These (£28.90) are the cheapest through fares at the current level, and you will have to pay this twice, at least, because Advance fares are only available as singles. These fares include the F&F Railcard discount and is the total price for two adults and two children travelling together.
The cheapest flexible through fare as quoted above is the £170.40
Off-Peak Return and is the total Railcard discounted price for the whole party. You only pay this once as it is obviously a return fare.
Contrary to what the name suggests, this fare has restriction code 8X and is therefore valid for travel at almost all times (except those scheduled to depart before 0500 on Mondays to Fridays).
You need to be aware that there will be a major fares revision in January where they will go up by an average of 8%.
The
Off-Peak Return fare is routed "Any Permitted". The permitted routes are determined by a document called the "National Routeing Guide", available
here. This is the only routeing available on through fares for walk-on flexible tickets. Advance fares are available routed "VWC & Connections", "XC Only" or "XC & Connections". You must travel on booked trains and appropriate connecting services only.
The above applies to through fares only. There might be cheaper fares by using a number of techniques such as splitting or going via an esoteric route, to name a few.
