Stevenage to Manchester Advance

[Sapphire Blue]

I have bought two Advance tickets from Stevenage to Manchester Piccadilly for next Saturday travelling via London.
The only booked seats for the journey are for the Euston to Piccadilly section when we are reserved on the 19.20 out of Euston.
My question is,
How early are we allowed to travel on the unreserved portion of the journey (ie from Stevenage to Kings Cross)

 

[John @ home]

How early are we allowed to travel on the unreserved portion of the journey (ie from Stevenage to Kings Cross)

The rules are:

The Manual -> Ticket Validities -> Advance fares - Frequently Asked Questions

Q25 - Can a passenger with an Advance ticket travel on an earlier connecting train?

A: Yes if it is non-reservable, no if it is reservable.

An exception that benefits passengers: Where East Coast is a connecting TOC from Stevenage via London and vice versa, e.g. “AP London Reading”, or “VWC & Connections”, East Coast waives the need to travel on the exact East Coast train booked on this relatively short journey Stevenage ↔ Kings Cross, even though retail systems will force a reservation to be made.

 

[RYS]

Are those rules specifically from the East Coast website? What if the OP decides to use FCC?

 

[VTPreston_Tez]

If it's a reserved seat ticket, you travel on that train.
It it's non-reserved and states so, you can travel on any train.
I would have considered going via York tbh.

 

[DaveNewcastle]

Are those rules specifically from the East Coast website?

No. John @ Home has quoted from The Manual, which governs retailling and procedures adopted by all TOCs.

What if the OP decides to use FCC?

The same conditions to the validity of Advance tickets will apply.

 

[Sapphire Blue]

If it's a reserved seat ticket, you travel on that train.
It it's non-reserved and states so, you can travel on any train.
I would have considered going via York tbh.

Erm . . .
I want to travel via London. I just want more time in the capital that would seem necessary to some people.

Thank you John@Home for your succinct reply.

 

[island]

However, you are not permitted to break your journey on an advance ticket. So if you planned to go into London in the morning, faff about for a bit, and carry on to Manchester in the evening, that's not allowed.

Note that it does not count as breaking your journey to use station facilities, change trains (including walking between stations, which is one valid way of getting from Kings Cross to Euston), or comply with the instructions of staff.

I will leave it as an exercise to the reader to determine the enforceability of this.

 

[RJ]

No. John @ Home has quoted from The Manual, which governs retailling and procedures adopted by all TOCs.
The same conditions to the validity of Advance tickets will apply.

It's advisory and I'd suggest quoting from sources that anyone can access (legitimately.)

 

[hairyhandedfool]

A ticket routed '& Connections', as an advance ticket from Stevenage to Manchester would be, is valid on "any connecting service that can be shown on a valid travel itinerary" [Advance ticket terms and conditions, which should be available on any ticket selling website and NRES].

In most cases, so long as the connection time is not excessive, few would question an earlier train.