Looking for a little advice on travelling from Cardiff to Southampton over xmas

[nowinaminute]

I know this is sort of a very general and vague enquiry but I live in Wales with family in Southampton and I'm wanting to go down from Cardiff at about 7pm on the 27th and come back about 10am on the 31st taking my toddler with me.

All I'm worried about is being able to actually fit on the train because over the years my experiences have varied from nice quiet trains (leaving Cardiff at 7pm usually) and being ridiculously overcrowded and not the environment I could subject a toddler to (coming back from southampton at about 6pm and barely being able to fit on the train let alone get to my reserved seat)

The thing is everyone I ask has a different opinion about if the trains will be busy or not some saying it will be quieter because people will be at home and others saying they will be busy because people will be travelling around seeing family and friends like me.

The last time I went down I left Cardiff at 7pm and it was nice and quiet and I got to my seat easily and when I came back I left Southampton at about 1pm and it was busier but not so much I couldn't get a seat.

What I feel I need to avoid at all costs is the cattle market situation I once faced coming back from Southampton at 6pm where I spent two hours with my face pressed against the window of the train door until we got to Bristol, there's no way I could subject my child to that!

So I apologise in advance for such a weird question but any advice would be gladly received before I buy the advance tickets!

Cheers!


Dave.

 

[NSEFAN]

The safest thing is to assume that the trains will be busy. Having recently used this route, it seemed especially busy on Sundays due to lots of people visiting Bath.

The 27th is a Friday so it's likely to be busy. If you catch the 1930 Cardiff Central - Portsmouth Harbour, you might have a chance at getting a seat if you catch it at Cardiff.

The 31st is also likely to be busy due to it being new year's eve. My guess would be that leaving reasonably early would increase the likelyhood of you being able to get a seat.

One option for the return is to catch the 0823 to Worcester or 1225 to Great Malvern and change at Bristol Parkway to catch an express to Cardiff, as these trains both start at Southampton Central. This would guarantee you a seat for a longer part of the journey, at least.