Winchester to Lerwick (out of my mind?)

[wintonian]

One of my madder ideas, I have the opportunity to do some work in Lerwick on the 15th Dec and am looking for a reasonably priced way of getting there.

I have a disabled railcard am flexible and would need to spend the night of the 15th on the island - not that it makes much diffidence for a trip of this length.

Ideally I would railsail it but would fly if cheaper or possibly if not much difference, however just looking at the Flybe flights (connecting with Loganair) it wouldn't cost much more to go to Delhi!

 

[SickyNicky]

I seem to recall that Aberdeen to Lerwick is 14.5 hours by ferry and costs around £50 return. Much more if you want a cabin.

I suppose you could combine that with an AP to Aberdeen, or even a sleeper bargain berth, if you can find one?

 

[PaulLothian]

It probably depends how precise your timings need to be for your work - I have several friends' stories involving Shetland ferries not being able to get into port in severe storms. The longest delay I have heard of was 36 hours being thrown around outside Aberdeen...

 

[globetrotter]

BE don't seem to offer any through fares to Lerwick (LSI).

What you can do is fly from Gatwick to Aberdeen (£114 return leaving 14th returning 16th, for example) or Southampton to Aberdeen via Manchester for more money. Or there are various other combinations all on BE that might be possible via Edinburgh or Glasgow. And you might fly out of LGW and return to SOU for example.

Then Aberdeen to Lerwick on 14th returning on 16th is from £179. The problem pricewise is getting to Sumburgh from the mainland, but rather you than me on a ferry in December.

So you appear to need two tickets - one to Scotland and one from Scotland to Sumburgh.

By careful choice of flights and routes you can get either to/from Gatwick or Southampton by train and arrive in Sumburgh or return from there the same day, while still making train connections. But as you say the total price is huge by the time you've factored in train fares as well as flights.

If you need more suggestions on flights you can PM me with specific details of when you'd like to arrive in Sumburgh and when you'd like to leave and how much flexibility you have.

 

[cuccir]

Loganair's farefinder throws up a lot of £57.99 one way tickets Aberdeen-Sumburgh around the date of travel, with the return leg at £68.14.

 

[AlterEgo]

Loganair's farefinder throws up a lot of £57.99 one way tickets Aberdeen-Sumburgh around the date of travel, with the return leg at £68.14.

Was just about to suggest this. The plane will be far more convenient than a 14-hour ferry trip.

 

[sonic2009]

Looking @ skyscanner it offers fares of £211 multiple bookings with easyjet + flybe from London Luton but requires a 10hr wait in Abderdeen ouch. And on return you travel back via Inverness but only a 2hr 40min wait.

 

[cuccir]

As for Winchester - Aberdeen: East Coast have a lot of AP tickets priced between £29 and £45 each way with your railcard each way. Easyjet will do you a return from Gatwick for under £60, though you might need to pay for luggage etc., and obviously you'd have to get to Gatwick. For a semi-flexible rail ticket, a super off-peak return is £99.85 Winchester-Aberdeen.

 

[bb21]

There are fares from Inverness (but not Aberdeen) to Lerwick routed Any Permitted.

I have no idea what they are supposed to be valid on but the fares are £52.70 SDS, £91.50 SVR or £97.00 SOR.

 

[SickyNicky]

There are fares from Inverness (but not Aberdeen) to Lerwick routed Any Permitted.

I have no idea what they are supposed to be valid on but the fares are £52.70 SDS, £91.50 SVR or £97.00 SOR.

Good spot - and from Glasgow and Edinburgh as well. But no DSB discount :cry:

 

[wintonian]

Thanks guys.

There are fares from Inverness (but not Aberdeen) to Lerwick routed Any Permitted.

I have no idea what they are supposed to be valid on but the fares are £52.70 SDS, £91.50 SVR or £97.00 SOR.

Valid on Northlink Ferries so that will be Aberdeen.

So far it looks like the best option is fly from Gatwick to Aberdeen (£60 is return) and ferry (£88 ish return with birth) plus £23.05 to Gatwick.

or £100 ish to Aberdeen on the train and then the ferry.

Flights from Aberdeen weigh in at about £120 return, but I could fly one way and sail the other.

 

[island]

BE don't seem to offer any through fares to Lerwick (LSI).

You seem to have your airport codes in a muddle. BE is FlyBe (dubbed FlyMayBe by some wags due to some cancellations). BD is British Midland International.

 

[jamesontheroad]

I don't understand why FlyBe.com doesn't offer Southampton to Lerwick; I'm pretty certain there are daily connections possible at either Glasgow or Edinburgh. Try calling FlyBe direct on 01392 268500 and check it isn't just a bug on the website.

 

[wintonian]

I don't understand why FlyBe.com doesn't offer Southampton to Lerwick; I'm pretty certain there are daily connections possible at either Glasgow or Edinburgh. Try calling FlyBe direct on 01392 268500 and check it isn't just a bug on the website.

They do at £247 each way! hock:

 

[Mark_re]

As it happens, I actually did Winchester - Lerwick quite a few times. I used to pop down to Southampton Airport and then flybe to Sumburgh via Edinburgh, inevitably returning via Glasgow. I'd hire a car at Sumburgh and then drive up, but I'm sure you could catch a bus/taxi.

I'm not sure how much the flight was as work were paying, but it can't have been much more than £250rtn. I guess it depends on the oil shifts - sometimes the Sumburgh leg would be full of oil workers, other times it would be deserted. That must affect the price.

 

[jamesontheroad]

Ho hum. Yes, any cash fare on a Loganair flight is going to be high. If you have any FlyBe Reward4All points, they are particularly valuable for redemptions on Loganair-operated routes. Flight taxes are heavily subsidised in Scotland, so if you can use points to pay for the fare the taxes aren't that much. I traveled GLA-LSI-GLA this summer and it was only £35 taxes + 16 FlyBe points instead of about £300.

 

[Gerald Fiennes]

There is indeed no through fare from Aberdeen to Lerwick but there is from Dyce or Montrose, in another quirk of the railway's amazing fares system! No DSB discount via Avantix but I expect you might be able to get something off the Dyce - Aberdeen section if you booked via a Scotrail booking office in practice, ie. a manual reduction!!

 

[SickyNicky]

There is indeed no through fare from Aberdeen to Lerwick but there is from Dyce or Montrose, in another quirk of the railway's amazing fares system! No DSB discount via Avantix but I expect you might be able to get something off the Dyce - Aberdeen section if you booked via a Scotrail booking office in practice, ie. a manual reduction!!

In that case, with the current basic return passenger rate for the Northlink ferry being £46.80, it's probably cheaper to get a DSB-discounted advance to Aberdeen and then buy the ferry tickets separately.

Not sure I'd fancy 29 hours of ferry in December though

 

[wintonian]

In that case, with the current basic return passenger rate for the Northlink ferry being £46.80, it's probably cheaper to get a DSB-discounted advance to Aberdeen and then buy the ferry tickets separately.

Not sure I'd fancy 29 hours of ferry in December though

Might be fun

You can not get a railcard discount on railsail with Northlink Ferries or CalMac- tis written in the manual I believe.