Hi,
Some time ago I posted a rediculous planning which would show me the inside of trains a lot.
The new planning is a little less in detail so we have more freedom. It generally is like this:
4 days London
-Sleep train to Fort William
6 days Scotland
- Fort William, from where I want to go mallaig and climb Ben Nevis
- Edinburgh
- Train allllll the way to the south of england (Exeter? or maybe Cardiff first) I don't know how doable this long trip is... maybe we need a stop?
5 days South-West England
- St.Ives or a similar place
- A national park (dartmoor or exmoor?)
- Recommended places?
1 day back to London to catch the plane
It is still quite short to do both Scotland and South England. What do you think?
skutt
1
gringito
on your way to Exeter stop in Bristol, see Bristol and Bath. The Lizard penisula in Cornwall (eps village of Coverak) is good but I think you would have to bus it from Penzance train station. Exmoor is nice but dont know if the trains around that area will accept Inter rail ( as its a Tourist track)
Still quite rushed, if you havent bought your pass yet I would go to Scotland (bus waaaay cheaper) maybe hire a car for few days to get out to more remote locactions
2
skutt
Thanks for the reply.
I read about Bristol and Bath, but forgot. Good point, I will include it in the planning.
What do you think of going (close) to Land's End or St. Ives, is it worth the valuable time? (since I have to go back to London)
You seem to be a Scotland fan, am I missing any big things?
3
gringito
Lands end is very touristy but St Ives is very, very nice. Im from the South West which is why Scotland sounds better.
4
jamesbenjamin
If you have not got your rail pass yet you may want to think about booking the tickets in advance The train line and mixing it with bus and flying from Edinburgh to S England, far cheeper and faster.
If you dont fly then think about Derbyshire or Lakedistrict on your way down from Scotland, I would chose them over Exmoor. It would also break your journey from Scotland.
You could even get a cheep flight from Edinburgh to Newquay (Cornwall) Flights from Scotland to Cornwall it would cost around £40 save you money and time. 1 night in Newquay, then bus to St Ives down the coast, train back to Bath and London.
I would think about flying more, it can be much cheeper than rail and obviously faster.
James
5
skutt
Because looking it up is quite time consuming and i'm at school. Could you please estimate how much it would cost to:
go from London to fort william by train
Retour fort william - Ben Nevis (train possible?/bus)
Retour fort william - mallaig
Single For William - Edinburgh
Plane single Edinburgh - Newquay
Single Bus to St.Ives
Single train to Bath
Single train to London
This way I can compare it to Interrail. Thanks for the good idea!
6
hillwalker
The sleeper from London to Fort William saves on a night's accommodation. You will need a day to go from Fort William to Mallaig and back and a day to climb Ben Nevis. If you have a rail pass you could go from Fort William to Mallaig, ferry across to Armadale on Skye and a shortish bus trip to Kyleakin via Broadford. From Kyleakin you could walk across the Skye Bridge to Kyle of Lochalsh (or take the bus). From Kyle of Lochalsh you can then catch the train to Inverness and then another train journey from there to Edinburgh. At least that way you will see more of the Scottish Highlands and not repeat the rail journey back to Fort William from Mallaig and the Fort William to Glasgow route. Obviously you need to go up Ben Nevis before leaving Fort William for Mallaig.
7
skutt
Good idea. To get it right:
day 1: Fort William - Ben Nevis
day 2: Fort William to Mallaig, ferry across to Armadale on Skye and a shortish bus trip to Kyleakin via Broadford. Sleep in Kyleakin
day 3: From Kyleakin you could walk across the Skye Bridge to Kyle of Lochalsh (or take the bus). From Kyle of Lochalsh you can then catch the train to Inverness. Sleep in Inverness
day 4: train journey from there to Edinburgh.
day 5: Edinburgh
day 6: Edinburgh
What do others think of this planning and my previous repley about the costs?
8
jamesbenjamin
Estimate if you mixed bus/train/plane (based on checking a few sites and having used the routes before, check yourself though!)
go from London to fort william by train / £80
Retour fort william - Ben Nevis (train possible?/bus) /Fort William is Walking distance from Ben Nevis base (Well 2 or 3 miles) taxi would be around £5
Retour fort william - mallaig Not sure
Single For William - /Edinburgh £30 (by bus from fortwilliam or £40 by train)
Plane single Edinburgh - /Newquay £44
Single Bus to St.Ives /under £10
Single train to Bath
Single train to London /Train ticket from St Ives to London Via Bath £60.
So about £240 and saves time with the flight. You can probably get it under £240 by playing with dates on diferent sites.
J
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