Britrail pass?

[Firetacoma]

I'm appreciative of all the advice! I think the newest plan is to take a train from London to Newcastle. Rent a car there, drive to Chirnside for a couple days, drive to Edinburgh, hang out there for a few days, go to St. Andrew's, go to Inverness, loch ness and all that, and then drive back to Newcastle, return the car and take the train back to London.

But perhaps return the car in Edinburgh and take the train to St. Andrew's and on to Inverness? A lot we just want to play by ear when we get there, but I'd at least like to know what sorts of options we have!

[Phil]

I'm appreciative of all the advice! I think the newest plan is to take a train from London to Newcastle. Rent a car there, drive to Chirnside for a couple days, drive to Edinburgh, hang out there for a few days, go to St. Andrew's, go to Inverness, loch ness and all that, and then drive back to Newcastle, return the car and take the train back to London.

But perhaps return the car in Edinburgh and take the train to St. Andrew's and on to Inverness? A lot we just want to play by ear when we get there, but I'd at least like to know what sorts of options we have!

There is no train service to St. Andrews - the nearest train stop is Leuchars and then you have to catch a bus from there to St. Andrews. I don't know if every train stops there so you might have to ask when getting a ticket. Similarly Chirnside and the Borders have no train service so it is definitely either a bus or car to go anywhere there. The train from Edinburgh to Inverness takes about 3.5 hours, longer if it stops in Perth. As Jock says, Loch Ness is completely devoid of trains although you should be able to get a bus from Inverness to Fort William and a train from there. I don't know how frequent a service it is or where you would go to catch a bus. It does mean, of course, that you cannot stop or explore any areas. Unless you have business in Newcastle you would be better taking the train all the way to Edinburgh, hire a car there and drive to Chirnside. The A1, particularly south of the border is not a road for the unwary tourist - mostly one lane in each direction, carrying heavy traffic and is notorious for the number of fatal accidents. They even have lots of signs at the roadside informing you how many fatalities!

[Firetacoma]

Thanks phil!

That's just the sort of insider information that I was looking for!

I should have mentioned that we plan to fill in with buses if we end up going the no rental route. I've been to Chirnside once before actually... but only for a couple of hours (the extent of my time ever in Scotland).

[McClef]

[QUOTE=Firetacoma;689211The wrong side of the road thing scares me a tad...[/QUOTE]

It is the correct side of the road actually!

It should only be scary if you insisted upon continuing to drive on the right over here!

I am a little behind with the latest information but I used to work for National Rail Enquiries here in the UK.

If you decide to go for the pass please remember that it cannot be bought once over here and must be obtained before departure for the UK.

Full information can be found at http://www.britrail.com/ .

[Firetacoma]

If I drive, I'll give in and drive on the conventional side... reluctantly.

Looking at the fares on the britrail site, they seem quite a bit higher for the same trips than the national rail enquiries site... any reason why that may be?

[Phil]

If I drive, I'll give in and drive on the conventional side... reluctantly.

Looking at the fares on the britrail site, they seem quite a bit higher for the same trips than the national rail enquiries site... any reason why that may be?

Rail fares in Britain are a totally incomprehensible subject and I am sure even McClef who used to work in that field (by his own admission) will be totally bamboozled by their complexity. This website will give you some clues - http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/tra...-train-tickets - but I have found that buying a ticket one-way is cheaper than a round-trip for instance.

[McClef]

Fares are supposed to be less complex than they used to be and there are supposed to be fewer ticket choices.

The system is based upon peak and off peak journeys which explains why fares can appear different and also as to whether one books in advance which requires committing to a particular train whereas other tickets allow more flexibility.

The Britrail passes allow one to travel on peak as well as off peak services so their price means that they should be contrasted with the cost of peak journeys if the tickets were bought separately.

The Anytime fare from London to Inverness for example is £159.50 single but travelling on the 12.00 direct service you are off peak at £124.00 and booked in advance could be obtained for £62.50.

These days quite frankly it can be cheaper to fly!