Tomorrow I'm off on a jolly to London, I'm considering coming back via Derby (I live in Liverpool) which according to nationalrail.co.uk is valid.
I agree with those above who have calculated that a Liverpool - London ticket is not valid via Derby. But if you want to travel Liverpool - Euston - St Pancras - Derby - Liverpool, we can find a way.
Instead of buying an Off Peak Return from Liverpool to London (£66.40 without a railcard), buying an Off Peak Return from Liverpool to Luton route Not London (£56.10). At the same time, buy an Excess fare ticket to travel via London on the outward journey only. This should cost half the difference between the Via London (£73.40) and the Not London (£56.10) fares, ie. £8.65. This gives you a total cost of £64.75, which is just a little less than the fare to London.
The disadvantage of this approach is that you need to choose a return journey that stops at Luton. You can do similar calculations for other stations where EMT stop, such as Luton Airport Parkway or Bedford, but your flexibility to jump on the next train is reduced.
if a train I am on is late/canceled meaning that I'll miss my connection, is it the TOC's responsibility to get me home, even though I've chosen to do some wild route?
If you follow the advice above, yes, it is their responsibility. And the route is not wild.
if a guard questions the validity of the route, what should I say?
This is most unlikely with the above combination, but just explain that your ticket is valid and ask them to phone their control to check it if they remain in doubt.
John
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I was looking at around 5 or 6 o'clock tomorrow and it was coming up ok.
The journey planner on nationalrail.co.uk does show times and fares but also says "
You will need to buy more than one ticket for this journey."
