Edinburgh

[Howardh]

Mid-June for a day trip on a Saturday. Very disappointed and surprised the last train back to Cumbria/Lancashire is before 7pm, OK I can work around that by going earlier but I wonder why there isn't a later train for tourism? Never been to Edinburgh Waverley which I'm looking forward to! Recommend any bars on or around the station??

Openstreetmap suggests a Brewdog at the station - but they are all closed now??

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Very disappointed and surprised the last train back to Cumbria/Lancashire is before 7pm, OK I can work around that by going earlier but I wonder why there isn't a later train for tourism?

Been like that for quite some time. Last two trains of the day on a Saturday from Edinburgh to Cumbria/Lancashire are, at present, usually the 18:11 TPE to Manchester Airport and the 18:52 Avanti to Birmingham New Street. Best not to miss them. Southbound WCML departures from Edinburgh during the week (and on Sundays) are a little later than that, but not significantly so.

 

[Iskra]

Mid-June for a day trip on a Saturday. Very disappointed and surprised the last train back to Cumbria/Lancashire is before 7pm, OK I can work around that by going earlier but I wonder why there isn't a later train for tourism? Never been to Edinburgh Waverley which I'm looking forward to! Recommend any bars on or around the station??

Openstreetmap suggests a Brewdog at the station - but they are all closed now??

Very few people choose to travel on a Saturday evening, most people are where they want to be on that key social night so there is little/no demand.

 

[The exile]

Very few people choose to travel on a Saturday evening, most people are where they want to be on that key social night so there is little/no demand.

And for the (non masochistic)“day out” market, a 7pm return is fairly reasonable return time, given the fact that it takes around 90 minutes to reach the first place if any size.

 

[mmh]

Very few people choose to travel on a Saturday evening, most people are where they want to be on that key social night so there is little/no demand.

That's reminded me of something some Network Rail spokesman said in the news when questioned about engineering closures.

"We find a lot fewer people travel at bank holidays."

Well yes, they won't if there aren't any trains. Not a massive surprise there's little/no demand for something that isn't provided.

 

[Howardh]

Very few people choose to travel on a Saturday evening, most people are where they want to be on that key social night so there is little/no demand.

Is that because there aren't any trains on?

 

[Iskra]

That's reminded me of something some Network Rail spokesman said in the news when questioned about engineering closures.

"We find a lot fewer people travel at bank holidays."

Well yes, they won't if there aren't any trains. Not a massive surprise there's little/no demand for something that isn't provided.

Is that because there aren't any trains on?

No, because the Motorway is also dead on a Saturday night. I suspect that North/South flights are the same, but I’ll let you two look into it…

 

[mmh]

No, because the Motorway is also dead on a Saturday night. I suspect that flights are the same, but I’ll let you two look into it…

I wonder what you can do on a Saturday night if you get the train home that you can't do if you drive home.

 

[Iskra]

I wonder what you can do on a Saturday night if you get the train home that you can't do if you drive home.

Appreciated, but that market is mainly focused on commuting into the local big city, not travelling between cities.

 

[The exile]

Appreciated, but that market is mainly focused on commuting into the local big city, not travelling between cities.

Leisure travel will tail off between the peaks of “day out” people returning home and “evening out” people going out (so about 7pm) and the “evening out” people coming home (so from 10pm onwards). It’s something you can see almost everywhere. Anything leaving Edinburgh at 22.30 won’t get to Carlisle until midnight.

 

[Howardh]

I wonder what you can do on a Saturday night if you get the train home that you can't do if you drive home.

if I get stranded because the last train lets me down, train to Glasgow and then walk to Buchannon St for the National Express (2145) gets me into Carlisle 2330. Rather not worry about that though, as long as tickets are available! Might just buy one in advance for just over a fiver as insurance.

Are things the same for the Edinburgh Festival over weekends?

 

[The exile]

if I get stranded because the last train lets me down, train to Glasgow and then walk to Buchannon St for the National Express (2145) gets me into Carlisle 2330. Rather not worry about that though, as long as tickets are available! Might just buy one in advance for just over a fiver as insurance.

Are things the same for the Edinburgh Festival over weekends?

I suspect the expected answer was "get plastered" (other expressions are available!)

 

[Iskra]

Leisure travel will tail off between the peaks of “day out” people returning home and “evening out” people going out (so about 7pm) and the “evening out” people coming home (so from 10pm onwards). It’s something you can see almost everywhere. Anything leaving Edinburgh at 22.30 won’t get to Carlisle until midnight.

I think you will find that it tails off much earlier on this corridor, I would say it completely dies off around 1630/1700 on the Lancaster-Carlisle-Scotland corridor and vice versa on a Saturday evening. It is a very sparsely populated area of the country.

 

[The exile]

I think you will find that it tails off much earlier on this corridor, I would say it completely dies off around 1630/1700 on the Lancaster-Carlisle-Scotland corridor and vice versa on a Saturday evening. It is a very sparsely populated area of the country.

Probably a feature of the length of journey before you get to a major population centre (and the resultant cost for a day out)

 

[route101]

if I get stranded because the last train lets me down, train to Glasgow and then walk to Buchannon St for the National Express (2145) gets me into Carlisle 2330. Rather not worry about that though, as long as tickets are available! Might just buy one in advance for just over a fiver as insurance.

Are things the same for the Edinburgh Festival over weekends?

The overnight National Express sell out usually and even a few days in advance.

 

[route101]

Not very helpful now, but there used to be TPE services later. There was one at after 8pm and before covid one after 10pm. Perhaps these were weekdays. I have seen the later services heading South busy with daytrippers heading home.

 

[mikeb42]

Are things the same for the Edinburgh Festival over weekends?

Yes, even during the festival the last Carlisle train is pre 19:00 on Saturdays and Sundays and weekdays are little better with a last train circa 20:00. Completely useless.

On weeknights at least, last year TPE put on a train to Carlisle during the festival which left Edinburgh at about 22:00. This was very useful to me, so with complete inevitability there's no sign of it being repeated this year. It seemed to be put on in a blaze of no publicity whatsoever. It's been given neither adequate publicity nor a chance to get established so the modest (but by no means zero) loadings I saw are no surprise.

Meanwhile the situation with Newcastle is quite different. Ordinarily the last trains are circa 22:00 weekdays and 21:00 Sat/Sun. During the festival it's 23:30 Sun-Fri inclusive and 22:00 Saturdays. I suppose this is because Newcastle and its hinterland has 8x the population of Carlisle and surrounds but it's still a stark discrepancy.

If you can get to Glasgow and don't mind a slow journey you can get to Carlisle by train at gone 21:00 Mon-Fri and (bizarrely) gone 22:00 on Sundays only, via Dumfries. Hopeless on Saturdays with a last train at about 19:00 though.

All very frustrating, so back to driving into Edinburgh city centre it is for daytrips to this year's festival when coming from the west side of the country.

 

[Trackman]

Never been to Edinburgh Waverley which I'm looking forward to! Recommend any bars on or around the station??

I know some good bars in Edinburgh, remembering them is a different matter - this is because my brother leads me astray especially on his Haymarket to Edinburgh pub crawls on foot.
I'd use Google Maps and read the trip advisor reviews.

 

[hexagon789]

Not very helpful now, but there used to be TPE services later. There was one at after 8pm and before covid one after 10pm. Perhaps these were weekdays. I have seen the later services heading South busy with daytrippers heading home.

There is still a 2012 Edinburgh to Manchester Airport Mon-Fri, in 2019 there was also a 2213.

In 2019 however, as now, the last service on a Saturday towards the North West of England was the 1852 to Birmingham New Street.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

There is still a 2012 Edinburgh to Manchester Airport Mon-Fri, in 2019 there was also a 2213.

In 2019 however, as now, the last service on a Saturday towards the North West of England was the 1852 to Birmingham New Street.

Indeed. There's still also a 20:14 Edinburgh->Manchester Airport TPE service running on a Sunday. That, and services which last ran pre-COVID, don't really help the OP who's planning a day trip up to Edinburgh (and back) on a Saturday in June this year.

 

[voyagerdude220]

Similarly I think it's very poor that the last direct train from Birmingham New Street to Preston is 19:07. There used to be a 21:07.

 

[Iskra]

Indeed. There's still also a 20:14 Edinburgh->Manchester Airport TPE service running on a Sunday. That, and services which last ran pre-COVID, don't really help the OP who's planning a day trip up to Edinburgh (and back) on a Saturday in June this year.

Which strongly hints at a lack of a demand on a Saturday…

 

[Amaranthe]

Mid-June for a day trip on a Saturday. Very disappointed and surprised the last train back to Cumbria/Lancashire is before 7pm, OK I can work around that by going earlier but I wonder why there isn't a later train for tourism? Never been to Edinburgh Waverley which I'm looking forward to! Recommend any bars on or around the station??

Openstreetmap suggests a Brewdog at the station - but they are all closed now??

I think the station Brewdog was one of the few to survive and if you don't mind a Spoons there is one at the top of the entrance/exit ramp.

 

[D6130]

I would recommend the Halfway House - up the Market Steps directly opposite the South entrance.

 

[Tetchytyke]

I can do pubs.

New town side, Cafe Royal and the Guildford Arms.

Old town side, The Advocate.

Not on the station, but only a stone’s throw.

 

[Tetchytyke]

Meanwhile the situation with Newcastle is quite different. Ordinarily the last trains are circa 22:00 weekdays and 21:00 Sat/Sun. During the festival it's 23:30 Sun-Fri inclusive and 22:00 Saturdays. I suppose this is because Newcastle and its hinterland has 8x the population of Carlisle and surrounds but it's still a stark discrepancy.

It also helps that both TPE and LNER use Heaton depot, so it’s easier to run later trains to Newcastle. Carlisle is a long way from anywhere.

 

[Howardh]

A lot to digest! Thanks for the pubs, I'm south of the station (old part?) for most of the day. My escape route if the Avanti is cancelled is 1900 > Newcastle then 2126> Carlisle, or across to Glasgow and hope there's a seat on the National Express!

 

[Falcon1200]

Carlisle is a long way from anywhere.

Indeed, also AFAIK neither Avanti nor TPE normally stable any trains at Carlisle, therefore any late services have to run much further south to clear the WCML; Which in turn reduces engineering access on Saturday night/Sunday morning, this being the only time of the week without overnight trains.

 

[enginedin]

Recommend any bars on or around the station??

Brewhemia (opposite the Market Street entrance) has a good range of beers

Alternatively, you'll be able to get on at Haymarket, so:

Teuchters is about a 5 min walk away
I know people who like Ryries (although I've never been in)

 

[Howardh]

Brewhemia (opposite the Market Street entrance) has a good range of beers

yes, that's on my pathway!