05:52 Exeter to Grantham cancellation workaround

[Kilopylae]

I have booked tickets to travel on 21 July from Exeter St Davids to Grantham to arrive at the motorway there as early as I can, at about 11 AM:

05:52 Exeter St Davids
08:35 London Paddington

09:33 Kings Cross
10:40 Grantham

The 05:52 has now been cancelled.

Is there any way I can work around this to get to Grantham anyway? 11:00 is already pushing it for how later I can get there, so I really cannot consider taking a significantly later train.

National Rail Enquiries suggests an itinerary of 17:15 Exeter St Davids to 10:12 Grantham with an 11 hour overnight wait in Bristol:

Spoiler

17:15 Exeter St Davids
17:41 Taunton

18:07 Taunton
19:07 Bristol Temple Meads

11 hour wait

06:35 Bristol Temple Meads
08:40 Derby

08:48 Derby
09:24 Nottingham

09:41 Nottingham
10:12 Grantham

Is this genuinely the best alternative option?

Is there any chance I would be able to use my tickets for the cancelled 05:52 on this itinerary (or a better overnight option if it exists)?

 

[Segedunum]

I can see a 07:52 to London Paddington arriving at 09:56. That's the earliest possible arrival.

It might be just below the minimum allowed time to transfer, but you could go for the 10:33 from King's Cross up to Grantham, arriving an hour later than planned.

I'm unsure about travelling overnight to guarantee your arrival time - but I'd imagine that taking the last GWR to London then rejoining your intended LNER after an overnight stay is more likely to be accepted than going via Bristol and Nottingham.

 

[Kilopylae]

I'm unsure about travelling overnight to guarantee your arrival time - but I'd imagine that taking the last GWR to London then rejoining your intended LNER after an overnight stay is more likely to be accepted than going via Bristol and Nottingham.

I don't think GWR are running trains between Exeter and London on Thursday 20th (it's a strike day). There is also the fact that I don't feel particularly safe spending the night in London.

 

[Segedunum]

I don't think GWR are running trains between Exeter and London on Thursday 20th (it's a strike day). There is also the fact that I don't feel particularly safe spending the night in London.

They are - the last one is at 16:05 arriving 18:24.

You'd actually get to London in time to get the 19:30 from King's Cross up to Grantham which may work if you can find a cheap hotel in the vicinity (perhaps unlikely if there's an event on).

But I don't know how this would work for ticket acceptance - as restrictions have only been officially eased for tickets dated 20th/22nd.

 

[ge-gn]

Is it possible to pick up the sleeper at Exeter for an early arrival into Paddington? You could be in Grantham by 9.

 

[Royston Vasey]

Is it possible to pick up the sleeper at Exeter for an early arrival into Paddington? You could be in Grantham by 9.

Would be a good shout but it's cancelled all that week due to industrial action.

 

[30907]

They are - the last one is at 16:05 arriving 18:24.

You'd actually get to London in time to get the 19:30 from King's Cross up to Grantham which may work if you can find a cheap hotel in the vicinity (perhaps unlikely if there's an event on).

But I don't know how this would work for ticket acceptance - as restrictions have only been officially eased for tickets dated 20th/22nd.

Try GWR twitter with this suggestion?

 

[Kilopylae]

Somewhere has opened up for me to stay in London the night before, so I will consider asking GWR on Twitter about taking the 16:04.

Is it a sure thing that train will actually run?

 

[Kilopylae]

Alas:

Hi there, we do not have ticket acceptance in place for tickets for the 21st of July to be used on alternative dates I'm afraid. You can claim for a refund due to the train you booked no longer being scheduled to run and then repurchase, but an Advance ticket for the 21st cannot be used on the 20th I'm afraid

 

[AlterEgo]

The railway is very stupid and has told you it cannot help. This is the sort of thing I used to sort out with an Authority to Travel, daily.

 

[Jamesrob637]

Get the last train from Exeter to London on the 20th, get a room at a posh London hotel and submit the receipt to GWR