Really bizarre routing suggested by the National Rail Enquiries app.

[eisenach]

I asked it for trains from Leominster to Grangetown, Cardiff. Easy. Get a train from Leominster to Central and change. Except the app doesn't shew that at all.
First suggestion:
10h16 Leominster to Hereford. Change.
10h39 Hereford to Worcester Foregate St.. Change.
12h00 Worcester Foregate to Oxford. Change.
13h37 Oxford to Didcot Parkway. Change.
13h56 Didcot to Cardiff Central. Change
15h31 Cardiff Central tp Grangetown. Arrive. Journey time: 5h19minutes.

The 14h16 departure from Leominster is even more bizarre.
Leominster -> Hereford -> Worcester Foregate St. -> Evesham (!) -> Worcester Shrub Hill (!!!!) -> Cheltenham -> Cardiff Central -> Grangetown.

All the suggestions are similar, not one for just down the Marches to Central and change once. How weird!

Please move this to another forum if it's badly placed.

I wanted a day return, but none available. Well, via those routes, you couldn't do it in a day!

 

[30907]

I can't replicate this for tomorrow or this weekend! What date are you using?

 

[eisenach]

Wednesday. It was on the Android app.

 

[eisenach]

I think National Rail may have been having some problems, because afterwards I couldn't get a return journey to Cardiff Central on the computer site, either. It was behaving most peculiarly.

 

[yorkie]

I can't replicate this on the website. Do you have a screenshot?

I wanted a day return, but none available. Well, via those routes, you couldn't do it in a day!

Just go straight to a booking site; NRE doesn't sell tickets anyway.

 

[adrock1976]

I think National Rail may have been having some problems, because afterwards I couldn't get a return journey to Cardiff Central on the computer site, either. It was behaving most peculiarly.

A quick question:

Have you previously used the National Rail Enquiries website recently, with a via point of Malvern or Worcester?

It has been mentioned in various threads over the years that it may be best to clear the cache of the cookies from the NRE website, as it can have a habit of bringing up strange results.

I would recommend as Yorkie has mentioned above to try any Train Operating company website to see if it brings up the direct route via Abergavenny.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I second this. If you put a via point in, it stays in - you have to take it out manually or it applies to all future searches too. I've had exactly this and this was the cause.

 

[eisenach]

I used it last week to plan a journey to London via Evesham, i.e. the direct train from Hereford rather than going via Newport, so that might explain it, however, my laptop browser is set to clear all cookies when it closes. I don't know how the Android app works.
The website is working normally for me this morning, and the Android app. seems to be behaving itself, now, too.
Thanks all for the information and tips. If you're not into forums, though, or not particularly IT savvy, it seems a bit user unfriendly!