Advice re circular journey

[AlbertBeale]

I hope the experts here can offer some useful thoughts...

1. If I need to travel from London to Birmingham one afternoon for an event there, and then travel to Liverpool the next morning for a meeting there, and then go on to Manchester either that evening or the following morning, for a meeting there, and then head back to London on the evening of that third day, is there likely to be any clever type of return ticket which would make the whole trip cheaper than just dealing with each leg separately?

It's possible that I could pin down the timing of some of the journeys ahead of time, and so be able to get Advance tickets where they exist, in particular for the return from Manchester, and - perhaps - for the outward leg to Birmingham.

This would be around the end of September.

2. Also, if - after I've bought some or all of the tickets - there are strikes called which affect at least part of the journey or at least one of those days, and I therefore abandon the whole trip, would I be able to get refunds for all the tickets I'd already bought (even if they were for a segment of the journey not directly affected by the strike)?

3. And lastly, do Chiltern generally do Advances? Last time I looked, their off-peak London-Brum tickets were usefully cheaper than the fast trains from Euston, but no Advances were showing up on Chiltern.

Thanks!

 

[Watershed]

1. If I need to travel from London to Birmingham one afternoon for an event there, and then travel to Liverpool the next morning for a meeting there, and then go on to Manchester either that evening or the following morning, for a meeting there, and then head back to London on the evening of that third day, is there likely to be any clever type of return ticket which would make the whole trip cheaper than just dealing with each leg separately?

It's possible that I could pin down the timing of some of the journeys ahead of time, and so be able to get Advance tickets where they exist, in particular for the return from Manchester, and - perhaps - for the outward leg to Birmingham.

A ticket to somewhere like Lea Green may help. This is valid via both Liverpool and Manchester. However, you'd have to use a train that calls at Lea Green on your way between Liverpool and manchester. I'm not aware of a destination which allows you to use any train between the two, regardless of route.

2. Also, if - after I've bought some or all of the tickets - there are strikes called which affect at least part of the journey or at least one of those days, and I therefore abandon the whole trip, would I be able to get refunds for all the tickets I'd already bought (even if they were for a segment of the journey not directly affected by the strike)?

If you have a single ticket it's a moot point. If you have multiple tickets, in theory the answer remains the same but you are more likely to struggle if you buy them from separate retailers and/or in separate transactions. If you buy them all at the same time and from the same retailer, it shouldn't be too difficult to get a refund on all of them.

3. And lastly, do Chiltern generally do Advances? Last time I looked, their off-peak London-Brum tickets were usefully cheaper than the fast trains from Euston, but no Advances were showing up on Chiltern.

Yes, and they tend to be quite reasonably priced at times when their Off-Peak or Super Off-Peak tickets are valid. What dates are you looking at?

 

[Haywain]

and then travel to Liverpool the next morning for a meeting there,

The time of this journey could be relevant, if it might be during the morning peak. I'm assuming all journeys are Monday to Friday.

 

[AlbertBeale]

Thanks both - for something I'd probably never otherwise have known (a place like Lea Green being valid to/from London via both L'pool and M/C); and for reminding me about the morning peak, which I'm not used to having to think about on "real" railways outside London...

If I went for the Lea Green option and got an off-peak return, then assuming I can do the overall routing I want (as long as my L'pool-M/C leg is on a train stopping at Lea Green), I still seem to be stuck with the outward validity being only 1 day - yet I wouldn't pass through Lea Green until the 2nd or 3rd day. So that might give me the routing flexibility, but not the stop-off flexibility. (And it seems it'd cost more than £100 return, meaning that it might not be any cheaper than a collection of - largely saver - tickets leg by leg.)

If you have a single ticket it's a moot point. If you have multiple tickets, in theory the answer remains the same but you are more likely to struggle if you buy them from separate retailers and/or in separate transactions. If you buy them all at the same time and from the same retailer, it shouldn't be too difficult to get a refund on all of them.

My problem is that if I try to use Advances as much as possible, to save money, I obviously need to book asap to get the best savings; but I might only be able to commit to particular times for different legs of the journey at different periods in advance - if you see what I mean. I might know very soon the times for one bit, but not be sure of another part for weeks yet. Hence the cheapest option might inevitably involve getting tickets in dribs and drabs.

Yes, and they tend to be quite reasonably priced at times when their Off-Peak or Super Off-Peak tickets are valid. What dates are you looking at?

I was looking at 28 September on nationalrail.co.uk - although the flexible tickets on Chiltern seem better than Avanti trains, the only Advances shown are for Avanti from Euston, with no Advances being shown for Chiltern as far as I can see. The Avanti ones currently look reasonable value - though I can't yet pin down my travel time....

Thanks.