Can manned ticket offices sell you tickets between any two different stations ?

[General Zod]

For example if I was at my local station "A" could the manned ticket office sell me any of the range of tickets available between "B" and "C" where "B" and "C" are any two stations on the network ? I'll be doing a lot of travelling in the next week and would like to buy three sets of tickets all at once instead of having to queue up each time I go to a station. I assume if I do buy the tickets in advance for a specific date then the tickets will be printed with that date and the letter A indicating ADVANCE.

Thanks.

 

[cuccir]

With the exception of a few anomalies, the general answer is 'yes', you can buy any ticket at any station.

As for the advance question - tickets are printed with the relevant date or, for returns, the start date of travel on them (so on 11 August 2010 I can buy a ticket with 12 August 2010 on it). Any ticket can be purchased in advance, but an 'Advance Purchase' tickets are a specific ticket type which is (usually, but not always) discounted, but restricts you to travel on a particular train with no refunds available if you can't use the ticket. These have 'AP' printed on them.

 

[ainsworth74]

You can buy a ticket from station A for travel between stations B + C. You can also buy the full range of tickets avalible for travel between these two stations. If you buy an 'advance' ticket you will be issued with 2 coupons one will be a ticket (which will say Advance under the ticket type) and the other will be a seat reservation for the specific train that your advance ticket is valid on. You must bring both for travel.

 

[Matt Taylor]

I have a Cheshire day ranger that was purchased at Havant, and at Fareham ticket office I have often sold Edinburgh-Dundee' tickets to a guy that flies up from Southampton to Edinburgh.

 

[hairyhandedfool]

For example if I was at my local station "A" could the manned ticket office sell me any of the range of tickets available between "B" and "C" where "B" and "C" are any two stations on the network ? I'll be doing a lot of travelling in the next week and would like to buy three sets of tickets all at once instead of having to queue up each time I go to a station. I assume if I do buy the tickets in advance for a specific date then the tickets will be printed with that date and the letter A indicating ADVANCE.

Thanks.

You can get almost all tickets from a manned ticket office (there are exceptions - some tickets require special ticket stock for example), but it has only been true in the last few years, as the new generation of ticket machines have come into use. Before this, some stations were only equipt with SPORTIS machies like the guards/conductors carried around and were unable to issue 'Advance Purchase' tickets, those offices also tended to only have the regional fares manual, rather than all seven volumes.

They used to just put an 'A' on the end of the date to say it had been issued in advance, but they tend to highlight the date and print an issue date on the tickets now.

 

[General Zod]

Thanks gents. Some ambiguity in my original post. I don't want the cheaper "ADVANCE" tickets which come with seat reservations I would like Off Peak Day Returns and Off Peak Returns for journeys on future dates. Will these come printed with the date on which I intend to travel on that specific journey and the letter "A" besides the date ? My itinerary is fixed solid so I know the exact dates I will be travelling. For example if I go to my local station today and ask for a Off Peak Day Return for the 14th Aug between Lancaster and Ulverston will the ticket have "14thAugust A" printed on it ?
Edit : Thanks HHF you answered my question.

 

[wintonian]

It will have "14 Aug 10A" as the start date and "14 Aug 10" as the valid until date.