Once I get to Wales, I thought the first night could be spent in Conwy just because it will be a long trip, although it could be done at the end of my time in Wales before leaving for York. I’m not sure about the most efficient route and places for the night for my time in Snowdonia area. Here are some thoughts on possibilities:
I could go to Betws-y-Coed as I have heard there are nice walks there (1-2 hrs.), on to the Slate Caverns and take Ffestiniog Railway to see more of the park which would then go on to Porthmadog.
I could see Beaumaris and Caernarfon and possibly make a trip to Llanberis to see the Slate Museum. From there I could take the West Highland Railway and go all the way to Porthmadog or only as far as Beddgelert and get out there to do some walking such as to Abersglaslyn Gorge or along Llyn Dinas.
Any suggestions? Thank you so much!
Hiring a car in a couple of these places would seem to be a better option than waiting around for public transport.
From Heathrow to Moreton-in-Marsh, I would suggest taking the 'the Airline' coach from Heathrow to Oxford, and then getting a train from Oxford. This would avoid having to go into London. It's £23 one way from Heathrow to Oxford, which, whilst expensive, saves you the cost of having to get into london from heathrow. The bus station at Gloucester Green in Oxford is only 5 minutes walk from the station, and there are direct trains from Oxford.
You could also consider using Oxford as your base, rather than Moreton, or perhaps move between the two. Oxford itself is worth a visit if you've never been. And there are bus routes to the Cotswolds from Oxford, though perhaps Moreton-in-Marsh might be more suitable.
Hidcote Manor gardens are beautiful but it is very difficult to get to with public transport.
The best way to get to Moreton in Marsh from Heathrow is not to go into London (wrong direction, expensive) or even the railair bus to Reading (better, but a little expensive) but to get a local bus to Slough, and pick up the train to Moreton from there. All off peak trains to Moreton call at Slough.
£22.80 off peak single for the train - no advance booking needed, it doesn't save anything
The bus station at Gloucester Green in Oxford is only 5 minutes walk from the station
You must be a very fast walker- nearer 10, more with luggage
Thanks for the advice!
The problem I am having now is booking train tickets online. I live in the U.S. and do not have a credit card with chip/pin capability so I would not be able to use the machines at the stations to get my tickets and some places don't have machines anyway. I get conflicting info from different online train booking sites. Some tickets are off peak day single, some anytime day single and a few are advance which I know I have to buy now. Help!
The best solution might be not to buy any British tickets at all, just buy 1 "international" return ticket London-Edinburgh.
Let me explain!
London-Edinburgh is not an international journey(yet), however in Europe you can buy train tickets within country A(say Britain) in country B(say Hungary) for international tariff(SCIC-NRT).
The advantage of such tickets is that these are valid for 1 month, you can use any train, anytime and you can break your trip as often as you wish. Moreover in case of Britain you don't have to follow a specified route as only London-edinburgh will be written on your ticket. It's up to you to choose a logical route and as long as you're heading in the general direction of Edinburgh there should be nothing to worry about. You can think of it as a rail pass with a set route. Wales is out of the way, but Crewe(a railway junction) is OK and for your side trip to Wales you could just buy a North Wales Flexipass.
http://www.arrivatrainswales.co.uk/uploadedFiles/Wales%20Flexipass%202010%20English.pdf
Or you could drop Wales and go to the Lake District for hiking which is on the way to Scotland.
As with the London-Edinburgh ticket you can't just zig-zag around the country I recommend a following route:
London - Moreton - Worcester - Birmingham - Crewe(Do a side trip to North Wales if you wish) - Oxenholm(for the Lake District) - Carlisle - Edinburgh from Edinburgh come back to London via the east coast Edinburgh -Newcastle - Durham - York - London or you could even travel York - Doncaster -Lincoln -Peterborough - Ely - Cambridge - London
All you need to buy is just 1 ticket for your whole trip, and chances are itt'll be cheaper than buying several domestic tickets, anyway it's certainly more convenient.
The problem is that you can't buy such ticket in the USA as far as I know, nor in Britain of course, since you must buy it abroad as it is in theory an international ticket.
Your best bet is to contact a reliable European travel agency specialising in rail tickets and ask them if they can issue the ticket and send it by post.
I can recommend one agency in Berlin. The website is in German, but you can find their contacts and write them in English, no problem.
http://www.bahnagentur-schoeneberg.de/
here is the e-mail: info@bahnagentur-schoeneberg.de
Oh, I forgot to mention the price of the London-Edinburgh SCIC-NRT ticket is 160 EUR one-way, 202 EUR return
You might want to buy this guidebook specially written for travellers taking the train:
http://www.bradtguides.com/Book/495/Britain-from-the-Rails.html
Hope this helps!
Bon voyage!
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