Birmingham to Hartlepool 11/3/2013

[Colin 2905]

My wife and I will be visiting the UK in March, mainly because she wants to go to Crufts, then visit relatives in Hartlepool.

The primary train travel will be London - Birmingham (6/3) - Hartlepool (11/3) - London (20/3).

I've already got the London to Birmingham tickets (£7.50 each, on Virgin), and my plan is to grab some £16.60 Grand Central tickets for the 12:52 service from HPL to Kings Cross when they become available.

What I have in mind for Birmingham to Hartlepool is:

CrossCountry 10:30 BHM to York (arr 12:40), then

Grand Central 13:22 YRK to HPL (arr 14:23)

I figure that I should be able to pickup BHM to YRK advance tickets for £16.50 each, and YRK to HPL for £7 each, if I wait a bit longer.

Does that sound OK, or is there a better way?

We'll be staying in Solihull, so actually closer to Birmingham International than BHM. Would it be better to get a taxi to BHI instead of BHM, and change trains at BHM?

 

[SS4]

If you're staying in Solihull I would get a Birmingham plusbus and take the bus from Solihull (SOL) to BHI. By road it's about 5 miles away so in theory a cab should be about £15 but don't quote me on it (the bus is about 20 minutes)

Your train tickets seem like the most sensible option to me.

 

[Colin 2905]

If you're staying in Solihull I would get a Birmingham plusbus and take the bus from Solihull (SOL) to BHI.

Thanks for the link. I hadn't considered buses, since we'll be travelling with bags and large suitcases (and, knowing my wife, packed to the max). Are those buses likely to be geared up for that, or are we better off sticking to a taxi?

Your train tickets seem like the most sensible option to me.

Thanks for that, too. I'd considered taking the next Grand Central service instead, which would give us (read: me ) time to look at the NRM at York, but I think I'll just do a solo day trip from HPL to YRK and back some time during our stay at Hartlepool.

I wouldn't mind visiting the GCR, either. Of the places that we'll be staying at, Birmingham seems to be the closest, and get a return ticket to Loughborough on the Saturday or Sunday.

 

[SS4]

If you've got cases get a cab, it's easier all round and you'll be able to relax more. I suppose you could go by train but you'd have to change in Birmingham which would be a pain.

Birmingham is easiest for Loughborough but the prices are the same from Solihull to Loughborough. Alas, I can't really help much since my geographical knowledge is pants outside the West Midlands

 

[muug1982]

Assuming you're staying in the centre of Solihull, you need bus 966 to get to Birmingham International. It runs every 30 mins, timetables at www.travelwm.co.uk i wouldn't recommend it with cases, but it may be suitable for when you are going to Crufts (there is a covered walkway to the NEC from Birmingham International station). There is no direct rail link.

When heading up to Hartlepool, there are many buses from Solihull to Birmingham, but none are very convenient for New Street with cases. You could take the train from Solihull, but you'll arrive at Moor Street and need to walk across to New Street (approx 10mins) so I agree with SS4 that a cab is the best option.

Same comments for the trip to Loughborough, you'll need to change trains again at Leicester (or possibly Derby) though to get to Loughborough - there are no longer any through services and Birmingham International is no better.

 

[Colin 2905]

Thanks for the tips, guys.

I assume that the GCR will only be running trains on the weekend during our time in Birmingham, and not on the Thursday or Friday. Looking at the timetables to and from Loughborough, Saturday looks to be my best bet, however.....

I'm also considering flying to Frankfurt, then taking an ICE to Fulda to visit a cousin who moved there some time ago. (If she'll actually be there at the time, that is. It's possible that she'll be visiting Canberra then!)

..... So if I do that, I'll most likely have to squeeze in a GCR visit on the Sunday instead, or miss it entirely.

One way or another I'll be going on a train or two whilst my wife is at Crufts. I just don't know which country yet.

 

[bb21]

For a day trip to the Great Central Railway, forget about going to Loughborough, as there is no day return fare from Birmingham and the period return is way over-priced for such a journey imo.

Get a Solihull (or Birmingham) - Leicester Off-Peak Day Return (£11.80) and a Leicester PlusBus (£3.50) for a total of £15.30, and you can use First Routes 25 and 26 (Thurcaston Road), or Arriva Routes 126 and 127 (Loughborough Road) to get to Leicester North station. Unfortunately all these routes leave from the city centre so you can either use a bus between the centre and the station, or walk (approx 10 minutes).

Prices quoted are correct as of now and rail fares are subject to increases at the beginning of January.

 

[Colin 2905]

For a day trip to the Great Central Railway, forget about going to Loughborough, as there is no day return fare from Birmingham and the period return is way over-priced for such a journey imo.

Thanks for the advice and all the links.

I guess that there must be trackwork scheduled for Sunday the 10th of March, and the few Sundays prior. When I look at the tickets on offer from BHM to LEI, it's a bus to Nuneaton first. If I end up staying in Birmingham for the entire time (ie; don't go to Germany), I'll definitely do the GCR trip on the Saturday.
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What I have in mind for Birmingham to Hartlepool is:

CrossCountry 10:30 BHM to York (arr 12:40), then

Grand Central 13:22 YRK to HPL (arr 14:23)

I figure that I should be able to pickup BHM to YRK advance tickets for £16.50 each, and YRK to HPL for £7 each, if I wait a bit longer.

The £16.50 advance tickets for BHM to YRK became available a couple of days ago (XC e-mailed me, too), but no sign of any advance tickets for the YRK to HPL leg (and I've been checking regularly). FWIW, no sign of any advance tickets for other GC journeys on 11/3/13 that I randomly checked, either.

There are, however, advance tickets available for the following two days. Does this mean that there won't be any for 11/3/13? Or are they sometimes released out of sequence, and may yet appear?

Never mind, they've since appeared. Maybe somebody is watching?

 

[Colin 2905]

I guess that there must be trackwork scheduled for Sunday the 10th of March, and the few Sundays prior. When I look at the tickets on offer from BHM to LEI, it's a bus to Nuneaton first. If I end up staying in Birmingham for the entire time (ie; don't go to Germany), I'll definitely do the GCR trip on the Saturday.

I will be going to Germany, coming back on Saturday night, so my GCR trip will have to be on the Sunday. But given the bustitution involved between BHM and LEI on the outward journey, I'm leaning towards BHM - LBO, even if it costs more.