Using an ALR but returning home every day

[Daniel740]

Has anybody done this? Did you find it practical?

 

[Bletchleyite]

Has anybody done this? Did you find it practical?

I suppose it'd depend on where you live. If you live in London, you could certainly (with some ticketing workarounds to the 10am start) make very good use of one, for instance. Probably the same for Birmingham. Maybe less so if your local station is Altnabreac.

 

[mrcheek]

I have done 13 All Line Rovers.

Always First Class, always 14 days.

For 3 of them, I returned home every single day.
For the other 10, I stayed in a hotel for 4 or 5 nights, usually Monday to Friday/Saturday, but returned home on all the other days.

I generally start on the 6.20 train from Weston-super-Mare, returning home from 9pm to 11pm.

Returning home gives the advantage of not having to carry a change of clothes around with you. Also enables you to get fresh sandwiches, drinks etc. Sleeping in your own bed is a plus, even if it is a very short night's sleep.

It works. But I wouldnt necessarily recommend it to anyone else. Unless theyre a bit crazy. But then if youre doing an ALR, you may well fit that category.

It is very exhausting. But exhilarating.

Recommendation: Get on the first train out each day, but dont ever plan on being on the last train back. Always give yourself some leeway.

 

[eastwestdivide]

There's also a value for money aspect - if you return home every day, and home is the end of a long branch line, that's a lot of repeated miles over the period of the rover.
The flip side of the coin is that staying away means more luggage and either more expense on accomodation or some tiring overnighters.

No simple answer that fits all I suppose.

 

[mrcheek]

There's also a value for money aspect - if you return home every day, and home is the end of a long branch line, that's a lot of repeated miles over the period of the rover.

On the other hand, I usually do mine in the spring, so its dark at around 6pm.
Doesnt matter so much if you are repeating lines if you cant see whats outside anyway. so it can become a chance to get some sleep

 

[86247]

I've done 3 all line rovers except for 1 over night stay in London on all 3, i always returned home think i liked my bed too much.

 

[greyman42]

I have done this on a number of all line rovers (York based) and it was practical but it was back when there was no early morning restrictions.

 

[xotGD]

Home? Hotel? Overnight trains every night is the only way for a full-on Rover experience. Did it 4 times on Freedom of Scotland Rovers back in the day. OK, so you end up a rancid, shattered mess at the end of it, but that's part of the fun.

In my mind, returning home only makes sense for a local regional ticket.

 

[jfollows]

Most of the time, I've done this. Last time I spent two nights away from home. I used to live close to Manchester Oxford Road station, so just over 10 minutes' walk from Manchester Piccadilly. I now live 10 minutes' walk from Wilmslow station. The reason I mention these facts are that I feel like I'm "almost home" if I'm on a London-Manchester train once it's going up Camden bank, and so the 20:40 Euston-Wilmslow is OK for that.

 

[ABB125]

Whenever I get around to doing my first ALR, I suspect I'll spend a few nights on sleepers, and the rest either at home or in a hotel depending on where I end up.
It would certainly be possible for me to do an ALR returning home every night, but I don't think I'd really want to as it would put a limit on where I could go.

 

[PeterY]

I'd imagine Leeds would be the ideal place to live, if you intended to go home every night. All the times I've done an ALR it's been a mixture of friends, hotels, my daughter, and my own bed.

 

[Polarbear]

A lot depends on where one lives & whether you have access to fast rail services at the start/end of each day.

I live in Birkenhead so I could cover most of the country on day trips, and probably wouldn’t have to worry too much about the 10:00 bar. Exceptions would be the far north of Scotland & points west of Plymouth.

 

[Metal_gee_man]

Let's be honest the best way to get the best out of the ticket is to stay away, currently Covid has helped with hotel prices, travelodges between £25-35 a night and Premier inns between £29-45 a night, if you check through booking.com there are plenty of bargains appearing with Holiday Inn and other major hotel brands so whilst Wales will be off limits next week covid has helped

 

[james60059]

I was hoping to do an ALR earlier this year but sadly Covid had put paid to that. I had intended to return home each time mostly. Hopefully next year though

 

[Andy Pacer]

I was hoping to do an ALR earlier this year but sadly Covid had put paid to that. I had intended to return home each time mostly. Hopefully next year though

I was on one two weeks before lockdown, really the week things really started to change. It was very odd!

 

[Merthyr Imp]

I did so for several years from the late 1970s until the mid-1990s. Had the advantage of living in Nottingham so was fairly central with easy access to the NE/SW route, East Coast main line and of course the Midland Main Line for getting to London.

Never got beyond Dundee in Scotland, or in the opposite direction, Liskeard and the Looe branch. Managed Holyhead and Fishguard.

 

[dave87016]

I was hoping to do an ALR earlier this year but sadly Covid had put paid to that. I had intended to return home each time mostly. Hopefully next year though

I’m in the same boat I had been looking forward to it and kept mulling over should I do it during Covid while trains are quiet and hotels are cheap in the end I opted against because of the local and regional tiers just didn’t make it feasible nor did the fact lockdowns could occur or train services could be suspended / limited

So I will be waiting until 2021 at least that gives me time to establish a plan alas knowing myself it will probably get ripped to shreds and I will plan my journeys the night before when checking the weather and mid/late afternoon book a hotel for the same night

 

[Shaw S Hunter]

It very much depends on where home is and how much of the network you want to cover. I was still at school when I did my first ALR and returning home each night was compulsory. Once older staying away was an essential part of the experience; one trip to Germany and Austria saw me spend 11 consecutive nights on trains. However as i got older I found that less appealing. So the question then becomes whether to use hotels or return home each night, the answer to which may depend on your budget. One possible downside of "working from home" is that your own bed may be "too comfortable" and after a number of long days a lie-in may prove unavoidable. Equally the joy of an ALR is the flexibility: you may well have a grand master plan but not sticking to it is just fine. Another issue nowadays compared with the past is the outright scarcity of overnight trains which makes stationary overnights much more likely. Again your budget may come in to play. Ultimately there is no right or wrong answer: it's your leisure time so do what makes you happy.

 

[Bevan Price]

Had quite a few ALRs (7 or 14 days) when I was younger - and they were much better value for money. Usually planned to return home each night, but sometimes found a bed & breakfast "on spec" for a few days away from home. Until the early 1990s, it was usually possible to find an affordable B&B within comfortable walking time of a station - even in places like London & Edinburgh - without booking in advance (outside peak holiday seasons). Never enjoyed "overnights", so only did a few. Occasionally got a berth ("on spec" again) on the Glasgow / Inverness sleeper whilst "chasing" locos in the far north of Scotland.

 

[robbeech]

I've done a few over the years and used different methods. I've never been home every night but i think one time i was home 4 nights (i think one might have been due to disruption it was easier to cut my proposed journey short and go home rather than end up in taxis at 0300 or similar). I live in a little village with a mediocre rail service with poor connections so it is difficult to get home late at night (normal timetable), so on more than one occasion i've driven to a major station and parked somewhere nearby (avoiding the expensive station car parks) and left a second bag with clothes in the car so i can call via the major station, be out to the car, swap clothes in the bag and be back on a train within half an hour or so to save carrying more than a couple of days stuff with me. For me, Doncaster works really well for this as its only half an hour drive away and has a very frequent service but i have done it in London before by using the Just Park app and parking on a drive for a week in Zone 3 or so for a few quid a day.

I did once manage to book a very cheap Easy hotel in London for 10nights and used that as a base but didn't use it to sleep every night. Quite an expensive way of doing it but it enabled me to do what i set out to achieve and the couple of days work either side down there covered the extra costs.

 

[RJ]

I wouldn't recommend it - having to return home daily seriously restricts the amount of the network you can see and cover, plus being out for 16+ hours a day every day can be tiring. If you aren't based in London, it takes so much longer to get to places.

These days when doing capricious railway journeys for several days in a row, I bring a small case and stay in international chain hotels, usually Crowne Plazas, Hiltons and Holiday Inns as they work out cheaper than Easy Hotel or Travelodge. It means staying in populous cities, but there are quite a few benefits.

- Zero cash cost
- Free hot breakfast included
- Access to a clean room, shower, iron and laundry service if required
- Can get a good night's sleep
- Can be booked at a moment's notice so there's flexibility in where you stay

And of course, being in a position to make the most of the next day.

 

[LSWR Cavalier]

If one lives near a station with good services, maybe ten minutes walk

I think an ALR is like ascending Yr Wyddfa, doing it once when young is enough, regional rovers offer plenty to see and do without getting exhausted

 

[Andy Pacer]

On the three I've done I've usually had two nights at home, so splitting the 7 days into three blocks of days, typically 3-3-1, and do a long out and back on the final day.

 

[ChrisC]

If one lives near a station with good services, maybe ten minutes walk

I think an ALR is like ascending Yr Wyddfa, doing it once when young is enough, regional rovers offer plenty to see and do without getting exhausted

It’s something that I didn’t do when I was younger and I don’t think that I will now.
Living fairly central I suppose I could do quite a good few days from home but wouldn’t get the full value of being able to travel to the extremities of the rail network without some overnight stays.

Definitely regional rovers for me now. Over the last five years since retiring have done an 8 Days in 15 South West Rover, 8 Days in 15 Spirit of Scotland, 7 Day Heart of England, 7 Day North West and 7 Day Thames Valley. Been able to explore large areas of the country at leisure without rushing around too much. Plenty of time to get off and explore interesting locations. Usually book myself into a hotel in a convenient location near a station. Leisurely start at about 9am after a good breakfast and usually return by about 7pm.

 

[KevinTurvey]

I did loads of these back in the late 80's when they were 80 odd quid with a railcard. I did return home daily on most occasions as living in a big city geographically central, made this perfectly feasible. Plus I couldn't afford hotel bills and in any case, in those days there were hardly any hotels anyway (compared to today)

There was also then the option to visit Cornwall or Northern Scotland during the day by picking up one of the many sleeper trains at Crewe or Preston around midnight which had unreserved seating. Happy days now long gone.