tours by train

[canadian]

Hello, I don't know if this is the right forum to ask, my husband and I are
planning a trip to the U.K. and we're thinking of a train tour. Can someone
recommend one? thanks.

 

[Harpers Tate]

Can you be clearer about what you are thinking?
Do you mean a one-day trip, or a several-day journey with hotel stops in between or..... (how many days)?
Do you want to visit any kind of place - scenic and historic cities; coastal resorts?
Do you want to "do" some scenic rail routes?
Using scheduled services, or do you want to try and find an organised tour or charter train? Luxury dining??
etc....

 

[canadian]

We wondered if we could take a week or more tour that includes hotels, is there
one that covers all the U.K?

 

[FQ]

There isn't a tour that covers the whole network but if you are after rail-tours always check out Pathfinder tours and West Coast Rail.

If you wanted to take service trains, it would be a lot of different trains.

 

[Ash Bridge]

We wondered if we could take a week or more tour that includes hotels, is there
one that covers all the U.K?

Other highly regarded rail tour companies which may offer the kind of itinerary you're looking for include,The Railway Touring Company and Statesman Rail. 3-7 day trips on a private charter train with meals taken onboard and also in hotels with overnight stays, check out TripAdvisor for reviews, not cheap, but you do get what you pay for. (I don't work for either btw,)

 

[canadian]

Thank you to all who gave suggestions. I'll check them out.

 

[DarloRich]

If you are wonderfully affluent try this:

http://www.belmond.com/royal-scotsman-train/

Luxury travel in Scotland

 

[Romilly]

I think using the train in Britain to get to interesting places, and to see the landscape in between, is much the best idea (as compared with car or bus). Personally, I prefer to book my own travel and accommodation, rather than being stuck with an itinerary designed by someone else.

So, assuming you would be flying into London, I would book a few nights in or near London to see the sights in or near London that interested me. Some famous destinations - Oxford, Cambridge, Ely, Canterbury and Salisbury for example - are easy day trips from London (journey times of under 90minutes each way). Same-day return train tickets for these destinations can be bought anytime before travel and do not require reservations and (subject to the exclusion of some peak-time trains) enable you to travel out and back on any train on the chosen day. For some of these destinations, it is possible to make a modest saving by buying "Advance" tickets (this is a type of ticket, and restricts you to travelling on the particular train(s) you reserved when booking - flexible tickets bought in advance are not "Advance" tickets) but for these destinations the saving is often not worth the loss of flexibility.

For travel further afield, it is possible to make considerable savings by booking "Advance" tickets. On any particular route, the cheapest Advance tickets are sold first, so it is useful to know that tickets are usually released for sale about 12 weeks ahead of travel.

For example, London to York takes 2 hours by train. York is a great place for a 2-day visit with an overnight stay, but equally is possible as a day-trip from London.

There are as many views about the most scenic British rail routes as there members of this Forum: some would vote for the journey down to Cornwall in the South West (particularly the section of line between Exeter and Plymouth), others for the section of line from Newcastle in North East England to Edinburgh in Scotland, others for the line from Shrewsbury through Wales to Swansea, others for the line from Newcastle-upon-Tyne to Carlisle (get off at Hexham for the town itself and local buses/taxis to Hadrian's Wall), others for the line from Settle to Carlisle (which is part of the scenic route from York to Glasgow or Edinburgh - stop off between Settle and Carlisle for rural upland England), others for the line from Edinburgh to Dundee (stop off at Leuchars for a shuttle bus to St Andrews), others for the line through the mountains from Glasgow to Fort William, and then to Mallaig for the ferry to the Isle of Skye (from Skye there are ferries to the Outer Hebrides islands of Lewis and Harris, and there is the road-bridge back to Kyle of Lochalsh for a train on to Inverness and mainline connections south and north), and others for ....

Some forum members have an interest in preserved (often steam-train operated) railways, so would use the national rail network to reach a preserved line (e.g. Grosmont on the line to Whitby to interchange with the North Yorkshire Moors Railway).

Others use the national rail network to escape to the countryside: Windermere station for the Lake District, Thirsk or Grosmont for the North Yorkshire Moors, Northallerton for Wensleydale, Darlington for Richmond (Yorkshire) and Swaledale, Moreton-in-Marsh for the Cotswolds, Knighton for Offa's Dyke, Matlock or Edale for the Peak District, "Hoveton & Wroxham" for the Norfolk Broads, Berwick-on-Tweed for a bus-link to Lindisfarne (aka Holy Island and separated from the mainland by a causeway covered by water at high-tide), and many many more.

 

[canadian]

Thanks Romilly for your suggestions. Gives me lots to think about. I have a few months yet to get tickets.

 

[306024]

I'm not a fares expert at all but I'm sure as a non UK resident you qualify to purchase a BritRail pass. There are all sorts of different types depending on where and how frequently you wish to travel so best just google it and see what you find.

You would have to work your journeys and accommodation out yourself but these days with the internet that is a lot easier than it used to be, and if you've the confidence part of the fun.

Whether that works out better value than looking for cheap advance purchase tickets by individual operators I couldn't say, you do need a university degree to understand how our privatised fares structure really works, but there is plenty of advice available on here.

 

[canadian]

Thanks again. i appreciate all the advice I've received. I won't be back, as I have nothing
to contribute, and know nothing of any of the topics.

 

[Harpers Tate]

You might take a look at:
https://www.greatrail.com/holiday-destinations/europe/england/

 

[canadian]

I decided to pop back in here to say that rather than a tour, I will be spending the first few days in London, and from here will be buying a Britrail flex pass, I looked at all the suggestions given me, and thought this is my best option.