Paddington to and from Reading and also the various branches off the mainline to Greenford, Windsor & Eton Central, Marlow, Henley-on-Thames, as well as being valid at Reading West, Winnersh and Tilehurst.

 

[Llandudno]

The West Yorkshire Daysaver and Greater Manchester Day Ranger have 1600-1830 restrictions during which time trains can't be boarded.

https://www.brfares.com/!roverdetail?nlc=I046&rvr=DWT

I wonder how far or how long you could travel on a train in West Yorkshire or Greater Manchester during the evening peak if you boarded a train before 1600.

There is a 1552 from Stalybridge to Wigan arrive 1650 so 50 minutes travel after the 1600 deadline!

 

[Mcr Warrior]

I wonder how far or how long you could travel on a train in West Yorkshire or Greater Manchester during the evening peak if you boarded a train before 1600.

If setting out from London Euston to travel around, for a time, on a Ranger type ticket up in the Greater Manchester area, a £17.40 GM Wayfarer might be a better option (as it has no evening peak restrictions). Could be used in conjunction with a suitable London to Macclesfield or alternatively a London to Holmes Chapel ticket.

 

[The exile]

Not quite as far from London but the West Midlands Network Daytripper covers a decent area with effectively 2 separate networks to play with (Snow Hill and New Street routes)

 

[Tetchytyke]

With the restrictions in your journey- departure time, and price for the journey to the location- I'd say you probably can't go much further than the West Midlands. Any further than that and you'd only have a couple of hours before you'd have to get the train home again.

I'd probably go for the nNetwork Daytripper Plus for £11.90. It is valid as far out as Stratford-upon-Avon and Warwick, which would be handy if you travel on Chiltern up to the West Midlands.

 

[pokemonsuper9]

There is a 1552 from Stalybridge to Wigan arrive 1650 so 50 minutes travel after the 1600 deadline!

The edge of the Greater Manchester ticketing boundary is Apperly Bridge at 17:01, so actually 61 minutes after 16:00.

However the reverse gets you further into the period, the 15:53/15:57 from Apperley Bridge/Gathurst gets to Stalybridge at 17:05.

 

[The exile]

With the restrictions in your journey- departure time, and price for the journey to the location- I'd say you probably can't go much further than the West Midlands. Any further than that and you'd only have a couple of hours before you'd have to get the train home again.

I'd probably go for the nNetwork Daytripper Plus for £11.90. It is valid as far out as Stratford-upon-Avon and Warwick, which would be handy if you travel on Chiltern up to the West Midlands.

Unless things have changed, you can only buy it in the WM area, though (so not as far out as Warwick).

 

[Kite159]

Unless things have changed, you can only buy it in the WM area, though (so not as far out as Warwick).

You can buy the regular Daytripper ticket outside the area, especially as these days it doesn't need special ticket stock. However that add on ticket can only be sold within the WM area (unless you get lucky with a friendly ticket office who can somehow sell it, pretty sure it's this one:

Look up fares for any train journey in Britain

Full details of all British rail Single, Return & Season tickets and Travelcards. Built-in Season Ticket Calculator.

www.brfares.com

 

[Trainlog]

Sorry - missed the stipulation that it should be far from London. However, your £40 for the out and back isn’t going to get you that far…

No, I reckon the Southern Daysave is still valid for the OP. You can go as far as Portsmouth and Southampton from London with this ticket, which is quite a distance from London still.

 

[Tetchytyke]

However the reverse gets you further into the period, the 15:53/15:57 from Apperley Bridge/Gathurst gets to Stalybridge at 17:05.

And then you can spend the 1.5 hours till 18.30 in the Stalybridge station buffet bar, which is the best part of any trip to Greater Manchester!

Unless things have changed, you can only buy it in the WM area, though (so not as far out as Warwick).

Ah, didn't realise that, as I've only ever bought it at a WM station.