Oxford - Manchester - Thirsk - Oxford

[Stargull]

Hi

All advice on doing the above slightly odd itinerary as cheaply as possible welcome. I'd do Oxford-Manchester on 20/3, Manchester-Thirsk on 21/3, then Thirsk - Oxford on the 22/3. Other than buying three singles, the best I can think of doing is buying Oxford - Thirsk open return, then something like Derby - Manchester and Manchester - York, but I doubt that'd save me much.

Bonus round: I may want to see a friend in Barnsley on the 22nd! That just seems to make life more complicated though...

Chris

 

[30907]

An offpeak return appears from National Rail Enquiries to be valid via Manchester and Barnsley (one each way) and it is permitted to break your journey overnight.
That may not be the cheapest at £118.70, and if you wanted to travel before 0930 you would have to pay the Anytime fare.

 

[sonic2009]

What times are you wanting to leave on each day?

I've managed just with a quick glance to be able to get Oxford - Manchester - Thirsk for around £50 using singles, and taking Northern between Manchester and Leeds.

So depending on if you want to go and see your friend in Barnsley on the Sunday, or go direct affects the return.

 

[Stargull]

Thanks - I hadn't realised an off-peak return can be broken on the way out. That's promising - though a look at the NR website suggests that an off-peak can only be broken on the same day, so if I did Oxford - Manchester on one day I couldn't then continue to Thirsk the following.

This is the webpage I was relying on:

https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_fares/ticket_types/46590.aspx

I'd be travelling off-peak each day and need to be in Manchester and Thirsk by about 5pm each day.

 

[sonic2009]

For Oxford - Manchester on the 20th look here. Direct service for around £32.46, this price includes a share of the saving for Trainsplit, and is very handy for splitting journeys.

For Manchester - Thirsk on the 21st look here. Direct services in the afternoon for £15.60.

For Thirsk - Barnsley on the 22nd look here. Cracking fare for £11.10 using a bus replacement to York @0930, and travelling via Leeds arr Barnsley 1141.

For Barnsley - Oxford on the 22nd look here. I've based on that you may spend 2-3 hours in Barnsley, currently services with one change at Sheffield are £32.83 including trainsplit %.

Total : £92 (obviously this is using advance tickets and is subject to change as prices may increase).

If you didn't go to Barnsley on the 22nd and went direct Thirsk to Oxford then look here. Changing at York current price is £40.98 inc trainsplit %.

So using advance tickets will cost you around the £90-£92 mark.

 

[30907]

Thanks - I hadn't realised an off-peak return can be broken on the way out. That's promising - though a look at the NR website suggests that an off-peak can only be broken on the same day, so if I did Oxford - Manchester on one day I couldn't then continue to Thirsk the following.

This is the webpage I was relying on:

https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_fares/ticket_types/46590.aspx

I'd be travelling off-peak each day and need to be in Manchester and Thirsk by about 5pm each day.

Yes, it's that bit "if the journey cannot be completed..." that I was relying on. It's fair to say that its exact meaning is disputed, including on this forum, and you may find staff who dispute it.