Penzance to Wick by train

[generalvegitable]

I am investigating the possibility of doing the longest rail journey that I can think of, from lands end (penzance) to John O'Groats (Wick or Thurso) on the train, what I would like to know is the best route to take, the best ticket to travel on (I am 15 and I will be accompanied by an adult) and the best fare to pay, I could use an all line rover, but if there is a cheaper option of getting from Milton Keynes to Penzance then to Wick/Thurso then back to Milton Keynes I would be glad to hear about it.

If anyone can help me with the research, or places to go while on the journey it would be brilliant. Thanks in advance.

(please note that my spelling may not be perfect)

 

[clagmonster]

You could do it on advance singles I suppose. The cheapest possible would be £81.15, with a family railcard, but for that you would need to be very lucky with availability, and also book a long time in advance. A lot depends on whether you have any preferance as to routing, traction etc. It may also be possible to break it all up into many day singles, splitting at the likes of Plymouth, but I don't have the time to look at all the combinations.

 

[generalvegitable]

I don't mind much about the routing, or the traction, I wouldnt mind doing the scotrail sleeper or the XC from penzance to Dundee which is the vast majority of the journey

 

[Bittern]

Well, there's this.

01: Penzance to Edinburgh Waverley.
- 08:28 - CrossCountry Service from Penzance to Glasgow Central. - Arr. Edinburgh at 19:06.

02: Edinburgh Waverley - Inverness
- 19:35 - First ScotRail service from Edinburgh Waverley to Inverness. Arr. Inverness at 23:13

03: Inverness to Wick/Thurso:
- 07:06 First Scotrail service from Inverness - Wick. Arr. Thurso at 11:01 OR Arr. Wick at 11:32.

Unfortunetly, I don't know anything about tickets. I'm pretty new to this whole thing.

 

[generalvegitable]

woah! I don't intend to spend the nights on the train (except from a possible sleeper)

 

[Bittern]

It is only one possible route.

 

[John @ home]

I would like to know is the best route to take

Do you want the fastest route, the cheapest route, the shortest route or the most interesting route?

Or even - and this would be a challenge to calculate - the longest permitted route?

Once we know the journeys you want to make, then we can look at the best tickets.

Meanwhile, does the person who will be with you have a Family & Friends Railcard? If not, it may well be worth buying one before you turn 16 because it is valid for you to travel with them for the full 12 months, even after you turn 16.

 

[yorkie]

Advance Purchase will be cheapest, split into chunks, and via London to avoid XC's extortionate fares and awful mid-range DMUs.

Book as soon as they go on sale (generally 12 weeks in advance) to get a good deal, and go on a weekday!

The sleeper is worth considering, if you are lucky you may get a bargain berth.

 

[Max]

woah! I don't intend to spend the nights on the train (except from a possible sleeper)

Here are a couple of potential options, both involving sleepers:

Penzance 16:44 GW
Exeter St Davids 19:48

Exeter St Davids 19:54 GW
London Paddington 22:32

London Euston 23:50 SR Sleeper
Edinburgh 07:20

Edinburgh 08:33 SR
Inverness 11:54

Inverness 13:56 SR
Wick 18:15

---------------------------


Penzance 21:35 GW Sleeper
London Paddington 05:40

London Euston 08:30 VT
Glasgow Central 13:01

Walk from Glasgow Central to Glasgow Queen Street

Glasgow Queen Street 13:41 SR
Perth 14:36

Perth 14:54 SR
Inverness 17:05

Inverness 17:52 SR
Wick 22:14

Note though that both of these options would require a night over in Wick.

 

[DannyBoy]

Hi there,

I've tried my best to find a good journey for you to and from Milton Keynes, but its quite a tough one to plan. It has to be spread over 3 days, but fortunately, you would be on sleepers there and back for the 2 nights.

What I've found, on a normal weekday timetable, is:

Milton Keynes Central 08:21 - London Euston 09:11 (London Midland)
Tube from Euston to Paddington
London Paddington 10:06 - Penzance 15:11 (First Great Western)
Penzance 16:00 - Plymouth 17:59 (First Great Western)
Plymouth 18:25 - Birmingham New Street 22:06 (Cross Country)
Birmingham New Street 22:36 to Crewe 23:43 (London Midland)
Crewe 23:54 to Inverness 08:30 (First Scotrail Sleeper)
Inverness 10:38 to Wick 14:55 (First Scotrail)
Wick 16:00 to Inverness 20:10 (First Scotrail)
Inverness 20:38 to Crewe 05:38 (First Scotrail Sleeper)
Crewe 06:02 to Milton Keynes Central 07:12 (Virgin Trains)

It's do-able but I don't know whether youd be interested in that route.

Dan

 

[yorkie]

Why not wait until the next SRPS railtour? They tend to be roughly every 3 years or so I believe. Last time it was with 40145 and was brilliant.

Otherwise you'd get bored with the droning of a 158 and sealed windows. You can't even get a Valenta to Inverness any more! :cry:

 

[generalvegitable]

I'm fine on any train as long as there is o.k scenery and I have a travelling companion

I wouldn't mind if the journey was spread over a week, as long as I get a comfortable bed during the night.

I like DannyBoy's suggestion, but I would like to spend a bit more than 3/4 of an hour in Penzance I also like Max's suggestions because there are very few changes, and they allow for a stop over at each end of the route.

 

[me123]

OK scenary? You'll be treated to some of Scotland's finest, I can assure you! (Although I believe the WHL and Kyle lines are better).

If I were you, and of course if finances permitted, I'd be tempted to do an ALR. If you're going the length of the country, why not explore some along the way? Of course, I appreciate they're not exactly the cheapest things in the world! How about a Highland Rail Rover, though? You could easily go to Aberdeen, Kyle and Wick from a base in Inverness. You can also use the West Highland Line. I'd perhaps recommend going Inverness-Kyle-Armadale(Bus)-Mallaig(Ferry)-Glasgow or vice versa as services permit. This has the advantage of being included in your rail rover, and you get all the Far North stuff done in one go (I appreciate how hard it is to do from England; it's even difficult from Glasgow!). If you want to, you can also take time off and explore. Of course, you can combine this with sleepers and HSTs on AP tickets; you can travel to Inverness via Perth or via Aberdeen.

Just a thought.

 

[generalvegitable]

an idea for a ticket was the all line rover, we reckoned that the 1 week one would have been the best for the journey from MK to Penzance, then to Wick, then back to MK, the other consideration would then be the budget

 

[Sir_Clagalot]

Several of us during our Avantix training decided to see just what the system would allow us to do, with regards to biggest transaction.... Thurso to Penzance (or vice versa), First Open Return, 99 Adults, 99 Children and 99 'Animals and Attended Articles'... Nearly 100k!! Imagine the commission on that one!! Though for that many people it would no doubt be cheaper to charter something!!

 

[yorkie]

And yes I agree with Me123 some exploring, and via Aberdeen one way is worth considering.

Sadly it's not the same now without a Valenta

I really couldn't bring myself to do such a journey on anything but a railtour to be honest. SRPS run excellent railtours and they are so much better than an ALR. The atmosphere on railtours can't be beaten, they're so much more fun to do.

This is somewhere along the coast toward Aberdeen on a beautiful day on a (cheap) Freedom of Scotland Rover last Summer behind a Valenta. Great scenery indeed. I'd hate to be sealed inside a bloody 170/158 though.

And I also agree that other lines are more scenic than going to Wick. Mallaig is brilliant. A tour like this is infinitely better value than an overpriced ALR and you get behind a 37 too! Beats a unit every time. For the price of a standard ALR you can go to Czech republic for a week, get a 1st class rover and bash locos that sound almost identical to 37/9s and you can put your head out without anyone moaning at you and not suffer overcrowding. Not that I've done it but I've heard about it (and want to go there some day).

£300+ to suffer mostly DMUs to places like Wick really is not good value.

 

[DannyBoy]

I like DannyBoy's suggestion, but I would like to spend a bit more than 3/4 of an hour in Penzance I also like Max's suggestions because there are very few changes, and they allow for a stop over at each end of the route.

Well the journey I calculated from Milton Keynes to Penzance could always be earlier in the day, so you could have a few hours there. I just picked the later one, so it connected well.

Dan

 

[37401]

The atmosphere on railtours can't be beaten, they're so much more fun to do.

couldn`t agree more with that yorkie, as we`re on the topic of railtours may i recomend Spitfire Railtours, they are the cheapest and they offer a hellfire day out with hellfire traction

 

[generalvegitable]

I like spitfire railtours, I've travelled with them before, and the scenic route is always better than the quicker route in my opinion

 

[A60K]

Several of us during our Avantix training decided to see just what the system would allow us to do, with regards to biggest transaction.... Thurso to Penzance (or vice versa), First Open Return, 99 Adults, 99 Children and 99 'Animals and Attended Articles'... Nearly 100k!! Imagine the commission on that one!! Though for that many people it would no doubt be cheaper to charter something!!

A minute or two with Avantix Traveller produced this...

Wick - Penzance: First Anytime Return for 99 Adults and 99 Children = £118,354.50
Berwick on Tweed - Zone R1256 Ldn: First Class Annual Travelcard for 99 Adults and 99 Children = £4,565,483.90

And the skinflints don't give you Gold Card benefits for that, which you would get with a £132 Ryde Esplanade to Ryde St John's Road Annual

 

[37401]

A minute or two with Avantix Traveller produced this...

Wick - Penzance: First Anytime Return for 99 Adults and 99 Children = £118,354.50
Berwick on Tweed - Zone R1256 Ldn: First Class Annual Travelcard for 99 Adults and 99 Children = £4,565,483.90

And the skinflints don't give you Gold Card benefits for that, which you would get with a £132 Ryde Esplanade to Ryde St John's Road Annual

when i went to Fowey,Cornwall i did Par-Wick 1st class single for 8 adults it was over £6k

 

[clagmonster]

The first class open return would be £6288. Surely 8 all line first class rovers would be cheaper?

 

[will1337]

Via London is £400 cheaper because it's not priced by AXC.

 

[scrapy]

99 adults 99 kids kyle of lochalsh - newquay £135,506

 

[37401]

Via London is £400 cheaper because it's not priced by AXC.

too damn Right XC are way too expensive, 3 Adults (one with railcard) From BHM-PAR cost £300+ (Booked in advance :-x) just over £100 per person £75ish for the railcard holder for a bit more you could do an ALR and go anywhere you wanted to.

if i added up my joruneys over the past few Months i bet its much cheaper

BHM-York £10 (back in VXC days)
BHM-London EUS £60
5x West Mids DR`s £60(ish)

wow 7 journeys and its only about £30 more

 

[Jordy]

As interesting as this is can we try to remain a bit more on topic please

 

[mathmo]

The first class open return would be £6288. Surely 8 all line first class rovers would be cheaper?

A FOR is £797 on Avantix Traveller, compared to a 7-day First Class ALR at £650 (at new prices - currently £565). What is the point of such high fares?

 

[glynn80]

A FOR is £797 on Avantix Traveller, compared to a 7-day First Class ALR at £650 (at new prices - currently £565). What is the point of such high fares?

Remember the FOR is valid for return within one calendar month compared to the seven day validity of the ALR, still pretty expensive though.

 

[generalvegitable]

Via London is £400 cheaper because it's not priced by AXC.

thats why I would not going by XC