durham to manchester picadilly 8/10/10

[martinw]

hello there, i hope my first post does not sound like a rude one but a freind of mine off an other forum has sgested i join this form and i may be able to get some points in the right direction

im taking my wife to manchester this friday for our 5th wedding aniversary and thought we would travel by train for a change, anyhow i have tried 2 or 3 websites and im getting a vriary of prices from £100 to £270 returnhock:

here are the travel details

!) depart fron Durham station to manchester picadilly between 10.00am and 11.30am friday the 8th october

2) return saturday 9th october between 1.00pm and 2.00pm from manchester picadilly to durham station

any hints on where to look or a way of reducing prices would be very much appreciated as i cant justify not taking the car at this price and would prefer to go on the train

many thanks

martin

 

[John @ home]

Assuming neither of you have a Railcard, are either of you a full-time student, or aged under 26, or 55 or over?

 

[martinw]

hello there

unfortunatley its a no to all of those questions, were mids thirties. im hoping that right at the end the prices may go down but knowing my luck they will go up. seems realy strange that the 3 websites that i have been on are all quoting quite different charges for the same times/dates but all appear to be using the same data/website infastructure. got chance of ticket last night for me and the wife for £100 and didnt wether to book it or not? its quite a gamble this ticket booking

 

[wellhouse]

Try http://tickets.eastcoast.co.uk

Outward Advance Standard tickets available (for 2) at 0927 (£44.00) or 1144 (£46.00)
Return Advance Standard tickets available (for 2) at 0826 (£44.00) or 1227 (£44.00)

Slightly outside your preferred times, but return fares for 2 from £88.00, as long as you appreciate that on Advance tickets you can travel only on those trains.

 

[sprinterguy]

Splitting the ticket at York, without having to change trains, saves a lot of money. Just using direct Transpennine Express trains, and there may be cheaper ways of doing it by using more circuitous routes, then the cheapest figure I can come out with is £92 total for the two of you.

Outward October 8th:
Durham (10:27) to York (Arrive 11:21): £15.50
York (11:28, same train) to Manchester Piccadilly (Arrive 12:49): £8.50
£24 each

Return October 9th:
Manchester Piccadilly (13:27) to Durham (Arrive 15:50): £22 each

This saves £12 on the price of two Off Peak Returns, which isn’t a great deal but it is something, I’m sure someone will be able to do better.

 

[cuccir]

hello there

unfortunatley its a no to all of those questions, were mids thirties. im hoping that right at the end the prices may go down but knowing my luck they will go up. seems realy strange that the 3 websites that i have been on are all quoting quite different charges for the same times/dates but all appear to be using the same data/website infastructure. got chance of ticket last night for me and the wife for £100 and didnt wether to book it or not? its quite a gamble this ticket booking

Prices don't go down I'm afraid - the cheaper tickets are issued as a quota for each train and when they are gone, they're gone.

An Off-Peak Return is £104 (total) and is valid for you on all trains at the times you want to travel (in fact you can use it Friday for the 07:12 from Durham onwards, and all Saturday). You can also buy this on the day from Durham station if you want.

By booking advance tickets, as suggested by Wellhouse, you can do it for £88, but you're restricted to the booked trains (the 09:27 or 11:47 out and the 13:27 return are your best bets based on the times that you give). You can do this at east coast's website, or pop up to the station.

 

[martinw]

cheers for that folks, right will be booking up/making decisions tonight (well the wife will be as im mentally spent)

 

[sonic2009]

cheers for that folks, right will be booking up/making decisions tonight (well the wife will be as im mentally spent)

Before you do book, if this is allowed a ticket many people kno of, but don't want certain people I.e railway officals to kno, I will private message u abt it..

 

[Chapeltom]

I know exactly which one that is as well

 

[sonic2009]

I know exactly which one that is as well

The one from middlesborough?