Need help on a route (Leamington Spa - Norwich)

[BestBipson]

Hey, me and someone I'm seeing are trying to figure out the best route for Leamington Spa to Norwich and Norwich back to Leamington Spa, having a bit of a mission with it.

For some reason it wants me to go from Leamington, to London, then up to Norwich which makes no sense at all. The best I've managed to come up with is going to a place like Nottingham from Leamington, then buying another ticket to Norwich.

Would consider a coach at this point too as it seems impossible to find a train route that doesn't cost well over 40 pounds even with a 16-25 railcard, does anybody have any ideas or routes to suggest?

It'll be on a weekday, most likely a Friday within the next two weeks if that's any help! Return is also needed, cheers.

 

[yorkie]

There are two routeings:

NOT LONDON
SVR £47.45 (Valid after 0930 M-F, any time weekends, return within 1 month)

+LONDON
SVR £54.45 (Restrictions apply in the morning into London and in the evening heading out of London)

Splitting is likely to be cheaper, but we can't advise unless you tell us whether it's a day trip or returning a different day.

When I've determined that, I will look at splitting both via and avoiding London...

 

[BestBipson]

Ah sorry, splitting is fine and will be returning on a different day, likely a Saturday or Sunday. Should also add booking for specific trains is also fine.

Thanks.

 

[bangor-toad]

Hi,
Nottingham <--> Norwich is one of the Megatrain pairs that does offer really cheap tickets. They seem to range between £1 and £12.50 each way depending on the day and time.

So, you could get a Leamington <--> Nottingham ticket for £21.50 (-minus any railcard discount) and then if you're lucky get the rest for £2 in total.

Good luck,
Jason

 

[Ivo]

For this route I would actually suggest looking into the X5 coach betwen Milton Keynes and Cambridge.

Leamington Spa - Milton Keynes Central (via Coventry): £13.60
Milton Keynes Central - Cambridge (X5 coach service): £11.50 (£10.90 day return)
Cambridge - Norwich (via Ely or Stowmarket): £13.20 (£9.50 day return)

In the event that either of you has an NUS card, you can get an extra ~20% off on the X5 journey (£8.65, or £8.10 for a day return). In the event that either of you has an English concessionary bus pass (however unlikely; some under 60s - like me for instance - do have them), the X5 follows standard concessionary procedures, so travel is free 09:30 to 23:00 weekdays and all day weekends and public holidays.

 

[dzug2]

You might need to add to that a bus from the X5 stop to the rail station and back in Cambridge - it's a bit of a long walk....

It might be worth looking at getting Chiltern from Leamington to Bicester North and picking up the X5 bus there

 

[Ivo]

It's a good point, but the coach works out more expensive that way, while the rail fare is roughly identical (only 85p difference). As for the bus, service Citi3 runs every ten minutes between Cambridge city centre and Cambridge rail station, and will probably cost about £1.50 for a single fare (I can't say for certain though).

 

[WestCountry]

As for the bus, service Citi3 runs every ten minutes between Cambridge city centre and Cambridge rail station

And Citi 1 & 7, also every 10 mins, so that's 18 bph. It's not actually that far anyway, you can walk it in 10-15 minutes or less, which is quicker than the bus in many cases.
Also, if you go via Nottingham it's best to reserve a seat, I've been unable to board the EMT services a couple of times (2 car 158s don't have enough capacity)

 

[BestBipson]

Thanks very much we are definitely going to be using some of these suggestions, will try the Megatrain deal first had no idea they existed.

 

[cuccir]

If you don't mind going via London then splitting a Leamington Spa - Ingatestone Super-Off Peak Return Route Banbury (£16.15) with advance singles Norwich - Ingatestone (many available for between £5.30 and £7.90 each way most days) should be easily under £30.