Chesterfield - Morecambe

[ANDYS]

Looking for a little advice.

Next week (don't know which day yet) I and my son may need to travel from CHD to MCM. We have a F&F railcard and the cheapest I can find is an Off-Peak return via Leeds (or Man Pic) at £37.40.

My preference is to travel via Man Pic - Lancaster but I do not mind which way really. Has anyone any advice about splitting to reduce this price?

Thanks in advance, Andy S

 

[John @ home]

Will you be making a day return or a period return?

 

[Blindtraveler]

I would suggest via Leeds if you want guarantee of a seat, bare in mind though that seat may be on a pacer part of the way

 

[ANDYS]

Thanks for the replies.

To answer your two questions:-

It will be a day return and I do not mind a Pacer. I have never travelled over the Settle Jcn - Lancaster route or the Morecambe branch so I do not mind going via Leeds. Me and my son enjoy the trip as much as getting to our destination. Have a look at our flickr site and you will see we will take pictures of anything that moves (units, locos, buses, planes) so any route / traction will do for us.

To be honest if no splits work than our trip will be a round one, out via Leeds and then back via Man Picc.

Thanks, Andy S

 

[Romilly]

Trainsplit.com suggests splitting at Manchester if you are travelling out after 0930 on flexible tickets and do not need to be returning during the evening peak: that gets the total down to just under £33.

Or, if travelling via Giggleswick in both directions, splits at Wakefield, and either Leeds or Keighley depending on time of travel, to get the total down to £34 to £35. There might be something to be said for the flexibility given by the through ticket given how small the saving is.

 

[ANDYS]

Thanks Romilly.

Like you said, the flexibility of a through ticket seems to be best. I think that is the one we are likely to go for. Me and my son have no huge need to get to Morecambe at a particular time. We are only going to see my wife's family hence the reason she is going by car and we are just tagging along on the train.

Cheers, Andy S

 

[SirAlf]

Don’t know whether this will help but when I’ve made that journey for football the cheapest was:

Drive to Grindleford or ticket from Chesterfield to Grindleford

Then Manchester Wayfarer, valid from Grindleford to Chorley

Then ticket from Chorley to Morecambe

 

[Romilly]

To put a price on that:

Chesterfield-Grindleford: 8.50 (1 adult + 1 child with family railcard)

Manchester Wayfarer: 12 + 6 = 18.00 (1 adult + 1 child: no railcard discounts)

Chorley-Morecambe: £9.20 (1 adult + 1 child with family railcard)

Total: £35.70

So not a big saving (in part because of the railcard discounts), and the added difficulty of possibly not being able to buy the Wayfarer at ticket offices outside the Wayfarer area. But I can see why it's a good idea for one adult travelling alone.

 

[ashworth]

I would certainly go for the flexibility of the through ticket. It's not worth all the effort just to save a couple of pounds and also tie yourself down to one particular route.

If I was doing that journey I would almost certainly travel via Leeds, especially if you have never done that route before. Its a lovely ride from Skipton to Lancaster through the edge of the Yorkshire Dales. I like the scenery on that route so much that I would travel both ways via Leeds. I never tire of travelling that way even on a pacer!

 

[ANDYS]

Thanks for all the advice everyone.

Ashworth, I think we will be doing the route as you suggest. My wife's family are from Bradford / Keighley and she has family in Morecambe so we have travelled the route on a number of occasions in the car. We have also had the odd holiday up there and I agree the countryside can be stunning and the pubs / food as good.

I have a few railway photos from the area:-

https://www.flickr.com/photos/66737297@N06/9535850885/in/photolist-fwDPaD-fwDJfa-fwU4Jb-fwTTco

I will keep my fingers crossed that the journey goes ahead.

Thanks all, Andy S


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