Yeovil Junction to Coventry Return Journey

[Kath123]

Hi All

I need to travel from Yeovil Junction to Coventry on Thursday 2nd July and return on Monday 6th July so I guess I will soon need to start thinking about what tickets to get.

From my research so far I’m thinking that I should change at Basingstoke - is that right?

If the above is right then I’m wondering whether to buy straightforward return tickets from Yeovil Junction to Coventry or whether it is a better option to buy from Yeovil Junction to Basingstoke and then a separate ticket from Basingstoke to Coventry?

I will be using my disabled persons railcard which I have due to being registered severely sight impaired. I will have someone travelling with me - they are elderly and have a muscle condition so sometimes struggle with their walking, how much their condition effects this can vary from day to day.

Any advice on fares/tickets/best routes much appreciated - thank you.

 

[Starmill]

If I were you I would start by plugging your dates and times of travel into www.trainsplit.com, I'm not affiliated with them, they're just a site I find so useful. Let us know how you get on. One railcard of this type covers both passengers, but you probably know that already.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 26 Mar 2026 ==

Oh and another thing that could be relevant, free assistance at stations can be arranged. If you book with Trainsplit they will guide you through arranging this. Alternatively you can arrange it independently wherever you may have booked, there's contact information here: https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/help-and-assistance/passenger-assist/

 

[Acathater]

Does your friend have her own railcard? If not, your disabled persons card should cover you both

Going via Basingstoke is almost certainly the best route, but be aware the Cross-Country services between Basingstoke and Birmingham can get extremely busy and overcrowded, with the aisles full of standees. Try and reserve seats close to the carriage doors, and if you have a dog with you that may be a problem simply due to lack of space

 

[The Ham]

You may well find that if you split at Banbury your ticket is cheaper (although as already been said use a website which does the work for you, just not the Trainline who will charge you for the privilege).

If you want a bit more comfort you maybe best to try and avoid XC services, although that does often mean that you can't book seats.

To do this SWR to Basingstoke, change to GWR service to Reading (edited from the incorrect Basingstoke), change to GWR service to Didcot or Oxford, change to GWR service to Banbury, change to a Chiltern service to Leamington Spa, change to LNR & WMR to Coventry.

Probably not ideal when traveling with someone with mobility issues, but I say it for others who might be wanting to find out information for a similar route.

 

[DelW]

....
To do this SWR to Basingstoke, change to GWR service to Basingstoke, change to GWR service to Didcot or Oxford, change to GWR service to Banbury, change to a Chiltern service to Leamington Spa, change to LNR & WMR to Coventry.
....

Just for clarity, that should read Reading!

While I agree with avoiding XC if at all possible, I'd suggest that going via London might be easier than all those changes, even with the Waterloo to Euston transfer. It's a pity that the Southern service from Clapham Junction no longer runs to Milton Keynes, which might have been another option.

 

[The Ham]

Just for clarity, that should read Reading!

While I agree with avoiding XC if at all possible, I'd suggest that going via London might be easier than all those changes, even with the Waterloo to Euston transfer. It's a pity that the Southern service from Clapham Junction no longer runs to Milton Keynes, which might have been another option.

Yes thanks, I'll correct that.

 

[Snow1964]

Yeovil to Coventry out 2nd July, return 6th July has multitude of fares and routes.

Depends if wanting cheapest, or spend more and be quicker

Can do it for £71.90 without railcard from Yeovil Junction via Exeter St David's and Birmingham New Street on 09:42 out, but takes nearly 5 hours.

If you started at Yeovil Pen Mill it is from £67.80 via Castle Cary and Reading (and quicker than above)

But of course it is easier to do one change at Basingstoke, although cheapest using this route is £72.30 (using this sites ticketing site at top of page)

 

[Starmill]

There's a very wide choice of different places you could change to make this journey, which is why I suggested taking an initial look at Trainsplit. If you do find something there which seems to meet your needs we can give you further information at that stage.

From the perspective of convenience you may prefer to just do a single change of train? As noted above, Basingstoke is an option for this.

 

[Kath123]

Hi Everyone

Many thanks for all the replies to this.

I’ve investigated the options further and at the moment I think I am preferring the option of going from Yeovil Junction and changing solely at Basingstoke.

I hear what people are saying that the CrossCountry services between Basingstoke and Coventry will be busy but presumably if I book this early I might be able to reserve seats for us?

I’ve become aware from this page on the National Rail website that the Advance Tickets are already available for Thursday 2nd July and Monday 6th July for CrossCountry but not on South Western? https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/travel-information/advance-booking-dates/

This leaves me with a bit of a dilemma. There seem to be some real good Advance singles currently available for the CrossCountry part of the journey eg with my disabled railcard paying £10.95 single each from Basingstoke to Coventry outward Thursday 2nd July leaving Basingstoke 13:50 getting to Coventry 15:28 and returning on 6th July from Coventry to Basingstoke leaving Coventry 11:26 arriving Basingstoke 13:09 also for £10:95 each.

I’m really tempted to snap these up but part of me is wondering whether I should wait until the South Western Advance fares are up for Yeovil Junction to Basingstoke (and back)? However the other part of me says to go ahead cos worse comes to the worst if there end up being no Advance Tickets from Yeovil Junction to Basingstoke (and back) for the trains we want we could just buy an Off Peak Return for that part of the journey each for £32.55?

Any advice and thoughts much appreciated!

 

[yorkie]

I would strongly advise booking this as one journey, with a through itinerary.

The forum's ticketing site will work out the optimal splits at the current time; if the current fare looks good, go for it. If you think you can do better by leaving it, by all means do that.

The forum's ticketing site will let you select your desired seats on XC, using the seat selector.

 

[Acathater]

Kath

just a thought - given your problems at Pen Mill, I take it you are familiar with the layout at Yeovil Junction - access being via a foot bridge?
There is a barrow crossing which in years past was available for use, but I believe it's now locked out of use?

 

[Kite159]

There is a barrow crossing which in years past was available for use, but I believe it's now locked out of use?

Barrow Crossing is still available for use, but requires a member of staff to unlock and call the signaller for a temporary line block