Next month we're off to our first gay wedding (as guests, stupid...!), in Edinburgh. I thought it might be a good idea to go by train. So I went to trainline.com, and got thoroughly confused between the trains in the timetable against completely different trains listed when actually about to buy the tickets.
And then I discovered that the cheapest return is £201.00 (although it did helpfully add that "two singles could be cheaper").
I checked GNER's website, which says this:
"There is engineering work taking place between Newcastle and Edinburgh. We will be providing a regular train service between Kings Cross and Newcastle/Leeds. Beyond Newcastle, we will be running an hourly train service to/from Edinburgh (via Carlisle). Replacement coach services will serve stations between Newcastle and Edinburgh on the East Coast Main Line. We will not be running train services to/from Glasgow or Motherwell; passengers are advised to use Virgin/First Scotrail services to/from Glasgow. We will be providing a coach service between Edinburgh and Motherwell and will continue to operate trains between Edinburgh and Aberdeen/Inverness."
Does that make any sense? Any idea how it would apply to us?
There was a glimmer of hope booking through GNER's own website, but after several pages of options selected, and the obligatory confirming of tedious and unreadable Ts & Cs, I was presented with the information that the journey up to Edinburgh would take nine hours (via Carlisle), leaving at half past five in the morning and getting us there just over an hour later than the start of the wedding; and the return journey next day a staggering thirteen hours (including the delightful prospect of a four-and-a-half hour wait at Crewe in the middle of the night):
Well in the end, of course, I decided to bugger the cost to the planet and I've booked flights with BA. Twenty minutes by train to Gatwick, hour-and-a-half flight, another twenty minutes into Edinburgh. Door to door within three-and-a-half hours.
Integrated transport system? Don't make me laugh.
And then I discovered that the cheapest return is £201.00 (although it did helpfully add that "two singles could be cheaper").
I checked GNER's website, which says this:
"There is engineering work taking place between Newcastle and Edinburgh. We will be providing a regular train service between Kings Cross and Newcastle/Leeds. Beyond Newcastle, we will be running an hourly train service to/from Edinburgh (via Carlisle). Replacement coach services will serve stations between Newcastle and Edinburgh on the East Coast Main Line. We will not be running train services to/from Glasgow or Motherwell; passengers are advised to use Virgin/First Scotrail services to/from Glasgow. We will be providing a coach service between Edinburgh and Motherwell and will continue to operate trains between Edinburgh and Aberdeen/Inverness."
Does that make any sense? Any idea how it would apply to us?
There was a glimmer of hope booking through GNER's own website, but after several pages of options selected, and the obligatory confirming of tedious and unreadable Ts & Cs, I was presented with the information that the journey up to Edinburgh would take nine hours (via Carlisle), leaving at half past five in the morning and getting us there just over an hour later than the start of the wedding; and the return journey next day a staggering thirteen hours (including the delightful prospect of a four-and-a-half hour wait at Crewe in the middle of the night):
| Station | Arr | Dep | Travel by | Service Provider |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EDINBURGH WAVERLEY | | 18:52 | Train | VIRGIN TRAINS |
| WIGAN NORTH WESTERN | 21:39 | 21:50 | Bus | VIRGIN TRAINS |
| CREWE | 23:20 | 04:02 | Train | VIRGIN TRAINS |
| BIRMINGHAM NEW STREET | 05:12 | 05:30 | Train | VIRGIN TRAINS |
| LONDON EUSTON | 07:08 | 07:08 | Tube* | |
| LONDON VICTORIA | 07:47 | 07:47 | Train | SOUTHERN |
| EAST CROYDON | 08:03 | | |
Well in the end, of course, I decided to bugger the cost to the planet and I've booked flights with BA. Twenty minutes by train to Gatwick, hour-and-a-half flight, another twenty minutes into Edinburgh. Door to door within three-and-a-half hours.
Integrated transport system? Don't make me laugh.
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