7 Day Rover trip

[smudger34]

Hi all,

As the title suggests I'm looking at getting one of these in March or April time and am looking for some advice on the following things:-
1) Is it better to go Monday to Sunday or Saturday to Friday?
2) Which way round to go I will be starting at 3 Bridges
3) Good places to visit for photos
4) Any suggestions on places to stay that don't cost the earth.

I would appreciate any help with any of this that you can give me.

Many thanks in advance

Dom

 

[Techniquest]

7 day rover as in ALR? If so it's difficult to suggest where to go exactly, depends on what you want to achieve from it!

Places to stay, that will vary in cost significantly depending where you go and how far in advance you book. The accommodation thread on this forum will give you plenty of ideas

 

[smudger34]

Yeah sorry i'll edit to say ALR, not sure fancy trying to get in as much as possible. Defo going to Scotland

 

[backontrack]

Some people try to use the sleepers instead of paying for accommodation as they're valid - I'd go with the accommodation, though!

 

[Adam0984]

I'd maybe look at if your doing Cornwall get the sleeper down and work your way back up during the day or Vica Versa and maybe your last day getting the Sleeper back from Scotland to London then all you'll need is a ticket from Euston to Three Bridges as your rover will have run out

 

[47403]

Presuming they're on by then the 73's on the sleepers to fort william, the Cumbrian Coast 37's and the Yarmouth 37's too, theres the chilton 68's out of Marleybone and the Fife Circle 68's too, the skips on the WaGs Holyhead-Cardiff, also on the Mancherster-Llandudno turns too, Class 90's on the Anglia turns and ofcourse sleepers.
As techniquest has said, it depends what your chasing. If I was on ann ALR thats what I'd be after, as well as freight hotspots, Stafford, Ipswich, Doncaster, Barnetby.
Accomodation, if you wanna do the North West Area. i'd advise staying in Preston, the Ashwood Hotel. 5min walk from Preston Station, you get a good variety of stuff, odd freight coming through, plenty trains to and from Mancherter and Liverpool, plus you can get the 10.04 37 from their to Barrow and bail off for the other back to Carlisle. The Ibis Budget Hotel in Birmingham wasn't bad either, 10min walk from the Bat Cave(New St) or if you wanna ride the Chiltern Cats from Moor St.

 

[James Wake]

Hello from a fellow Crawley resident and someone who has done an All Line Rover. I would suggest doing the Skye Circular trip. Start on a Sunday up to Inverness from Three Bridges, either via Euston and Glasgow or Kings Cross and Edinburgh. There is one direct Kings Cross to Inverness each day. Then you on Monday morning take the 0855 from Inverness to Kyle of Lochalsh, get a 51A bus at about 1340 to Armadale, 1430 ferry to Mallaig, then 1605 to Fort William then sleeper, or to Glasgow then sleeper.

I would also echo a trip on the Night Riviera to/from Cornwall, I did that last year. I would also do theCumbrian Coast class 37s and try and get the Settle-Carlisle Line in.

 

[Techniquest]

I see plenty of suggestions have been made, a lot of which I would echo.

As for which day to start on, that'll depend a lot on work commitments. Ideally a day off before you start the trip, and a day off after the end of it, would be recommended to re-cooperate after the epic adventure and to prepare for it before it begins.

Don't forget the Scottish sleepers are mandatory reservations, so plan carefully with those beforehand and get a reservation on it. Berths cost extra of course. The Night Riviera isn't complusory reservation but highly recommended.

Accommodation, depends where you want to stay. For a basic stay, I too recommend Ibis Budget in Birmingham. Other places I'm sure we all have recommendations for, or at least places to avoid! If you can advise us where you're looking at for overnight stays we can provide more ideas.

 

[James Wake]

I echo having a day off before and after. I did Sunday to Saturday, but had a day out on buses before, and the following Sunday had a lazy day down at my miniature railway in Goffs Park. My trip report is here and may give you some ideas: http://www.railforums.co.uk/showthread.php?t=121015

 

[smudger34]

Thanks for all the info guys lots of helpful tips, will defo be doing both sleepers during the trip. Sorry taken time to get back not be able to get online.

A hello to the fellow Crawleyite

 

[Hadders]

Worth noting that the northbound lowland sleeper picks up from Watford Junction at 0010 which is a good way of maxing out the validity of your ALR. (Note that I think Sunday's lowland calls before midnight).

Same applies at Reading on the Night Riviera.

 

[smudger34]

Cool will check that out, thanks