Bikes & Holidays

[smeg]

And when it comes to night trains. Try the Scotrail service from London to Scotland (or the other way round). Quite possibly the best night train service in Europe - and with tickets sarting at £19 quite possibly the best value for money.

London to Scotland for £19? You're having a laugh! Trains are too expensive, hence why I travel by coach and don't go cycle touring. Trains are nothing but an expensive inconvenience in this country. It's quicker by coach than train for my journey as well which is also a joke.

 

[Brandane]

London to Scotland for £19? You're having a laugh! Trains are too expensive, hence why I travel by coach and don't go cycle touring. Trains are nothing but an expensive inconvenience in this country. It's quicker by coach than train for my journey as well which is also a joke.

My thoughts exactly! Largs to Portsmouth, off peak return £136. Cheaper and more convenient (no changing stations at London) to drive, even travelling solo. For a couple, or a family, it becomes a no-brainer. Only problem being you have to either leave your car in Portsmouth or take the expensive option and take it on the ferry with you.

I have recently taken my bike to France (hence knowing the fare to Portsmouth) and taking it on trains over there was a doddle. Plenty of room, and trains actually leave and arrive at advertised time. Oh, and they don't stop halfway along the line and turf you onto a "replacement bus service" that won't take your bike . No need for advance reservations in France either. Thoroughly enjoyable experience apart from the bit on this side of the channel.

 

[Wardy]

For train travel I can really recommend www.thetrainline.com for making cheap advance bookings. After doing the Coast & Castles run I got myself and the bike on a train from Aberdeen to Newcastle upon Tyne for just £17. It's very important that you book your bike at the same time as yourself as the guard checks this before loading up.

 

[snorri]

The original post was moved to this forum for me. I would not be touring with the bike with heavy bags going from town to town,

I now realise I had misunderstood your first post, we don't have an appropriate section on the forum for your type of foreign cycling.
Anyway, enjoy it whatever you do.

 

[Simon_m]

No worries. Got some great feedback about trains. Will def have fun with my bike. Cheers

 

[Arch]

I think the train: good/bad issue can be one of experience and outlook. I'm the sort of person that likes everything planned and set in stone. The idea of just turning up and getting a bike on the train worries me - I've done it, on services where you don't eed a reservation, but it still makes me fret until I'm on the train and sorted (and then the train back). Even where I've got a reservation, I worry that it'll all go wrong. Any slightly worrying experience makes me more nervous for the future. One grumpy guard, one train with no bike space, and I'm a wreck.

Other people are more relaxed, and for them it always seems to work ok - because even if they have a problem, they are relaxed enough to sort out a solution, and confident in advance that it'll all work out.

 

[Over The Hill]

I think the train: good/bad issue can be one of experience and outlook. I'm the sort of person that likes everything planned and set in stone. The idea of just turning up and getting a bike on the train worries me - I've done it, on services where you don't eed a reservation, but it still makes me fret until I'm on the train and sorted (and then the train back). Even where I've got a reservation, I worry that it'll all go wrong. Any slightly worrying experience makes me more nervous for the future. One grumpy guard, one train with no bike space, and I'm a wreck.

Other people are more relaxed, and for them it always seems to work ok - because even if they have a problem, they are relaxed enough to sort out a solution, and confident in advance that it'll all work out.

When we cycled to Paris last year we missed the check in time for bikes (1 hour before the train leaves) so just took the wheels off the bikes and walked on with them (well almost dragged the broken down bikes plus our paniers and kit) onto the train with the bikes sort of in a bin bag.

 

[andym]

Erm no I'm not having a laugh. £19. I've done it - although you have to move pretty quick in August. It's one of the greatest bargains in rail travel:

http://www.scotrail.co.uk/caledoniansleeper/index.html

 

[andym]

Arch

unfortunately there's no method of transport that's guaranteed stress-free and nothing can go wrong.

 

[Ticktockmy]

Hi, just wondering if any of you have taken your bikes with you on holiday abraod, or even just within this country. How easy/safe is it to put it on a train upto the Lake District for example? I guess you would have to chain it up still, do you need to book it in before you travel?

For abroad also, anyone taken their bike on holiday with them, or has anyone been able to hire a bike. I'm not talking a normal cheap mountain bike from the local hire shop, but a good road bike. Back from Denmark where we hired bikes there, great roads and some hills. Came across some boys out on their bikes too and wished I had mine there too to give them a dust-up.
thanks

I take my bike to the lakes quite regulary, travel from my home town via London, best route from London is Virgin trains, then change trains at Oxenholme, you need to book a bike place on the virgin train along with your seats, the bike travels free but you MUST BOOK the Bike place, from Oxenholme you can either ride into the lakes via kendal of take the train to Transpennine train Windermere.

 

[Ticktockmy]

With most trains on most lines, taking a bike is very easy. Yes it's a very good idea to have a reservation on the lines where you are supposed to have one, but in my experience most train guards are very reasonable and pragmatic.

The trains that are potentially most difficult are the Virgin Pendolinos and CrossCountry trains - because they only have two spaces for bikes. Also IIRC correctly bikes aren't allowed on the Gatwick/Stansted/Heathrow Expresses. Oh (I know this is probably going to be obvious) travelling with a bike into any major city at rush hour is likely to be problematic. Beyond that there aren't that many restrictions.

If you are planning to travel at a weekend check that there are no track repairs planned. I've taken my bike on 'bus replacement' services on a couple of occasions but it's tricky - if it's a bus as opposed to a coach then it may be impossible to take your bike.

I usually lock my d-lock to the bike on the theory that someone carrying a locked bike is likely to attract suspicion. (OK 'likely' may be slightly optimistic).



That makes my recent odyssey round northern Italy seem reasonably straightforward.

The gatwick express out of gatwick to Victoria takes bikes, as they have a big luggage compartment at the front of the train, the Gatwick expresses that do the London brighton/Eastborne at peak times have no room

 

[Brains]

My bike has done many thousands of miles by train, car, plane, coach and boat

Trains - been covered above. Only issue is Eurostar, you need to book ahead, and the bike may not be on the same train as you
Planes - A number of threads cover all the issues, I've not had problems but there are rules to follow
Cars - Easy
Coach - If you are thinking of Ventoux (or for that matter anywhere else in France/N.Spain/N Italy etc) then check out the EuropeanBikeExpresss it a coach for cyclists runs from nothern England, via France to several places in bottom left of Europe
Boats - Train to the port, cycle onto the ferry, cycle off into the wide blue yonder on the other side.

 

[Ticktockmy]

As a rule taking your bike on a train in the UK is really easy. I have travelled for thousands of miles in the UK and made probably more than a hundrerd journeys with my bike (I've also travelled with a bike extensively in France, Italy and Spain). On the overwhelming majority of trains in the UK, long-distance and short-distance, you can carry your bike for free, without any problem. That simply isn't the case in France, Italy and Spain for example. The European Cyclist Federation did some research on this and the UK came out really well. I'm sure the facilities in Germany and Holland are excellent, but so are the facilities in the UK.

And when it comes to night trains. Try the Scotrail service from London to Scotland (or the other way round). Quite possibly the best night train service in Europe - and with tickets sarting at £19 quite possibly the best value for money.

You lucky bugger I just had to pay £36:60, for my ticket plus my berth which come out to £84:50.
Its a good service and get, you into Scotland with no problems.

 

[Arch]

Arch

unfortunately there's no method of transport that's guaranteed stress-free and nothing can go wrong.

No, quite.

Although walking and cycling are usually fairly predictable...

I'm a fan of trains, really I am - I don't have a car, so for long journeys, it's the train for me. I just fret about it until I've made my last critical connection. But I'd fret about driving long distance, or anything. I'm a fretter. Add in a bike, and my fret level goes up to the value of two normal frets.

And that, I think, is as many times as you can type fret before the word starts to look odd.

 

[vernon]

My thoughts exactly! Largs to Portsmouth, off peak return £136. Cheaper and more convenient (no changing stations at London) to drive, even travelling solo. For a couple, or a family, it becomes a no-brainer. Only problem being you have to either leave your car in Portsmouth or take the expensive option and take it on the ferry with you.

I have recently taken my bike to France (hence knowing the fare to Portsmouth) and taking it on trains over there was a doddle. Plenty of room, and trains actually leave and arrive at advertised time. Oh, and they don't stop halfway along the line and turf you onto a "replacement bus service" that won't take your bike . No need for advance reservations in France either. Thoroughly enjoyable experience apart from the bit on this side of the channel.

I've found that if trains are booked far enough in advance the fares are a bargain.

Leeds - Portsmouth single this August was £29.80 and about the same last year
Leeds - Edinburgh single - £13
Leeds - John O'Groats £38 (three years ago)
Penzance - Leeds - £38 or less (three years ago)

The only time that I had a problem was when I arrived at Newcastle station and I wasn't allowed on a train because I arrived after the 'lock down' time. Not really a hardship as the next train was 12 minutes later.

I enjoy travelling by train and think that off peak fares are incredible value for money. As for travelling with a bike, I had a guard turn people out of the bike bay on a severely overcrowded train at Exeter and when a couple of folk refused to move and create space for my bike he called their bluff by saying that the train would not be leaving the station until my bike was in its rightful place.