cheap way from Yorkshire to Inverness

[danbushell]

trying to get from Bradford/Leeds or Sheffield to inverness on 17th May-can travel at any time probably coming back on 24th May.
Missed out on the £25 1st class offer
any ideas for routes and/or splitting?
can go via Appleby if cheaper (with a split at Carlisle if that works!) or am i worth hanging out for a promotion to become available?
would a 4 day in 8 rover be worth buying and make my own way to Carlisle/Berwick?
sorry for an ambiguous question but your the experts to ask!!

 

[sonic2009]

Any railcards please? or are you eligible for any? .

 

[142094]

Depends on how much travelling you are doing in Scotland between those dates, but a 4 in 8 is very good value.

 

[sonic2009]

The cheapest advance tickets I can find from Leeds are :

Outward 17th May.

Leeds dep 0710 arr Edinburgh 1020 dep 1035 arr Inverness 1413

STD class advance £36.75
1ST class advance £67.45

Return 24th May

Inverness dep 1045 arr Edinburgh 1419 dep 1430 arr York 1653 dep 1713 arr Leeds 1749

STD class advance £36.75
1ST class advance £67.45

book these fares at East Coast for the above prices, as they offer discount if you book through their website on all East Coast advance tickets, any other website and the prices will be different.

 

[General Zod]

From Red Spotted Hanky :

Outbound 17th May :

0953 Leeds (LDS) - Glasgow Central (GLC) ( one change @ Carlisle ) Arr GLC 1401 = £21.00

1455 Glasgow Queen St (GLQ) - Inverness (INV) ( no changes) Arr INV 18.28 = £10.90

Return 24th May :

0843 INV -GLQ ( no changes) Arr GLQ 12.12 = £10.90 OR
0941 INV - GLQ ( one change @ Perth) Arr GLQ 13.28 = £10.90

1440 GLC - LDS (one change @ Carlisle) Arr LDS 1907 = £21.00

Sum = £63.80

All the above are standard class ADVANCE tickets

Plenty of other similar cheap fares available for later times between GLC and LDS and you get the added bonus of traveling on the Settle - Carlisle stretch.

 

[Glenmutchkin]

Dan - Sadly you will never get a fare that will match the wonderful value that you find on Indian Railways.

 

[unlevel42]

For future reference as some might not be availailable now.
I go from Sheffield via Stockport because there is much more likelyhood of cheap fares (I have not seen the £19 Sheffield Inverness ever available).
Cheapest fare from Sheffield to Stockport £3 a lot at £5
Cheapest fare from Stockport to Inverness £19 a number at £25
ie £22 -£30 single
ie £44 - £60 return
Information from EC site.(try Virgin or TPE)

 

[danbushell]

thanks you for all your tips.
much appreciated.

Dan

 

[142094]

For future reference as some might not be availailable now.
I go from Sheffield via Stockport because there is much more likelyhood of cheap fares (I have not seen the £19 Sheffield Inverness ever available).
Cheapest fare from Sheffield to Stockport £3 a lot at £5
Cheapest fare from Stockport to Inverness £19 a number at £25
ie £22 -£30 single
ie £44 - £60 return
Information from EC site.(try Virgin or TPE)

Cheapest advance for a Stockport - Inverness is £19.50.

 

[General Zod]

Something similar :
Combining Advances for Leeds - Manchester Pic , Manchester Pic - Glasgow Central and Glasgow Central - Inverness may bring the fare down to under £55.

Again from RSH.

 

[Oscar]

Outward 17th May.

Leeds dep 0710 arr Edinburgh 1020 dep 1035 arr Inverness 1413

STD class advance £36.75
1ST class advance £67.45

You can buy a standard class Advance Purchase ticket on this train for £30.05 by buying separate Leeds-Newcastle, Newcastle-Edinburgh and Edinburgh-Inverness tickets. Your rights remain exactly the same.
Using the same technique for the return journey lets you travel on the Highland Chieftain as far as Newcastle (departs 07.55, arrives 12.55) and wait an hour there before continuing your journey on the 13.56 (changing at York) for a total of £25.40 (or catch the direct 13.15 TPE for a total of £30.60 for the whole return journey).