An odd request! I study well on long journeys-I need some recommended train journeys!

[Ruthie]

Hi all,
An odd request, I know. But I have noticed that I study well - extremely well - on trains... Exclusively.
I have ADD and find it really tough to concentrate with my university dissertation, EXCEPT on long train journeys. Something about the constant slight movement calms me, the passing scenery, the notion of a dedicated journey so I can just focus, cut off from the busy world out there, the funny unofficial etiquette on trains of keeping quiet etc.
It's all somehow perfect for getting work done!

SO I need some advice, if anyone could be so kind!?
I want to start going on long train journeys from London to anywhere, as long as I can do the 'there-and-back' return journey between 9am-10pm within the same day. I guess these are the aspects that I need some advice/ expertise with (bear with me, if this seems demanding - any advice is great!):

I need to find a regular route (or a few regular routes) from London to *anywhere*, the longer the better, that is cheap, with a table option and with as few stops as possible.

Here's a bit of extra info:
- I have a Young Person's Railcard, but I don't have much money so lowest price is priority (scenery is not important, though of course lovely!)
- I would ideally like a journey that lasts a few hours (minimum 2 hours) but makes as few stops as possible (say, up to 10 stops is fine, but 10+ I get too easily distracted)
- I would need a table seat, so the trains must have tables and preferably toilets if they're long journeys

In the long term, I'll book regular & cheap journeys in advance, so hopefully prices should be relatively low. BUT if any of you know of some ways of getting cheap last-minute long journeys, please do let me know also!

Thank you for even reading this if you got this far

An appreciative train fan,
Ruthie

 

[Rich McLean]

Hi all,
An odd request, I know. But I have noticed that I study well - extremely well - on trains... Exclusively.
I have ADD and find it really tough to concentrate with my university dissertation, EXCEPT on long train journeys. Something about the constant slight movement calms me, the passing scenery, the notion of a dedicated journey so I can just focus, cut off from the busy world out there, the funny unofficial etiquette on trains of keeping quiet etc.
It's all somehow perfect for getting work done!

SO I need some advice, if anyone could be so kind!?
I want to start going on long train journeys from London to anywhere, as long as I can do the 'there-and-back' return journey between 9am-10pm within the same day. I guess these are the aspects that I need some advice/ expertise with (bear with me, if this seems demanding - any advice is great!):

I need to find a regular route (or a few regular routes) from London to *anywhere*, the longer the better, that is cheap, with a table option and with as few stops as possible.

Here's a bit of extra info:
- I have a Young Person's Railcard, but I don't have much money so lowest price is priority (scenery is not important, though of course lovely!)
- I would ideally like a journey that lasts a few hours (minimum 2 hours) but makes as few stops as possible (say, up to 10 stops is fine, but 10+ I get too easily distracted)
- I would need a table seat, so the trains must have tables and preferably toilets if they're long journeys

In the long term, I'll book regular & cheap journeys in advance, so hopefully prices should be relatively low. BUT if any of you know of some ways of getting cheap last-minute long journeys, please do let me know also!

Thank you for even reading this if you got this far

An appreciative train fan,
Ruthie

1000 Kings Cross - Aberdeen to Edinburgh

Then 1530 Edinburgh - Kings Cross arriving at 1948

If you book in advance, you maybe able to get a few cheap advance tickets on the East Coast Websites

With more Stops, there is also London Paddington to Penzance and return. About 5.5 Hours each away. The 1003 off Paddington will do it in 5 hours

 

[Ruthie]

Both sound great, thank you I'll look into them now!
Thank you

 

[trentside]

You're not the first person to discover this, Ruthie - I did something similar when I was writing my dissertations at University. What I used to do was buy rover tickets that had large areas of validity, but I don't think these would necessarily fit your requirements as you end up having to hop on and off trains when you reach the boundaries.

One cheap suggestion would be the Chiltern Mainline services from Marylebone to Birmingham. You can pick up tickets from around £3.95 each way - with journey times of around 1hr 50m. If you use the times in this thread then you get a train with plenty of tables, plug sockets and free WiFi.

 

[EM2]

There are services from St Pancras to Sheffield that call at Leicester, Derby, Chesterfield and Sheffield only. They take 2 hours. The ones that stop at a couple more places take 2h 15m.

 

[185143]

I'm the same, I like doing Warrington to Carlisle or Manchester to Carlisle on rover tickets, often for the same reason!

 

[Rich McLean]

Both sound great, thank you I'll look into them now!
Thank you

Example:

10/03/14
1006 London Paddington to Penzance arr 1511

1559 Penzance to London Paddington arr 2123

Two Advance Singles with 16-25 Railcard for £50.85 if you book now. £70 odd quid return if you buy on the day

Hope that helps

 

[GWRjake]

I believe London Kings Cross-York (2 hours, no stops) can be done with Grand Central for £9 one way in advance with a railcard

 

[185143]

Its around 15 stops and can get busy but there are some very cheap advances on Crewe-Euston on LM. By cheap I mean around £14 return with your railcard.

 

[SansPareil]

London to Norwich could be worth a try, there certainly used to be £5 advances each way, though I can only see £9 ones at the moment.

 

[Bishopstone]

There are some Advance bargains on Greater Anglia, London-Norwich, with table seats in Standard. It's around two hours each way, but I suppose you could do two return trips in a day. Only five or six stops, too.

 

[Kite159]

I believe London Kings Cross-York (2 hours, no stops) can be done with Grand Central for £9 one way in advance with a railcard

Or continuing all the way to Sunderland, change to Newcastle for a London bound EC fast?

 

[theironroad]

I used to use stp to shf quite a lot to study, more preparing for lectures, though some work towards a dissertation. The thing is to get reasonably quiet trains during the day and not Friday evening of a bank holiday weekend.

Luckily, it was free for me...

 

[Crossover]

Not sure how it would stack up price wise (I only know the lowest tier 1st price which I paid!) but Euston to Glasgow Central via Birmingham is nearly 6 hours - though there are a few stops but it does have some wonderful scenery further north!

 

[Flamingo]

Paddingtom-Camarthen, go out on a Sunday morning, only £20 extra each way for First Class with a big table, or price up an Advance First Class. Evening trains back are empty. It can even be the same train down and back, the Pad- Cmn's turn around in Cmn, you can stay on the train for the (approx hour) it's in Cmn. Mind you West Wales on a wet Sunday afternoon in winter makes you realise why Dylan Thomas was an alcoholic...

 

[185143]

Paddingtom-Camarthen, go out on a Sunday, only £20 extra each way for First Class, or price up an Advance First Class. Evening trains back are empty. Mind you West Wales on a wet Sunday afternoon in winter makes you realise why Dylan Thomas was an alcoholic...

or of you're brave, go early and do the Heart of Wales line and back on the Shrewsbury VT if timed right.

 

[Ruthie]

Thanks so much to all and everyone who've replied, you've gone above and beyond. Super helpful and I'm excited to investigate every single suggestion
Thank you all
Ruthie

 

[krus_aragon]

or of you're brave, go early and do the Heart of Wales line and back on the Shrewsbury VT if timed right.

That might not be the best of suggestions given the OP's request for relatively few stops!

My uneducated tuppence: Virgin Trains run three trains an hour between Euston and Manchester. Given their number, they may have readily available advance tickets.

 

[Abpj17]

I used to like the East Coast line. I find MML (St P to Sheffield) and WCML (Virgin to Manchester and up) too fast. East Coast London to Newcastle (or somewhere to Scotland) doesn't stop too often but isn't HS either.

http://www.eastcoast.co.uk/?ppc=1&g...JS_cGPSrpgmHU1cqXGJygGS3Fx0-9xW2RuBoC4bzw_wcB << down the page a bit lets you sign up for alerts for cheap tickets

 

[mrben253]

How about Euston - Holyhead and return? 3 hours 40 each way and some cracking scenery to boot!

 

[185143]

or of you're brave, go early and do the Heart of Wales line and back on the Shrewsbury VT if timed right.

That might not be the best of suggestions given the OP's request for relatively few stops!

My uneducated tuppence: Virgin Trains run three trains an hour between Euston and Manchester. Given their number, they may have readily available advance tickets.

Ah, yes
Puts his hands up and admits he was about to suggest the Cambrian...

I'll get my coat.

 

[Adam0984]

I used to do this on a local basis with a South Yorks travelmaster unfortunately it had an adverse effect on me, I liked the travelling on trains too much and quit uni and got a job on the railway!!

 

[wensley]

Kings Cross - Sunderland and return (3.5hrs each way), some very good advance tickets available, 1121 Kings X - Sunderland 1451, 1518 Sunderland - Kings Cross 1905. Added bonus of non-stop between London and York, and the stunning scenery of the Durham Coast

 

[D6975]

Kings Cross - Sunderland and return (3.5hrs each way), some very good advance tickets available, 1121 Kings X - Sunderland 1451, 1518 Sunderland - Kings Cross 1905. Added bonus of non-stop between London and York, and the stunning scenery of the Durham Coast

This is the one I would suggest. Advances can be had for as little as £16 full fare to Sunderland.

 

[Kite159]

This is the one I would suggest. Advances can be had for as little as £16 full fare to Sunderland.

And as you are a student, I'm assuming you hold a NUS card, then you can get 10% off fares

 

[47832]

London Waterloo to Poole is just over 2 hours and with your railcard and booking in advance you can book for £7.25 each way so return would be £14.50.

 

[Ruthie]

Thank you so much everyone! I scoured over all your wonderful suggestions and have sorted some great itineraries for the coming weeks...
Penzance, York, Birmingham, Edinburgh and plenty others between, thanks so much!
I'm currently on my first such adventure... Kings Cross to Dundee and back again in time for tea (well it'd be more like a night cap than an afternoon tea), so thank you all!
Right, best get back to tapping away on my laptop.
Enjoy the sunny skies,
Ruthie

 

[CC 72100]

I didn't realise that the ECML had that much elevation!

On a serious note Ruthie, as this thread has shown, you're far from the only one who finds a train seat as a good office for uni work. Particularly at the end of first year, I would take my work with me on trips around Devon and Cornwall. Starting out from Exeter where I study, the Newquay HST was always a good run as it was early in the season meaning that tables were in abundance, the train was empty and the Guards friendly enough to let me stay on in Newquay and continue my work. For me it helped as it meant I was away from the computer and the temptations of a) getting distracted and b) using online dictionaries (I'm a languages student!) that I wouldn't have the luxury of having in the exam. Oh, and some lovely scenery as well, for those moments of writers block

 

[Shimbleshanks]

How about:
London Euston dep 10:43
Birmingham International arr 11:53
Birmingham International dep 12:09
Pwllheli arr 17:17
Pwllheli dep 17:45
Machynlleth arr 20:00
Machynlleth dep 20:07
Wolverhampton arr 22:09
Wolverhampton dep 22:45
London Euston arr 01:15

 

[Statto95]

Hi all,

Here's a bit of extra info:
- I have a Young Person's Railcard, but I don't have much money so lowest price is priority (scenery is not important, though of course lovely!)

Have a look at ticketsplitting http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/split-cheap-train-tickets/ its a way of splitting the journey you make and buying 2 tickets for one journey and saving money. For example I travel (or buy tickets for someone who travels) from Oxford to Newport on a regular basis. Now the direct price on a 16-25 railcard is £18.75 off peak. Buying a ticket from Oxford to Swindon (£6.55) then Swindon to Newport (£9.90) gives a total of £16.45. Alright not a huge saving but can be huge. I brought a one way ticket from Leamington Spa to Windermere (Lake District) for £9.20 oneway in the summer - which is about £51 direct.

You don't even need to change trains, as long as the train stops at a station you can split at that one!!

Good Luck