Many questions on a London - Kyle of Lochalsh journey.

[General Zod]

I would really like to take a trip to the Highlands this summer : Kyle of Lochalsh, Skye, Mallaig and Ft. William. There is a good chance that I would go from London Euston changing trains at Glasgow ( Queen St) for Perth with Inverness being the final connection point for KYL . The connections for KYL from Glasgow Queen St are very tight and limited. Using the current timetable to illustrate the query, I think that there may only be one train leaving Queens St which connects to the KYL train ( arr KYL 20.29) and that is due to depart Queen St at 13.41 .

dep. London Euston 0730 (0830) - arr. Glasgow Central 1201 (1301)
dep. Glasgow Queen St. 13.41 - arr. Perth 14.36
dep. Perth 14.54 - arr. Inverness 17.05
dep Inverness 17.52 - arr Kyle of Lochalsh 20.29


If I were to leave Euston on the 0730 or 0830 I would make it to Glasgow Central in good time to catch the 13.41. If there was to be a serious delay en route and I missed the connection from Queens St. would Virgin be duty bound to get me to Kyle of Lochalsh that very same evening ? Is there a possibility of them refunding my expenses if I had to stay overnight in a hotel ? What if I had booked accommodation in KYL that evening, would they have to compensate me accordingly ?
As you can see the connection times are quite narrow and I could also easily miss the connection at Perth. What would ScotRail do about this ?
In addition, I would like to return to London via Mallaig and Fort William. I know it is very unlikely but would my London - KYL return ticket be valid from Mallaig - Ft. William - Glasgow - Euston ? If not then what would be the best combination of tickets for the round trip ? I do want to avoid sleepers as I would like travel during daylight hours to enjoy the scenery. If need be, could I travel back to London Kings Cross via Edinburgh and the East Coast line ( BOJ in Newcastle ) ? I do intend to buy an "Any Permitted Route" ticket from Euston

Thanks,
Z

ps: I've been inspired after watching Michael Palin's Great Railway Journey from 1980 when he travels from Euston to KYL !

 

[CompactDstrxion]

Glasgow Central to Queen St is a ten minute walk tops. In fact today I arrived in Central at 1210 and managed to get to Queen St at 1214 (not walking mind you!) and left at 1215 for Edinburgh

 

[djw1981]

An alternative but involving 2 nights away would be

Day 1. Euston-Glasgow - Mallaig
Day 2 Bus across Skye (Day on Skye) to Kyle, Kyle - Inverness
Day 3 Inverness -London KX (Highland Chieftain)

Or
Day 1 - London - Glasgow-Perth
Day 2 - Perth-Inverness-Kyle-Inverness
Day 3 - Inverness - Kings Cross


Or

Day 1. London Euston (0538)-Glasgow C (1036); Glasgow QS (12??)-Fort William (1606): Fort William (1840)==Scottish Citylink coach==Kyle (2032)
Day 2 Kyle (1203) - Inverness (1437); Inverness (1451)-Glasgow QS (1809); Glasgow Central (1840)-Euston (2338)

 

[Sleepy]

As long as you have allowed the min. published connection minutes for the trip a TOC would have to either provide transport OR overnight accommodation at its expense. The cost of pre-booked accommodation is unlikely to be refunded except in extreme circumstances.
Hope this will help.

 

[General Zod]

Thanks for all the very very useful info. Much appreciated. I think starting the return journey from Mallaig is more agreeable as there is no changing trains in order to reach Glasgow Queen St.. There is a 10.10 train direct to Glasgow Queen St. which gives plenty of time in order to catch a London bound train. Will probably have an overnight stay in Kyle ( the night I arrive) and one in Mallaig.

@DJW1981 : Your first suggestion is a very creditable alternative. I will use this as the failsafe alternative !

I am still wondering which ticket combo would suit me best. Would a London-Kyle return be valid between Mallaig - Glasgow ? Perhaps I should buy a London-GLC return and then buy separate GLQ-KYL and MLG-GLQ tickets ? The latter seems a much more expensive option; is there a better alternative ?

Thanks again
Z

 

[Mcr Warrior]

A "Freedom of Scotland" Travelpass (4 in 8 days) might be of use. Cost is £111. Valid for most trains north of Carlisle so you would just need to combine it with an appropriate ticket from London to/from Carlisle/Glasgow.

See link. http://www.scotrail.co.uk/content/feedom-scotland-travelpass.html

 

[General Zod]

Great The Freedom Pass looks like excellent value. I may have to extend my vacation to make full use of it !!!!
I've had a look at the TOCs will allow me to use it on their services, however, I am still unsure on which routes / services TPE allows its usage ? Carlisle to Glasgow / Edinburgh perhaps ?

The "Highland Rover" which is just slightly different, does it not allow Glasgow-Inverness by ScotRail or Kyle-Skye on the ferry ?

Z

 

[craig87034]

There is also a Highland rover vaild on all of the West Highland including Mallaig also vaild on far north and Kyle line,as well as Aviemore-Inverness and Inverness-Aberdeen. The rover also vaild on unlimited bus travel on Skye by Highland Country Buses and valid on ferry services from Mallaig-Skye. The Highland rover is 4 in 8 consecutive days.
link @ http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_fares/promotions/rangers_and_rovers.html#H £72 for an adult

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Great The Freedom Pass looks like excellent value. I may have to extend my vacation to make full use of it !!!!
I've had a look at the TOCs will allow me to use it on their services, however, I am still unsure on which routes / services TPE allows its usage ? Carlisle to Glasgow / Edinburgh perhaps ?

Everything north of Carlisle (or Berwick upon Tweed) should be o.k, I believe (subject only to restrictions on journeys starting before 9.15 a.m. (Mon-Fri) so that would allow travel on Trans Pennine Express trains from Carlisle to Glasgow Central or from Carlisle to Edinburgh Haymarket/Waverley)

 

[A60K]

There is (or used to be) a local routing instruction in the NFM from ScotRail that a Glasgow/Edinburgh/Falkirk - Kyle return ticket was also valid for use via Mallaig in one direction.

It's a few years since I spotted that, but would be worthwhile finding out if it still applies - and if so, is it available for an origin point outwith the Central Belt.

 

[General Zod]

Yes that would be ideal but I fear it would cost the TOC a significant amount in lost revenue.
I really would like to do the circular route i.e. Glasgow - Inverness - Kyle - Skye - Mallaig - Ft. William - Glasgow. Unfortunately, I cannot find any easements on the ScotRail website relating to this route.

 

[90019]

I did this a couple of months ago, but Edinburgh-Inverness-Kyle-Skye-Mallaig-Gasgow-Edinburgh, using a Freedom of Scotland rover.

I was on the 13:32 Inverness-Kyle, but once you get to Kyle, I'd reccomend getting the bus across to Skye and staying there (I can definately reccomend the Broadford Hotel). You can get the bus the next morning to the ferry across to Mallaig to connect with the 10:10 service to Queen Street.

If you get a Freedom Of Scotland, it's valid on the ferry from Armadale to Mallaig.
Also, when I was coming back on the sunday, the train was almost empty from Mallaig, but got really busy at Fort William.

 

[142094]

Last year on the first day of an ALR I went Newcastle - Mallaig. Due to OHLE problems I missed the connection at Edinburgh and Glasgow Queen Street, so Scotrail put a taxi on for me an a few others. Thankfully we managed to catch the train at Crianlarich (although Scotrail told the taxi driver to go to Mallaig, so wonder if he charged the extra?).

One of the best lines to do as well, nothing better than seeing the sun rise over the mountains and lochs with deer and other wildlife in the background.

 

[yorkie]

(although Scotrail told the taxi driver to go to Mallaig, so wonder if he charged the extra?).

I'd have contacted FSR so they could make sure... as I've heard tales of taxi drivers on the fiddle, and I've heard that the taxi bills for TOCs are absolutely huge...

Maybe the TOCs should stop threatening their customers and get tough with overcharging taxi drivers?