The
Anytime Return costs £129.65 if avoiding London, but you don't need an Anytime Return for travel solely at the weekend. Do you mean the
Off-Peak Return at £95.65?
If you are willing to be tied to specific trains, then for the outward if you are hellbent on getting the 0612 in order to arrive at 1123, you can split at York.
- Buy a Stowmarket - York (arr 0932) Advance, currently available at £35.45 (changing once at Peterborough).
- You then need a York - Hartlepool Route GRAND CTRL ONLY Off-Peak Single on the 1019 Grand Central service, which should cost £10.90 and can be purchased on the train.
The return leg is currently available using
Advance fares for £21.65 on the 1245 or the 1445 on Sunday, arriving back at Stowmarket at 1911 and 2111 respectively, changing at Thornaby, Darlington and Peterborough.
On the outward leg there is no through Advance fare as the default itinerary involves Grand Central from York onwards, who do not form any connecting service on East Coast Advance fares, so you need to book separately. You can get around this by specifying Via Thornaby in the journey planner to force an itinerary not involving Grand Central, but that will not get you to Hartlepool until 1201, and saves you a further princely sum of 10p.
All fares available from
www.eastcoast.co.uk and must be purchased through them in order to get the discounted price quoted here. East Coast offer a small discount on their own Advance fares if booked from their own website. All fares quoted for one adult and one child using Family and Friends Railcard. The total is
£68, but beware that you do lose flexibility compared to the £95.65 Off-Peak Return.
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There is also an alternative cheaper option for the outward leg if you don't mind arriving on the 1201.
- Book a Stowmarket - Leeds Advance ticket on the 0612, changing at Peterborough and arriving Leeds at 0924. This is currently available for £16.70.
- Then book a Leeds - Thornaby Advance on the 0949 from Leeds direct to Thornaby arriving at 1102. This is currently £6.80.
- Finally buy a Thornaby - Hartlepool Anytime Day Single for £3.30, and catch the 1136 which arrives Hartlepool at 1201.
This way you arrive half an hour later but it brings the total down to
£48.45. I seriously doubt that there would be an even cheaper option. If you want these prices, book now. The return leg on Sunday is especially good value and is highly unlikely to be available at this price for long.
