Routing/Ticketing advice, Grimsby to Farnborough

[DeeGee]

Can the collective mind here help me with a routing query, please?

I think I've understood the routing guide...

I want to do the following itinerary, just me, no railcard:
Fri: Grimsby to Reading, arriving late into Reading then overnight in Reading;
Sat: thence on to Farnborough in the morning, but not too early, and back to Reading in the day, stay in Reading;
Sun: Reading to Grimsby.

I believe a ticket from Grimsby Town to Farnborough North is valid via Wokingham, and therefore in the good old days it would be possible to do this journey on an off-peak return from GMB-Farnborough North, as I would arrive at Reading late enough to justify an overnight break of Journey before continuing my journey on the Saturday morning, and I could use the return portion of the ticket over the next calendar month, allowing me to have a decent evening's break in Reading and a leisurely start to the day.

I also believe that such a ticket would have been valid via Birmingham and Derby, as well as via London. [Habrough Wokingham LONDON BG+RB DG+RB RH SH+RY]

I also believe that this would not be possible now with LNER's policy of only selling singles, as the return journey would be taken over too long a period.

Have I read this correctly?

Is there now any combination of tickets other than Grimsby Town to Reading single, Reading to Farnborough Day return, and Reading to Grimsby Town single that would allow me to make this itinerary via either London or Birmingham? To be fair, the Birmingham option isn't a deal-breaker, but I'd like the chance to ride around for a bit on the Sunday. Just it looks like it's the same price from Grimsby to Reading as from Grimsby to Farnborough, so I'm thinking of value.

 

[kieron]

There are other combinations of tickets (anytime singles each way between Grimsby and Farnborough would work), but I don't know of any return tickets which would let you travel via either London or Birmingham to Farnborough via Reading,

Just to clarify, is your position that the journey on Friday needs to be via London, and the Sunday one could go either way, but you'd prefer if it was via Birmingham?

 

[DeeGee]

I believe that timing on the Friday night is such that a route via London as far as Reading would be considerably better, but the Sunday journey home would be a more leisurely one via a different route. The date I was thinking of has engineering works between Lincoln and Newark, and therefore the via Birmingham route would be via Sheffield. I'd like the freedom to break journey as the mood takes me.

 

[pwharley]

I believe a ticket from Grimsby Town to Farnborough North is valid via Wokingham, and therefore in the good old days it would be possible to do this journey on an off-peak return from GMB-Farnborough North, as I would arrive at Reading late enough to justify an overnight break of Journey before continuing my journey on the Saturday morning, and I could use the return portion of the ticket over the next calendar month, allowing me to have a decent evening's break in Reading and a leisurely start to the day.

I also believe that such a ticket would have been valid via Birmingham and Derby, as well as via London. [Habrough Wokingham LONDON BG+RB DG+RB RH SH+RY]

I also believe that this would not be possible now with LNER's policy of only selling singles, as the return journey would be taken over too long a period.

Have I read this correctly?

LNER control the fares between Grimsby and Farnborough so, as you say, you can no longer purchase a return ticket.

Is there now any combination of tickets other than Grimsby Town to Reading single, Reading to Farnborough Day return, and Reading to Grimsby Town single that would allow me to make this itinerary via either London or Birmingham? To be fair, the Birmingham option isn't a deal-breaker, but I'd like the chance to ride around for a bit on the Sunday. Just it looks like it's the same price from Grimsby to Reading as from Grimsby to Farnborough, so I'm thinking of value.

If you're willing to travel via Birmingham out and back, get an off-peak return Grimsby-Doncaster (fare set by TPE - £29.60) and then a (not-via-London) off-peak return Doncaster-Farnborough (fare set by XC - £134.90). The latter will give you the flexibility to break your journey at Reading in both directions.

 

[kieron]

Grimsby-Farnborough, Farnborough-Reading & Reading-Grimsby singles would cost £151.40 in total. If you know which trains you need on the way out, you may be able to save further with an Advance ticket.

I've sent you a message with a couple of other suggestions, but I didn't find any major savings.

 

[DeeGee]

Grimsby-Farnborough, Farnborough-Reading & Reading-Grimsby singles would cost £151.40 in total. If you know which trains you need on the way out, you may be able to save further with an Advance ticket.

I've sent you a message with a couple of other suggestions, but I didn't find any major savings.

Thanks!