Is there any way to split London – Edinburgh?

[super_sprinter]

Hi all

Last year I had a pretty reasonable journey from King's Cross to Edinburgh for the festival, as I booked well in advance.
However, it is looking a bit more last minute this year, so I was wondering if there's any way to split the journey and save a bit of money?
Trainsplit didn't come up with anything and the lowest fare I could find for my journeys (out on 13th Aug and back on 17th) was £135.00 return on the direct service.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Esker-pades]

I've often tried, but fares are very weird. Newark to Edinburgh costs more than London to Edinburgh. Splitting at Darlington might work.

The 7am from London is pretty cheap. I got it ~1 month in advance for £23 with railcard.

It's also worth checking prices to Euston. They can be very cheap, if one travels on the right one.

 

[CaptainHaddock]

You could maybe go Grand Central from King's Cross to Doncaster for £35.40 return, departing 13/8 at 1052, returning 17/8 at 1622. I haven't time to check fares north of Doncaster but I would hope Doncaster to Edinburgh and back would be less than £100!

 

[OwlMan]

You could maybe go Grand Central from King's Cross to Doncaster for £35.40 return, departing 13/8 at 1052, returning 17/8 at 1622. I haven't time to check fares north of Doncaster but I would hope Doncaster to Edinburgh and back would be less than £100!

£108.55 for an off-peak return

 

[RJ]

In general it's difficult to beat the price on long distance SVRs and SSRs. You might have to brush up on the National Routeing Guide and take advantage of some generous permitted routes or other pricing anomalies to achieve this.

 

[Merseysider]

Save £65 or so and pollute the environment by flying.

Flights come to £50 and your transfers shouldn’t be more than £20.

Skyscanner will show you a few options.

 

[Gareth Marston]

LNWR to Crewe and then VTWC to EDB if you book far enough in advance in theory you could do it for less than 50 quid.

 

[Chrism20]

Best bet is usually Euston to Edinburgh which can be done for £60 - £65 return if booked early although it may be more expensive now its nearer the festival.

I’ve had the 1043 northbound for £30 several times this year

Most of the southbounds can be got in advance for £30 - £35. The 0851 though is a double voyager during the week, the rest are pendolinos except the 1852 which only goes to New St anyway.

Northbound during the week the 1243 and the 1643 are voyagers and are usually more expensive.

 

[super_sprinter]

Thanks all for the suggestions.
I ended up booking the trip fairly late, but managed to get a couple of Advances for £70.50 each.
Seatfrog worked for an upgrade to first class on the outward journey, which was nice. Saying that, I had a pretty comfortable journey on the way back in Standard, so all worked out well.

 

[Chrism20]

Thanks all for the suggestions.
I ended up booking the trip fairly late, but managed to get a couple of Advances for £70.50 each.
Seatfrog worked for an upgrade to first class on the outward journey, which was nice. Saying that, I had a pretty comfortable journey on the way back in Standard, so all worked out well.

Out of curiosity how much was your winning bid on seat frog and what service was it on?

I think you are only about the third or fourth person I've heard of having success with seat frog.

 

[super_sprinter]

Out of curiosity how much was your winning bid on seat frog and what service was it on?

I think you are only about the third or fourth person I've heard of having success with seat frog.

I travelled on the 1530 King's Cross – Glasgow Central, arriving at Waverley at 2013. I did the bid the night before and I was the only bidder. The price on offer was £16, and that was what I bid and paid. I was allocated a seat in Coach M, and had a 4-seat table to myself. Incidentally, all the seats on the table I was sitting at were marked Reserved King's Cross - Glasgow SEATFROG, so I assume that there were at least 4 seats on this service that they had set aside for Seatfrog. Coach M was not busy at all.

Nothing on the journey back, but that was unsurprising, as the 1230 Edinburgh – King's Cross was full.